Scotts Valley has a new mural.......by Joyce oroz

                                                      Found a red truck....imagine that!

I don’t know about the rest of the country, but where I live you can find murals everywhere….libraries, office buildings, schools, restaurants, Josephine Stuart books and the Nob Hill Market building in Scotts Valley. I guess I put more energy into hunting for murals than the average person. Twenty-eight years of painting them will do that to a person. 

I love to point out beautiful artwork to my friends and talk about who painted what and why. In the case of the Scotts Valley mural, I haven’t a clue who painted or why they did it. I do know that it was a collective effort and a big success.

Thank you, Avery for the pictures.

The Art of Apples.........by Joyce oroz

One of my favorite blog subjects is art, and most favorite is the mural subject. Today I finished painting a 16 foot mural for the owners of a really green, organic and lovely apple farm in Aromas. The Matulich farm is a dream come true, a beautiful, functional apple orchard on a large scale with it's own spring water year-round. Naturally they wanted to bring the orchard indoors for a closer look. Now that the orchard and hills behind it have been painted on two large boards, they will be installed in a new indoor-outdoor room in the west end of the main house at the Matulich farm.

This picture shows the first few hours of work, starting at the top--painting a sunny-day-sky. Then the green hills turning gold and a one-lane road heading up and over the pass.

Now we add oak and redwood trees, a stone retaining wall, water storage tanks and the spring. Far-away things first, always moving toward the foreground, lower and lower. 









Here we see the mid-section of the mural--an apple orchard with hills and trees in the background.

Close-up of the spring area.

Happy muraling everyone!

A Day in the Greenhouses........Joyce Oroz

Today I want to pass along some plant information before it leaves my brain for good. I'm holding my head steady, letting valuable tid-bits filter down to my fingers which are poised and ready on the keyboard. 
The last time we talked, I told you about the Monterey Bay Greenhouse Cruise (without the boat.) Yesterday I cruised through three very large flower establishments, all using green farming methods. The other greenhouses will have to wait till next year as there is only so much time in a Saturday afternoon.

The first stop was McLellan Botanicals where a bazillion types of orchids are grown. I thought I saw one with the Madonna--maybe not. But I saw a blue orchid, seriously! I learned that orchids can absorb dye from their roots or they can be spray-painted with a product that actually colors and protects the petals. McLellans get most of their varieties of two or three-year-old orchids from Taiwan. With proper heat and moisture control and a ton of patience, they are eventually shipped out for sale. Bringing them to "bloom" takes years. 

My second greenhouse experience was the Succulent Gardens, where one is immediately  greeted  by a monsterly large globe made out of ......succulents! I saw succulents as small as rice and others that were bigger than a breadbox--much bigger. I learned how to propagate succulents. Rip their little arms off, wait a day if they are small and up to weeks if they are a large variety. The arm (leaf) has to grow a scab before it is inserted into special healthy soil. If you don't want to rip arms off, just buy the grown-ups.

Third stop was California Pajarosa, where they grow the most beautiful roses on a very large scale. The farm began two months before "The Big One" better known as the earthquake of 1989. They lost all their greenhouses and they were not insured yet. So what did Pajarosa do? They rebuilt and today they have the largest rose establishment in the country--actually they have outfits in many countries around the world. Expert machinery takes pictures of each picked rose, categorizes it and drops it into the proper pile. Actually, people do most of the work. The machine sells for $300,000 and they have three of them. All the local
rose-growing competition has dropped out in recent years due to the fact that gardens are subsidized by governments round the world, and here in the states they are simply taxed. 

Besides growing roses, Pajarosa grows hydrangeas and many other flowers and ornamental greens. 

Inside the Greenhouse..........

Come visit the beautiful blooms of the Monterey Bay!  Ever wonder what beauty lies behind the glass in a greenhouse?  Now’s your chance during the 4th Annual Monterey Bay Greenhouse Growers Open House on June 15th 2013!  There will be an array of flowers, herbs, and plants to see ranging from orchids and roses to gerberas, succulents, edible herbs and more while touring these Monterey Bay farms.  Enjoy these guided tours with the growers themselves as you learn about growing CA GROWN flowers, herbs, and plants for commercial purposes.  Information will include several areas such as propagation, fertilizing, pest control, harvesting, etc.  We recommend you wear comfortable shoes and layered clothing as many of these tours will involve walking through greenhouses or growing areas and vary in temperatures.  This event is FREE and open to the public thanks to our sponsors.

