birthday love

i am still knee deep in moving mania but i couldn't resist posting this rad photo of my sis and i (i'm the one giving the thumbs up) in our first car. we are california girls after all and every girl needs a car  'round here cuz nobody walks in la! feeling extra goofy today - because its my birthdaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. :)

alright enough bragging about being born! just wanted to shout out an i love you and thanks to my family and friends for making today extra special. i super super love you all so much!

now back to packing. new posts soon!

we are moving!

posts are going to be slow right now because we are deep in the moving process - cardboard boxes galore! plants to dig up! chicken coops to assemble! new space to design! heavy duty lifting, walking, truck driving! i super appreciate your patience at this time. terri planty will be back in action as soon as possible. and i promise, its gonna get real good. i have a new yard and home to address so expect plenty of diy / design / planty action.


xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
the furry / feathery bunch & bianca

name that chicken!

awhile back i mentioned in an early chicken post that i didn't know what breed two of my chickens are. i searched far and wide but never really found a proper source online. so i bought a starter book, and it had great insight of feeding, what to expect, egg recipes and lots of chicken owner tips. it also had a photo of a gorgeous hen that looked just like my little (now big) stevie. although the book is full of tons of super valuable information, it didn't say what breed that chicken was on page 77. luckily the lovely author of this great piece of chicken knowledge is the wonderful ashley english of the blog small measure. i contacted and right away she wrote me a super friendly email informing me that stevie was a black australorp! i googled this breed and was thrilled to discover that they are "hardy, docile, and a good egg-layer as well as meat bird" (although she won't be dinner - ever).
knowing what kind of chick i got, well its beyond exciting for me. and best of all now i have discovered ashley's blog and her collection of inspiring books. she not only has her excellent book on keeping chickens, but she has also written a book on canning and preserving, home dairy and keeping bees! this woman is my hero. check out her blog here. again, thank you ashley - i love finding other folks that have a passion for learning how to be sustainable in this crazy world of robots and gadgets.

next chicken detective job - what kind of breed of bantam is lucia?

a feather from each of my chicks...


stevie (looking over her shoulder) in her early days with her sisters...


the book! the page that named my chicken!



big girls (and hannah the chicken tending dog)...




p.s. i know, i know, the chickens are still living in that dog crate till i move to the new place - i promised them a fancy new house. in the meantime they mostly free range or the dog pen works just fine. don't judge. i am a good mother!

p.p.s. hannah the puppy is terrific around the chicks! only negative - she loves to eat chicken poo. and she has bedding all over her fluff when she sits by them. :)

bad little blogger bee

hi gang, i have to confess. i have been a very bad blogger. and i KNOW IT! see the issue is: i got myself a puppy, moving to a new place, fulfilling custom orders, prepping new projects, shooting / styling old home and that ol thing called life...

i super appreciate your patience. i promise as soon as i move, this blog, its gonna get good, i mean real good! lots of gardening projects ahead!

in the meantime, miss elsie did a gorgeous job documenting and posting a terrarium i made special for her and her husband. the best part of the job was getting to meet their cat when i dropped it off. she talks. please check out her blog. elsie rocks!

introducing... hannah

i am feeling extra happy these days amongst all the madness of moving and busy business... because... i got my puppy! the beautiful girl pictured below is my dear dear hannah... or hannah banana. i have wanted a dog for so long now and finally the time has come! hannah is my dream come true. she is kind with the cats (nimbi the white cat, she is like a nanny cat. calm and collected. looey the black cat, still unsure since he is my main dude, but i have good feelings that soon we will all be best buds).
at 9 weeks hannah has already learned to sit, comes to her name, has spent two days at work with me (thanks pergolina) and is chicken friendly. my sister adopted her sister (named jolene) who as you can see in the photos is the bigger pup. hannah is the runt, her big sister is over 2 lbs heavier. both girls are so much fun. jolene is the energetic clown and hannah is the innocent doe eyed lady.
now my urban farm is complete! soon hannah will learn to herd the chickens (might be getting more hens for sure), the cats will keep the mice away, and i will garden happily in the presence of my furry / feathery family. now if i only the moving process could be made easier!

(warning... lots of puppy photos in this post - and to follow).



bringing baby hannah home...


with her sis...


my little lady...

custom terrariums

in the midst of all the packing and puppy prepping i am still a terrarium making machine! terri planty must not stop! taking breaks to visit the studio to stick my hands in the dirt and paint a mustache on a mini man is always a good stress reliever, not to mention a good time.
below are a couple recent custom terrariums for a photoshoot. thats right art directors, you can rent my terrariums for your sets, interiors etc etc! hit me up!

saying goodbye

i have been getting up so early lately, whether i have had enough sleep or not, my body just decides to start thinking about all the things coming up in my life, it wakes me with thoughts of the new ikea catalog (i'm moving to a new MUCH smaller home with a MUCH larger garden), of things to purge, of plants to grow, of things to water, of my chickens that need to get fed, of the moment of having to say good bye to this home i have lived in and shared with my partner for 4 years.
sometimes i sit and stew in my thoughts. but mostly i get up. i do things like water the garden, stare at the chickens inspect their new food, fold some laundry, visit pinterest, imagine not living here anymore.
the other day i grabbed my camera instantly when i saw the insane amount of blossoms on the cactus accross the street. i have clippings from this big girl, but man was she in full on floral mode at 6:30 am the the other day. i also took a couple snaps of the other bathing beauties in the garden, the view i will miss so much more than anything else, the neighbors friendly dog...
but it is so time. i am ready for change. bring it.