I've always loved rocks!

Do you like rocks?  I do.  What would we do without them in our landscape?  They add so much interest, texture and design.

This is a great ondulating wall used to enhance the entrance to this wonderful community nature preserve.

Sixty seven degrees today and a perfect day to take a walk in the nature that our surrounding community has to offer for all to enjoy.

As you begin the meandering fine gravel walking path you are instantly reminded of the scent you knew as a child when sweet clover grew in near by fields in abundance.  I remember so well exploring with neighborhood kids the fields close to our house. 

Even with one ear closed and feeling like swimmer's ear this morning, I can still make out the fabulous sounds of twitter's, chirps and far off whistles.  There's a red winged blackbird up in this tree.  This whole preserve seems to have all of God's birds here!  I just love them!

This is a nice morning walk with boggy wetlands and this aerated pond attracted a few mallard ducks.

There are metal sculptures from time to time since Hobart is  also a very well known school of welding here in town.

There are wonderful trees thriving that have been planted strategically for the naturalist.

I love this lime green.

There are fallen trees as well as large boulders for interest with wooden walkways as bridges crossing over lower lying areas with these in the distance and benches at points to rest and take in the views.

Lovely this morning.

A great place for a walk my first time to utilize it since it's been prepared as a nature area.

On the back side of this nature preserve is a neighborhood of older homes possibly from the 40's?  It may have been an area where some of the Hobart's lived.  This is a neat old pump house below a great old

house.

The area is a naturally wooded area with mature trees and plants.  There is a children's daycare in the vicinity and they have a wonderful garden where they bring the children over to plant and tend. 

I love this little garden and I'm always looking for ideas and inspirations in creating one.

The children were away on a drink break with their instructors and assistants and I was able to snap a few shots of their garden for reference without disturbing them.  Two yellow finches came flying to a nearby tree. What a sweet setting this

was.

 

A great little area with a little history of our community and a great interesting old area and place to take a walk.

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What's in bloom this week:

Wisteria

Hosta and coral bells.

Poppy and lilac.

Iris

Pansies and a nice little tree that I purchased at the Springfield Extravaganza a couple of years ago.  It has a peeling bark for an interesting effect.

Enjoy your spring maybe with a walk or in the garden.  It's yours to choose!

Whatever you choose, let it be something unique, good and as lovely as this day.

Love,

"Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, Oh What a Beautiful Day"! "I've Got a Wonderful Feeling"...

  Another grand morning today to savor.  Taking time to appreciate the day is one of my favorite passtimes.  This past Sunday, I watched P. Allen Smith's Garden Home on PBS t.v.  That is one gentleman who has a true sense of gardening for the soul, mind and body.  His ideas exhibit harmony, visual aesthetics, atmosphere, texture, variety and fragrance in a broadened scope of ways.  He seems to exhibit attention to detail on a grand scale.

While reading Martha Stewart's blog, I was amazed in the grandeur of her abilities and thoughts in the garden also.  Her most recent discussion was expressing concern for her peony beds that are coming along earlier this year.  The wonderful warm weather we have had this season has been coaxing them along at a faster rate than normal.  Each May, Martha plans and hosts a garden party in and around her peony beds which I can only imagine is none less than spectacular visually and aeromatically.

A garden journal post.

The lovely home of Roger and Lenora

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A garden that I think of on a grand scale is that of Lenora.  She has revived and re-invented an area of bare land on a scale that is over-whelming to the hobbyist gardener.  I love her style in garden selections for the feminine attributes in airy, fine foliage, calm pastel sweet arrangements and cool, soothing vignettes in shade gardens.  On the other end of the spectrum her feminine flair  is balanced with full sun heartier varieties in mixed explosions of cheerful color, variety and  statuary depicting the loves of her life, her grandchildren, as well as other ornamentations to send the mind in pleasant inspiration.  Roger keeps the property in impecably maintained condition while Lenora creates gardens that beautify their home with classic taste.

