Kim Charles designs containers with a unique and festive touch in CT.
Happy Holidays fellow GPOD’ers. Here is a collection of holiday inspired containers I have created for my hobby business over the years. Most consist of found glass vessels, locally sourced mosses, and plant material that pulls these creations together such as poinsettias, unusual orchid varieties, tillandsias and more.
Its been such a joy to see all of the beautiful holiday inspired creations sent in this past month…thanks again for your enthusiastic response to “merry-ing” up our GPOD!
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Comments
Hey Kim - Lovely to have your post just before Xmas day - how appropriate! There is obviously no end to your talents. Your creations are absolutely smashing - all class! Merry Xmas and happy new year to you and yours. Cheers from Oz
To my GPOD friends - You are a fantastic bunch of enthusiastic gardeners, and it is a privilege to communicate with you via the blog. It is such a great initiative! Thank you so much Kim for your impressive work managing the blog.
My new year's resolution is to make sure my future comments don't wander into potentially controversial territory, which may upset some of you gentle folk.
Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, safe and prosperous 2017 to y'all.
Kind regards from the lovely Gippsland Lakes, Australia
Are you on the beach Frank? I know it's hot there, no skinny dipping!
Hi Rhonda - no we are just back from the Lake within the coastal rainforest - so a tree view. There is a lovely sandy beach very close, but no skinny dipping there!
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What a great picture, Frank.
Merry Christmas to you. I have enjoyed getting to know you over the past year on the internet. Maybe we can meet some day.
Thanks Kev. - I have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with you too on this blog, and appreciate your in-depth knowledge of gardening and other issues. In retirement I Chair a Board of a horticultural industry with strong links to California and UC Davis, and if I visit there in the next 2 years I will definitely try to catch up with you. If you decide to take a trip down under, we would love to show you some of our public and private gardens. To wet your appetite, we have a special association with this rural property/garden on which the homestead was built in 1879 when the run was 44,000 acres, and I'm sure you and your wife would have a great day and learn a lot about our agricultural history. Have a wonderful holiday break. Cheers, Frank
Merry Christmas, Frank. After Christmas in the dead of winter for so many years, it's hard to imagine Christmas in summer!
Thanks Tim - the same in reverse!
Merry Christmas, Frank, and best wishes fir the new year, but please don't stop being controversial. Lovely photos.
Thanks Linda - Have no fear, I'll still shake the tree now and then, but not on sensitive issues (e.g. politics) - unless I can contact you privately. Really enjoyed your comments and support during the year, Linda - a fav. of mine - Oops did I say that? (don't panic Rhonda et al !!!). Compliments of the season to you and your family. Cheers, Frank
Thanks Frank and Happy Holidays to you.
Thank you Linda - I was worried that you were one of the GPODers I upset. I'll be a good boy in relation to sensitive areas in future. I wish you and your family all the very best for the holiday period. Cheers, Frank
Sweet work Kim! My fave is the 2nd one. Wishing you and all GPODers the happiest of holidays no matter where you maybe! If you don't celebrate, well, hopefully you can enjoy the weekend and the statutory holidays beyond that if it applies to your country. Regards from the PNW.
Thank you Ms. Charles for sharing your beautiful creations. The 2nd. one is also my favorite. It is beautiful in it's simplicity.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you & everyone following this blog., Joe
My favorite one is the second one also! What is the white material? I'm guessing the plant is a tillandsia...thank you Kim for all of your hard work! We really appreciate it!
Kim, I love your glass containers. So creative and beautiful. Thanks for keeping GPOD going. Reading the blog is something I look forward to every day.
Merry Christmas to everyone who posts on GPOD. You are an awesome group of gardeners. Your talents have helped me improve my own garden. Wish I could meet each of your and tour your own special spaces. Maybe after I retire?
Come on out, Kevin. We'd love to show you our garden but you might be put to work:)
Linda, your garden looks so beautiful, I would take my chances.
Northwest Flower and Garden Show in February ... just sayin'.
Definitely on my bucket list. Maybe 2018.
We are going to have to coordinate this or else you'll be out visiting other gardens while we're stopping by to visit yours!
Merry Christmas, Chris. I do plan to make this happen after retirement (my goal is 4-5 years).
Love these -- so very creative.
So nice to see your holiday themed creations, Kim, whether for the indoors or out. Merry Christmas to you and all the gpod-ers who participate so generously on this blog. I appreciate the inspiration I get from seeing the gardens of others. Every gpod post gives me a bit of a brain tickle which is a great way to start the day.
I really enjoy getting to peek into everyone's gardens each morning. Y'all are so talented that I don't feel I can call myself a real gardener, I am more of a 'Jill of all trades', I do some gardening, some building and some manual labor around my place. Just this past spring I built a new chicken coop for my hens. I grew some of my own veggies and finished my side yard path with more bricks and pavers. This picture is when I first put it down last year.The vines have grown quite a lot since then. By the way...I am a 62 year young single woman. Now that I am retired (not by choice since I planned to work until 66 - downsizing stinks), I hope to be able to stay on top of things a bit more. Maybe one day I will feel I can contribute a few pictures
Merry Christmas and thank you all for bringing pleasure to each of us who look forward to the daily pictures and conversation.
