Category Archives: Gardens

A Whimsical Garden

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Our local garden club recently sponsored a garden walk, and of course I took photos galore. Entitled “A Whimsical Garden”, this homeowner creates yard art out of dishes and glassware, and she has a particular fondness for fairies. Her home is easily recognizable when you drive by because of its charming decorations.

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One can’t have a whimsical garden without a fairy garden!

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I loved the gardener’s use of ordinary green florist’s vases to create OZ.

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There has to be a patriotic corner.

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This vase tree (instead of a wine bottle tree) is perfect for the gardener who does not want to show the world how much wine she drinks. 🙂

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Peacocks mix their beautiful color with the greenery.

So many ideas, too little time. But isn’t it lovely to imagine having even one of these whimsical pieces in your own garden?

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Spring Flowers in the Garden

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As soon as it is reasonably warm enough to walk safely and comfortably, I like to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden at least once a week. I am lucky to have this amazing public garden practically in my back yard — it’s only about a 35-minute drive and as a member I get unlimited entry.

With the promise of a perfect day and glorious spring flowers in bloom, I headed up to the CGB with my camera, set on manual mode. I was determined to get some practice using manual rather than program or automatic modes.

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I saw a beautiful yellow finch in the parking lot, but this was the only bird that I captured in the park.

I saw a beautiful yellow finch in the parking lot, but this was the only bird that I captured in the park.

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Giant Water Lilies

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Did you ever see giant lily pads up close?
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I’ve been looking at these lilies all summer and focusing on their brilliant flowers.

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Since the flowers are mostly gone, my camera was attracted to the structure of the actual leaves.
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Without the flowers, the photojournalist (moi) was able to see the reflections in the water and how the lily pads inhabit the pool in which they live.

Sometimes life is all about perspective.

Here’s a lengthy explanation about the Victoria amazonica, which these appear to be. The photos were taken at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illininois.

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Share: How to make dish flowers

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I ran across the tutorial on Facebook and it’s really a good one. I’ve always loved the look of the glass flowers I see at markets and in other people’s gardens.

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Click into photo for tutorial and image credit

The article from Flea Market Gardening makes it seem pretty easy to make garden ornaments out of old dishes. I’ve never done this since I never met a dish I didn’t want to put on my table, but this tutorial makes me hopeful. Enjoy!

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R&R

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It’s that time of year — time for a little R&R and a focus on some personal goals.

One of my goals is to learn to use photo apps more effectively, and this photo demonstrates my first attempt at using my iPad to directly edit and watermark a photo.

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I’ll be doing a few book reviews and probably posting some new photos, but I need a little break from tablescaping and researching vintage finds. Stay with me — I’ll be back!

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Pesto Presto

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How does your basil grow this summer? Mine’s pretty much gone to seed and I’m not very good about watering it. Although I like to garden and I love the flowers and fresh produce, I don’t have much patience for the constant caretaking. I know, I’m a bad gardener.

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Earlier this summer when it was raining every day, I took advantage of my basil bumper crop and whipped up a bunch of fresh basil pesto. Fast forward a month or so and it’s almost gone, but I had some kale that needed to be used. (Isn’t there always kale left over in the fridge?) I added more olive oil, four more cloves of garlic, some lime juice and the limpish kale and threw it all into the food processor. Voila! A new pesto was born. Continue reading →

Silver in the Garden and on Your Table

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Our Chicago suburb has a garden walk every summer as many towns do.

We saw some beautiful flowers…

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Good as Gold Hybrid Tea Rose

…and sat on a lovely front porch in the shade while the garden clubbers handed out cool water and cookies. Continue reading →

Biltmore Part II: Biltmore Estate Landscaping

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What pairs well with the biggest private home in the United States? Why, one’s own forest and mountain, of course.

On our visit to the Biltmore Estate we marveled at the beautiful landscape surrounding George Washington Vanderbilt’s mansion. It is even more amazing when you realize that most of this landscape was immature during Vanderbilt’s lifetime. He and his very famous landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, both died before really being able to appreciate the glory of what they designed.

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Biltmore Estate forests with view of Blue Ridge Mountains

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Flower Stories: Iris and Peonies

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A while back, I told you the story of my neighbor’s beautiful Bridal Veil Spirea.

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That was then…

I’ve also told you about how Oksana’s beautiful garden has been plundered and pretty much ruined by the flippers who are renovating her house.

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This is now — a desecration of a beautiful shrub.

The good news is that like all shrubs, this one will come back next year if no one disturbs it. Let’s hope my new neighbors — if we ever have new neighbors — will understand something about pruning shrubs and let it be. Continue reading →

Outside Inside Transitional Tablescape

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I had a July birthday this summer. Again. I threw myself a party. Again. Since my birthday is inevitable and I love throwing parties, I decided to create a set of linens that would work with my three outdoor tables and that I would love to use on my birthday and possibly other times throughout the year. The Outside Inside Tablescape idea was born.

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