She has taken in information from t.v. programs, seminars, books, etc. and applied what she has learned for quite effective results. She tries and tests ideas on her own with amazing success rates.  She is an inspiration to all with ideas on treatments, placement, soil condition and even care of her hands while engaging in these tasks.  Join me on a tour of her garden as she begins to prepare for her late spring and summer of fine gardening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AJwYw-2Ztc

I've been working on a few experimentations in photographing Lenora's garden.  While I was there, I took a video with my camera looking up in the crabapple trees with the blue sky as background.  I have so much to learn in creating what comes to mind.  The next time I take a video, I might want to try to mute the background noise of the wind, a passing car, etc., add music and possibly narrate something like:

~

In all my garden's length and breadth

I like these common things

A sturdy, low branched apple tree

where daily, a finch sings;

The clematis that trims the fence

with garlands of white lace;

The maidenhair and ostrich ferns

That fill each shady space.

The fragrance of quaint mignonete

when touched with evening dew

And best of all, I like grass pinks

Like those my grandmother grew.

-Velma D. Bates

~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJFpHd9aPeM

Today was a commemorative day.  I heard  the Honorable Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio say, in person: "This is the day the Lord hath made".  "Let us rejoice and be glad in it".  This indeed was a beautiful day and it can always be enhanced  with beauty in abundance when taking in the prolific gardens that Lenora tends.   Thank you Lenora, for allowing me to take photos to share.

~

If I could add one more thought of my imagination about your garden, it would be that you have one very child friendly and represented garden which makes it extra special.  The statuary that you have chosen and placed to represent your three granddaughters standing amongst a spray of flowers as well as the little fisher boy to represent your grandson and his help to you with fish pond care brings one of the sweetest child like songs to mind.

In the opening of the above slide show, I chose your tall hand created yard bird first.  The movie Cinderella made in the 50's is my most beloved fairy tale and Walt Disney movie. 

The movie contains a sound track called: The Music Lesson  Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale/Bad Boy Lucifer/A Message from His Majesty, song sung by Ilene Woods. 

 The beginning of the song is being sung by one of Cinderella's step-sisters off key and tempo, of course.  I could really imagine your yard bird in this character singing "Sweet Nightingale" in a rusty gravely child like voice. 

 Then as Cinderella hears her sister practicing her music lesson, she begins to sing the tune in angelic form.  As she's scrubbing the floor, bubbles are gently rising in the air.  For each bubble Ilene is singing in a round of angelic harmonies that are devinely glorious.  I imagine these harmonies to be coming from the three girl statuaries that grace your garden.  As the music progresses,  Cinderella is splashing in a bucket of water but it could easily be transferred to your garden setting as a toad jumping in the pond that your grandson is exploring.   Due to copyright laws, it wasn't a possibility for my own muse to combine the two, but I hope you can visualize it too and know that your garden brings many thoughts to mind for the viewer and thank you for that. 

   

Ilene Woods - May 5, 1929-2008

"Never pass up doing a good deed".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F5qgEBHAVM

I love the idea of a child's garden.  Hopefully, one day I'll have one for my grand children to enjoy and explore. 

Happy gardening to you!

Love,

Gardening on a "whim"

Yesterday, I was browsing the internet for gardening inspiration.  I came across this cute display at Macy's  website in which they used 125 plastic lawn flamingos and 8 hand crafted metal flamingos hanging from pillars down the main aisle of the department store.  Also Macy's on Herald Square in New York City designed wonderfully whimsical displays with this running joke lawn ornament.

I love the use of these flamingos in display.

I did a little something similar a few years back as a take on the kitchy coral bird.

For what ever reason people seem to like to make this bright coral bird the brunt of their joke.  I don't get it.  I'd like to think of this as an American icon standing guard over Desi and Lucy's pull out patio area as they traveled across country out west with a 16' trailer in tow.

Depending on how you use these little creatures, they can lend a certain feeling.  Here I think they add brightness and cheer to the little garden area at the front door in a retro way.  I love the idea of bringing this theme inside and use some vintage USA and McCoy pottery vases for additional cheerful color.

I think the use of the flamingo can look quite elegant as a garden element as in these beautiful  Macy's displays.

I'm really loving the shades of coral together.

As you begin to ponder your desires for your flower garden this summer,  you may find a touch of whimsy to bring more lightness to your heart as you enjoy your garden!

Have a great spring as it's extending with so much grandeur this year!

Love,

A great day and a garden that Tasha would love.

Yesterday was a wonderful day.  I spent it on a relaxing ride with Lenora to the Blue Jacket Dairy,  makers of great tasting high quality artisan cheese in Bellefontaine, Ohio.

