Affordable Luxuries #5: Heirloom Seeds

I'm gearing up to start a real vegetable garden this year. The last time I grew vegetables seriously, meaning more that just a tomato plant on a fire escape or a couple of pepper plants and herbs in pots, I was still a teenager. So, I'm facing the task with a weird combination of child-like exuberance and real trepidation. Am I up to the task of tending a crop, no matter how humble? Here I am with images of beautiful English gardens and French potagers floating in my head, while in reality I have yet to break ground and don't quite know where to start.

The answer may lie in these charming seed packets from the Hudson Valley Seed Library. The Art Pack series offers a selection of heirlooms seeds in petal fold packs with specially designed artwork by local Hudson Valley artists. At $3.50 a pack, forgoing a fancy latte today could yield a whole crop of heirloom tomatoes by end of summer. Think how happy I'll be biting in to an old fashioned tomato sandwich.

Drawing Inspiration

I just finished prepping some drawing surfaces and would like to believe that I will start drawing any second now - to be realistic any day now. While it's not a matter of motivation, but rather finding the time, it's still nice to have some inspiration to draw on. So I was pleased to come across Drawing and Notes, a blog about "drawing, scribbles, notes and an occasional painting or photograph." The blog showcases artist's drawings and provides links to artist portfolios and information. I could click away all day but I have drawings to get to.

Drawings above:
Gerda Scheepers, Measures of a shy, 2005
Katie Holten, Dead Tree (left hand/right hand) 2008