Sign in

Alexa

@irlalexa.com
173 followers 84 following 227 posts

I make things. Curious by nature, designer by profession, and seriously silly. She/her

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Alexa
Mr. Joshua @pantspants.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Newspaper headline: WOODLAND FAIRIES DEFEATED IN FLORAL ARRANGEMENT CONTEST. In the article’s photo we see a man in a sweater vest posing next to his winning arrangement with a 1st place medal around his neck. To his left we see his opponents: a defeated band of woodland fairies with their losing arrangement. They look distraught and confused and they should be, reader. How could this happen to the heavy tournament favorites? They’re woodland fairies. Flowers are their life and yet when it was all on the line, they came up short. The winner was just a floral enthusiast not even a professional florist. A shocking defeat and an inspiring win.
335130785
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026
I haven’t tried it! I’m open to trying other yellow ones now (especially if they are different shades - I’m loving the aesthetics)
210
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026
Have you tried any other green tomatoes that you’d recommend?
100
Reposted by Alexa
Blooms & Greens @bloomsgreens.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I’ve grown the pink bumblebee previously and it was one of the best tasting toms one year. I may try the purple bumblebee next.
bloomsandgreens.net
pink bumblebees, perfect combination of look and taste
Pink Bumblebee is one of the prettiest tomatoes in the garden, striped and glossy with a flavor that makes it just as memorable as its looks.
111
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026
The pinks are so pretty! I’m tempted to try, maybe I do both pink and purple
000
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026
🌱 🍅 Lemon Boy Plus tomato Incredible - like eating a dessert. Great for converting the tomato skeptics. My favorite this year. This variety is bred for disease resistance. Early to mature and it’s starting to slow down for me (some rude critters snapped branches)
Lemon Boy Plus tomatoes are bright yellow, indeterminate, 75 days to maturity. 5-8 oz, 3”-4” flattened round shape. Great slicer with a mild sweet and tangy flavor.
2222
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026
🌱 🍅 Purple Bumble Bee Tomato Super sweet and rich and very pretty. A larger cherry that also won’t stop producing. Easy to slice and snack on. I’m curious about the other bumble bees out there but I don’t know if I can skip growing this one next year!
Purple Bumble Bee tomato. Indeterminate, 70 days, 0.5oz or 1” round shape. A snacking or salad tomato with a umami rich taste.
1183
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026
🌱 🍅 Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomato Delicious juice bombs, like perfect little grapes - but they’re tomatoes! Fast, wild, and free. Thin skin requires snapping the fruits at the stem so you don’t ruin them. Great raw and for roasting. An easy and flavorful cherry.
Matt’s Wild Cherry Tomato. Text reads: indeterminate, 60 days, 0.1 oz, 1/2” round currant sized. Snacking and salad tomato with a sweet bold taste.
1101
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026
🌱 🍅 Green Zebra Tomato I’ve read mixed reviews online - but I love them. Great texture and flavor, prolific but slower to mature for me. I pick them as soon as I see some yellow underneath the green stripes. Firm and no splitting or scarring.
Green Zebra Tomato, picture of it cut in half and whole on a white background. Text reads: indeterminate, 80 days, 2-5 oz, 2-3” round. Salad and snacking with a bright acidic taste.
1131
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/09/2026
🌱 🍅 Japanese Black Trifele Tomato (Original name: yaponskiy trufel chernyi) Prolific and delicious slicer - popular amongst tomato fans and tomato haters alike. My first black tomato I’ve grown, so I can’t compare to others.
Japanese Black Trifele Tomato: shown sliced and whole on a white background. Text reads: Indeterminate, 60 days to maturity, 2-6 oz, 2-3” diameter, pear and plum shaped. Good slicer, canner and paste tomato, with a smokey sweet taste.
171
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/08/2026
2026 Tomato line up: Japanese Black Trifele Green Zebra Lemon Boy Plus Matt’s Wild Cherry Purple Bumble Bee 🌱 🍅
The 5 tomato cultivars in a basket, labeled.
0233
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 11/08/2026
A few new flowers this year but it pales in comparison to last summer as we grieve our garden dog. 🌱 🦮 🐈‍⬛
A top-down view of a black cat sniffing some pretty zinnias.
0190
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 11/08/2026
My #cannabis is still doing great, and I continue to get cute visitors. A fuzzy bee from this morning (not sure which type) and an assassin bug from a few weeks ago. I haven’t and wont treat my plants with anything - bugs are my friends. 🌱
A fuzzy bee rests on a cannabis leaf.