Lenora had seen the owners of this dairy and their cheese  production featured on the t.v. program, Our Ohio.  We thought it might be nice to take a ride there and check out what it had to offer. 

When we arrived,

 the attendant cheerfully set out several cheeses for us to try.  I particularly liked the Lemon Jewel Quark and the Dill Cheese Curd and brought them home.  Some of her other samples included Chevre, Ludlow and Feta.  Some made of goat's milk that were a little more rich in taste. 

Chevre cheese hanging to allow the whey to drain off.

 While in Bellefontaine, we followed route 245 toward Ohio Caverns east of West Liberty and found historical home sites of  Gen. A.S. and Col. Donald Piatt, brothers who were quite prominent in the area and held ranks as commanding officers in the civil war.  After returning home from the war they built homes located not far from the Mad River known as the Mac-O-Chee castles.  Mac-O-Chee translates as  "The Smiling Vallley" in Shawnee.   Gen. A.S. Piatt built his 30 room home in the Norman-French style Chataeu and his brother Col. Donald Piatt built a house in Flemish style Chateau approximately 1864.  We didn't get to go in and look at these interesting old  homes since they are only open on weekends.  To the south of the castles are two very old tombs built on the side of a fairly steep hill.  A lot of history in this area, such as, the French and Indian War of 1812,  Daniel Boone and several head indians.  This was the capital of the Shawnee and seven nations.  Prisoners were brought to the area to run the gauntlet.  We'd definitely like to go back to take everything in and learn more about the sites we saw.

 

We walked up the back drive to this house to get a closer look.

Very old cemetery.

We headed back to West Liberty for lunch.

We had chicken salad and green salad with apples, pecans, feta and a tasty poppy seed dressing with delicious muffin.

Just before eating at the cafe we went into the neat general store.

A place where one can still get seeds in bulk.  I purchased sunflower and bachelor buttons seeds to plant.

This advertisement clock has been hanging here for a while.  Notice the phone number.  It simply says 208.

A really great, fun day.  Can't wait to go back and check it out further.  All the home made natural cheese and the long ago history of the area leads me to post what I would add as an entry in my Gardner's Journal.

A Gardener's Journal Update.

A featured garden is that of  Bo and Dawn who owned an amazing old federal style home a few years back.  It was so wonderful because they started with neglected dry ground and turned it into something I think the renouned gardener, Tasha Tudor, would love and admire.  When I think of Dawn and the garden she created to compliment their home of the past and the introduction of books to her son; which resulted in his love for books and learning today, also brought to mind the love of nature, gardening and kind care that Tasha Tudor realized in her own garden and way of life.

Tasha Tudor - August 28, 1915 - June 18, 2008

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 I like the idea of paying homage to Tasha through the visual photos of  Dawn's flower garden and Bo's craftsmenship in fensed in yard for the pets they loved.

~

Tasha Tudor lived in Vermont.  She raised goats, made cheese, sewed her own clothing and grew what she ate.  Her son built a classic style home complete with thatched roof to the "T" in 1970 for her to live in.

She was an American illustrator of children's literature.  Her books feature simple captivating and often rhyming text accompanied by enchanting detailed and realistic drawings with soft colors.  (Information taken from the Wilkipedia Encyclopedia). 

   

~

 

The home of  Bo and Dawn some time ago.

I think the maroonish red leaves of the ornamental tree enhances the front of the house quite handsomely.

They began with a hard, dry field type yard and little by little turned it into an amazing lawn.

Bo built the nice wooden fence and Dawn carefully placed stepping stones she collected from farm fields to use as a walk to her back door.  A great deal of work began.  The lawn is already nicely seeded, fertilized and watered.

Dawn placed touches that brought softness and grace to her garden.

Everything so healthy, free from pests and disease.

A beautiful garden that eventually filled the whole cleared area in mass.  Dawn labeled her plants for reference, she had bird houses here and there and nurtured an atmosphere of a home loved and cared for.

An out building did not go without the same meticulous care and creativity.  Old licesnse plates were displayed depicting the year of  Bo and Dawn's birth.  A horse shoe on the door for luck.

Dawn and Bo created a very lovely home and garden to visit.

Thank you for allowing me to share your photos.  Your garden will always be remembered as one of the most lovely I've seen.

Love,