The map is available by clicking on the link to the right!  There is no specific start point for the tour and no reservations are necessary.  Just pick to start at any of the participating nurseries and go!  We also have a couple of locations with food and beverages available and a few special presentations- Rain or Shine!!  This one-day event provides you the opportunity to come out to the farm and learn first hand why California Flowers are America’s Flowers! Come and enjoy this day of fun with your entire family!

Please call (831) 274-4008 or email tours@montereybayfarmtours.org for the most up to date information about the tours.            

Vichy Springs?..........by Joyce Oroz

I confess, Vichy Springs is a place I have never  been, but I hope to go there someday. If I didn't  have the internet I would probably get dressed  and go places more often, especially places my  friends tell me are wonderful.  Actually, now would be a good time to  go to the Springs and leave this cold basement. Vichy Springs is a unique 157 year old historic  hot springs resort only two hours north of downtown  San Francisco. Vichy Springs is the best of two worlds,  a country inn and hot springs resort. Vichy offers the  only naturally warm and carbonated Vichy  mineral baths in North America. Vichy offers rooms and  cottages for overnight  stays. Included in our   room rates are  breakfast in the  morning, full use  of the naturally warm  and carbonated “Vichy”  mineral baths, hot soaking pool,  Olympic size swimming pool in season  and 700 private acres for walking and hiking.  In addition Vichy Springs  offers massage and facials between 8 am and 8 pm. Come and experience a true carbonated “Vichy”  mineral bath, massage, facial and a walk on the  beautiful 700 acre ranch. You will feel a million   miles from your cares, and  “your heart will sing a new song”.

Vichy Springs Resort is ideally located in 
the heart of the Mendocino wine country. 
Two hours north of San Francisco or 
west of Sacramento, Vichy Springs is 
perfectly situated for a weekend getaway.

Vichy Springs Resort • 2605 Vichy Springs Road • Ukiah, CA 95482

Office: 707-462-9515 • Fax: 707-462-9516 • info@VichySprings.com
CONTACT US • SITE MAP • DIRECTIONS

© 2006-2007 Vichy Springs Resort

Danish, Anyone?.........by Joyce Oroz

Once upon a time a man and his wife traveled to a far away village. Actually, it took less than three hours  from Aromas to Solvang and traffic was light. Entering the village was a medieval-meets-modern-mayhem experience. Quaint, colorful shops bordering streets of traffic insanity. Once we discovered our ability to travel on foot, we were able to cover a nice section of the lovely

Danish town. Combine a million restaurants with two million shops plus Mission Inez, and you have so much to do. Just trying to keep Art out of the candy stores and bakeries kept me busy for three days. I did not always succeed.             

              Art ogling the mermaid  

Louise and Quilting......by Joyce oroz

The Dragonfly Gallery’s “Artist of the Month” this joyful month of June belongs to none other than Louise Coombes,  expert designer and maker of quilts.

Louise Coombes is an active and beloved member of the Aroma Hills Artisan guild. Give her three paper plates and a string and she will create a Lamborghini  …OK, that’s an exaggeration. Just give her all your old ties and she will create a masterpiece quilt—no lie. The possibilities are endless.

Louise Coombes discovered quilting in 2005, and was fascinated by all the different techniques that may be employed; the more complex and intricate the better! She began making quilts for clients in 2009 when friends visited and made the request, and around the same time she discovered that local quilt stores needed someone to make quilts for non-quilting folks who walked in requesting quilts to be made for a variety of occasions, including; weddings; graduation; memorial or simply “just because”, and so Joyous Quilter was born. Aided by specially designed computer software, she designs unique quilts for each client; T-shirt quilts are ever popular but, of particular enjoyment, was a recent request for a sack full of neckties to be made into two wall-hangings. One of her quilts, “Fair Ribbons”, was made from a huge box of 4H ribbons and was featured in a National Quilting magazine earlier this year!

Louise enjoys the prospect of a new challenge and has made quilts and wall-hangings from all manner of things; clothing of all descriptions, photographs, the aforementioned 4H ribbons as well as machine embroidered words and embellishments. She is even planning a project to incorporate her own wedding dress and her hubby’s wedding suit, along with photos of the occasion and a variety of embellishments from the day, into a wall-hanging – Wedding Planners take note!

Inspired by the wonderfully talented and encouraging Aromas Hills Artisans group, of which she has been a three year active member since moving to the beautiful (and cooler!) environment of Aromas, Louise is also planning to work with Interior Designers to move into what is perhaps perceived as more ‘artistic’ wall-hangings, representing landscapes or abstractions....or whatever!

Visit www.joyousquilter.com for stories and pictures of all her quilts in many Galleries.

To see Louise Coombes’ work in real life, visit the Dragonfly Gallery at 380 Blohm Ave., Aromas, CA   

831-224-888