An assassin bug perches on the tip of a cannabis leaf.
0180
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 11/08/2026
Let’s hear it
100
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 17/07/2026
Saw the early release of The Odyssey, really good stuff. I’ll have to rewatch it with Richard (my cat, big cinephile) when it’s streaming but I’m still messed up about the dog
030
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 16/07/2026
And by cool and hip, I mean he takes me out to events where everyone has full head of grey hair
010
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 16/07/2026
Thank god I have a partner that keeps me cool and hip
110
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 11/07/2026
I’ve been burned multiple times over the past decade by following the supposed “rules”. So heed my warnings, lest you be too 🏴‍☠️
000
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 11/07/2026
Two truths: 1. Sims 3 is superior to all sims 2. Only fools buy Sims 3
100
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 08/07/2026
First time growing #cannabis. I have them set up outdoors in 7 gallon grow bags and they’ve been looking great. Enjoy this Oregon native butterfly (grey hairstreak). 🌱 🦋
Amid the leaves of a cannabis plant, rests a grey hairstreak butterfly.
4582
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/06/2026
It saddens me that I’ve robbed my own kitties of this quintessential experience. But *ndoor cats can still feel the magic in the air during twilight - from open windows!
A fluffy cat sitting in a window, flipping the viewer off with a raised middle toe, a simple illustration.
010
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/06/2026
The official term is “Cat Hours”. The hours vary depending on the season, location, and current weather conditions. Right now in Portland, the average Cat Hours peak during 7pm-9pm. The perfect time to go for a walk on a warm (dry) evening. #cathours #portland
131
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 05/06/2026
Working a booth at the farmers market was fun - but boy oh boy was it depressing to hear how much ChatGPT was referenced!!!
030
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 08/05/2026
Looks tropical - but it’s native to Oregon! Lewisia cotyledon or Siskiyou lewisia, given to me by my grandma a couple years ago. Shes kept these native plants thriving in pots, but it’s the first time I’ve gotten them to bloom. 🌱 #nativeplants #bloomscrolling
Lewisia cotyledon, or commonly known as Siskiyou lewisia, flowers. The flowers by themselves almost look tropical because they are so vibrant - 7 to 13 succulent looking petals on each flower, deliciously hot pink with white icing along the edges and a hint of yellow. They’re a native plant to Oregon, blooming once a year.
0294
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 01/05/2026
Record breaking butterfly numbers in my urban garden this spring 🚨 Although the flowers have barely begun, our hard work is seeming to pay off.
130
Reposted by Alexa
multnomahmastergardeners.org @multnomahmastergardeners.org · 29/04/2026
Join us on May 9th, 10am-2pm for the Incredible Edible Plant Sale And Community Fair, 1624 NE Hancock Street, Portland. Hundreds of varieties of organic veggies & herbs that thrive in the Pacific NW, and Multnomah Co. Master Gardeners will be on hand to answer your questions, too!
043
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 29/04/2026
The native ladybugs are back. Idk if they overwintered in my yard or what - but they’re all over the place! #gardening #nativeplants 🐞🌱
A western polished lady beetle (Cycloneda polita) shines in the sun on a leaf of lettuce. This ladybug is native to this Oregon garden, it is extra small and a solid red with no spots.
0312
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 27/03/2026
My dog passed away and it feels impossible to do anything outside without him
110
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 10/03/2026
Definitely a legume! The leaves look bean-like
020
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/10/2025
sPoOkY scabiosas 🌱
More spooky looking scabiosa flowers and buds - they are reaching upwards toward a gloomy overcast sky.
180
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/10/2025
Spooky Scabiosas Still blooming through this awful weather
A picture showing mostly an overcast sky, light is barely filtering through the gloomy clouds. The very bottom of the frame you can see plants and flowers reaching up - very tendril like. The main focus is showing a scabiosa flower, one open in bloom, the other is a closed blossom. The scabiosas are a new variety called dark vino, and are so dark and rich in color they look black! In this image, it looks like a silhouette. A crow is flying overhead, a bit blurry as it’s in motion - but overall, super spooky flower garden! Grown in Portland Oregon, in an urban yard zone 8/9
1190
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/10/2025