Not sure the picture is showing. :(
Hi Deanne - the pic. isn't showing yet. You sound like a fair dinkum gardener to me, and a pretty handy one at that! You never know, the downsizing may well be a blessing in disguise e.g. health wise and creating new opportunities etc. Look forward to seeing your handy work. Cheers from Oz
Kim, you are so creative. All you containers are beautiful. I can't decide whether your first or second container is my favorite; so, I'm going to say they both are. As the others have said, thank you for making this blog possible. I look forward to seeing all the lovely gardens, containers, et al, each morning over coffee. This blog is made up of a wonderful, sometimes quirky group of gardeners and designers who kindly share their creations and commentary with us and that you post for all to enjoy.
Hi Sonya - 'Quirky' - I wonder who you are referring to! Only joking. Cheers, Frank
Oh nooo, I'm not stepping into that trap. Naming no names, pointing no fingers. You've got to be a wee bit loony to want to spend your day playing in the dirt regardless of the weather, don't you think.
Nice footwork Sonya.
Good morning fellow GPODers! Thanks so much for all of your compliments (for the 2nd creation, I used a larger grained white sand). Was fun to post these today as I'm getting to know you all...such a lively, enthusiastic and talented bunch of gardeners...I too enjoy your feedback! Running this blog is truly the best part of my day!
Again...have a great holiday and New Year 2017!
Last try. LOL
Yep it works Deanne, and it is a great piece of landscaping. Well done. Definitely something to be proud of.
Your hard work certainly paid dividends!
Nice path and a lot of work. Love how the black mulch and red brick pop against the green grass and acuba.
Nice work, Deanna. Like you, I'm sort of the garden grunt while my husband is the Master Gardener, but since retiring and gardening in the PNW, I've learned that you acquire garden knowledge by doing. I'm betting from the looks of this photo that your gardens are pretty fantastic. Welcome to your new career:)
Thanks for joining in and showing your creative side. You've got a great eye. I really appreciate the restraint you showed by letting that wine-colored Tillandsia stand alone.
I certainly hope everyone has a great whatever-you-do weekend. Make sure you let someone know how much you care.
These are beautiful Kim. Thank you for sharing them with us. It is so nice to learn a little about your creative endeavors. I so enjoy this Fine Gardening feature and look forward to seeing it in my e-mail each morning. God bless and Merry Christmas to you and yours. Vikki in VA
Good morning, Kim. What lovely and creative Christmas displays, although these would look great in a sunny window all winter long. I really love the last picture since green and white arrangements are one of my favorites. Thanks so much for saving our blog. As you've noticed, we all enjoy these breakfast conversations and learn so much from each other. Merry Christmas and best wishes for some great family time.
Thank you Kim for showing yourself to us, and for all of your efforts with this blog. I know I am not alone in appreciating your heart and soul in this venue.
Kim, thank you for all your hard work keeping us GPOD'rs happy. This is the best way to start the day. And thank you for sharing your beautiful creations - you have given me ideas for my Tillandsias. Best regards to everyone for a happy holiday and a great year.
My mornings always seem a little off when I can't get my gardening 'fix'
of interesting photos and fun conversations, I thoroughly enjoy each
and every one of you!
Kim, thank you for sticking with us and becoming our fearless GPOD leader this year! As you can tell by the following comments, we truly appreciate all of your talents and efforts to keep our beloved blog/gardener's breakfast club afloat!!!
To all my friends at GPOD... Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and or whatever brings happiness to your lives! Have a wonderful weekend my friends!
So much beauty Kim, really puts a person in the holiday mood when colorful displays grace the inside, and outside of homes. I love the first photo - but they are all stunning and so artistically put together. Thanks for sharing your hobby - and this great GPOD site. Have a wonderful holiday!
Wonderful containers, Kim. Is that wintergreen (Gaultheria) in the third photo? I just picked up a Cryptanthus today (inspired by one in one of Tim's photos) and come home and look at GPOD and there's it's twin in your first photo! Love the color echo with the buds of the Christmas cactus.
I had gone to run an errand for my wife and stopped into one of my favorite small plant shops to see if they had any Xerographica air plants (also inspired by Tim. You are a bad influence, Tim!) They had some, I bought one, the Cryptanthus and a ball of Ionantha, another air plant. One of the nearby shops had a sign out front labeled Naughty/Nice. Under Nice it said "Giving what you bought to someone else." Under Naughty "Keeping it for yourself." I guess I am naughty.
Tomorrow is both Christmas Eve and the first evening of Hannukah. Whatever you believe (or don't believe) may your Holidays be wonderful and have a Happy New Year!
Thank you Kim for treating us this morning. Love the understated elegance of your designs, each element chosen with care. Thank you also for joining in the GPOD fun. You know how much we enjoy our daily chit chat with pictures. Sometimes I am not able to join in but the daily posts are always saved for a time when I can relax and share the news and views.
May everyone have a Wonderful Christmas and. Truly Blessed New Year.
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