So tell me, why does my punk son want to go outside??? Clearly he has SOMETHING to prove!!! His virgin paws… they’re soaked! His papa hasn’t trimmed his toe feathers in awhile - his fur is like ShamWow
000
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/10/2025
But my PUNK son try’s to sneak outside, using the dog as cover It’s POURING rain, it’s awful, gross, spooky weather rn No sane person wants to be out there - the dog chooses to wear a rain jacket to go in his own backyard
100
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/10/2025
Virgin paw pads and all that
100
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 26/10/2025
My two cats are *ndoor cats (though, we like to say homeschooled)
110
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/10/2025
Thank you!
010
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 22/10/2025
Thank you!
010
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 22/10/2025
I’m officially a certified horticulturalist 😎
230
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 29/09/2025
It’s amazing how such small changes can have a major impact! Thanks for sharing!
110
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/09/2025
Another game changer in the garden: improved egress. No more dead ends and wider paths (~2’ wide) I accepted nothing will grow along the shadow zone parallel to the fence and turned it into a path. I’m generally working with a 12’x15’ zone, last year I packed things too tight
Another garden path along a fence, this space is constantly shaded.
000
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/09/2025
Fortunately we anticipated the backlash to the sticks. Strategically placed grain and grass cover crops provided daily enrichment. This guy loves to graze.
The golden retriever is chilling in the garden, sitting on a nice path between two young garden beds full of cover crops and sunflowers.
100
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/09/2025
Oh - the logs and sticks we added to edge the bed? If you’re a fan of chewing on sticks till you get sick, you might think it’s a cruel fucked up “joke” If you’re a fan of just looking at sticks, you might think it’s kinda cute and also cool because it came from a tree you’re chopping down
100
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/09/2025
This year the paths along the garden bed were just layered cardboard and paper grocery bags. Very pleasant to walk on. Kept paws tidy! 2024 we had straw paths and a straw covered dog. #gardeningreport
The golden retriever patrols his garden in the peak hours of the day.
100
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/09/2025
2025 GARDEN REVIEW: A garden path is the single most important part of a garden! It’s a defining characteristic of ANY space AND it is one that ALL creatures innately understand if it works or not. This year, the paths were deemed impeccable by our judge… #gardeningreport 🌱
A sweet golden retriever steps tenderly down the garden path. This garden path is made of layers of paper grocery bags.
1203
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 23/09/2025
2025 GARDEN REVIEW: To start off, let me introduce the judge - he’s more than just a colleague, he’s my dog and my son. He has high standards and good values. He rarely barks, never digs, always walks on the designated path… #gardeningreport
020
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 17/09/2025
Who wants to CYBERBULLY this FREAK of a tomato a SUCKER on the LEAF STEM?! 🍅 🌱
A mutant cherry tomato with suckers growing off the leaf stem (rachis).
1151
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 16/09/2025
It’s a terrible thing to have your name hijacked by a corporation
040
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 15/09/2025
Thank you! He’s very popular
010
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 15/09/2025
THE 2025 GARDEN REVIEW IS IN!!! 🌱 📈 Although the season is still going strong, our esteemed reviewer has provided us with an in-depth and nuanced report. This report helps us uphold the quality and functionality of the garden. Stay tuned as we release these assessments this week! #gardeningreport
A chipper golden retriever walking down a garden path made of paper grocery bags. This gentleman has finally released his 2025 gardening report, which we will be sharing with you throughout the week.

Urban garden in zone 8b, Pacific Northwest.
1200
Alexa @irlalexa.com · 14/09/2025
Comparing 2025 (left) and 2024 (right) sunflowers Photos taken beginning of June I went overboard with the crimson clover in 2025 because 2024 I felt like my soil was too dry. Did it help? Maybe. More rain and regrading the garden this year could contribute as well
2025 beginning of June: sunflowers are barely peaking out of the crimson clover that covers the bed. Currently blooming in this photo (cause I think it’s pretty), a nice green mulch - some might think it’s too much. 2024 beginning of June: comparing the sunflower growth, you can make out more seedlings because the crimson clover is in a neat row in the bed (as opposed to covering completely).
020