I was so happy with my first tomato this summer that I had to document it!  Isn’t it a beauty? I must say that it was delicious and I’ve eaten a tomato and basil sandwich EVERY day since they’ve ripened. Yum.

I am very inexperienced with fruit trees and have no desire to spray them. To my surprise one of the two apple trees that I planted last year was ladened with apples! Some of them have some scab (I’ll save those for the horses) but many of them are lovely. A friend whose father has had fruit orchards for many years has stopped spraying his trees and I am very encouraged that perhaps I will be able to forgo treating them chemically. My theory in the garden is to plant more than I need knowing that some veggies/fruits will succumb to pest. In the end there is plenty for our family, friends and extended family – no chemical treatments necessary. I have finally gotten used to knocking off bugs/slugs into soapy water… I suppose there are worse ways to go! Still gives me the major Willies. What are some of your favorite garden treatments?

Oops! This post went from artwork to gardening in no time flat! It often happens around here. More art and less gardening coming soon! : )

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Hi Friends! I wanted to post a quick note about AmpleHarvest.org and encourage those of you who have grown extra produce in your gardens this summer to consider finding a local food pantry and donating some of your excess produce to families who have been hit hard by the economy.

I did a quick search by entering my zip code on their website and found 3 food pantries within 12 miles of me. Pretty neat. So when your family has had enough of those zucchini, squash or whatever… go here and find a place where your excess will be greatly appreciated!

Big thanks to my twitter friends at TheSoilSisters.com for posting info about AmpleHarvest.org and reminding me to share the blessings! Check them out… you will be glad that you did.

Have a great day!

Michelle

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Are these guys the cutest things you have ever seen?! What personality in those little faces and bodies. The lovely and talented landscape designer Deborah Silver from Detroit Garden Works contacted me regarding doing some custom work featuring her two little scamps. I went ga-ga over Deborah’s beautiful gardens, Italian pots and charming pups. I think my exact words were “Drool, drool”. Poetic, I know. Art is my gift, words… perhaps, are not.

If you are in the Detroit area you should stop by Detroit Garden Works and meet the celebrities, Milo and Howard. I hear they are quite a hit. Customers often visit the store with their dogs… don’t you just love that! I wish I lived closer. They would totally have to kick me out at closing time. Be sure to visit Deborah’s blog Dirt Simple filled with lots of info and garden eye candy. I loved the before and after Riverside landscape project and the Spring pots with pansies and lettuce. Great idea!

The Corgi design will be soon be available in notecards, limited edition prints, limited edition pillows, linen towels, lavender sachets and linen cocktail napkins. See pictures below for references of Deborah’s beautiful gardens and Corgis!

I got alittle crazy and put it all together! Couldn’t help it.

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My nightstand is piled high with vegetable gardening references this time of year. I cross reference everything since I might miss some juicy tidbit that could revolutionize my gardening plans. For instance, I purchased a charming little artichoke this year at a garden center. I’ve not seen them available here in central New York before. What a thrill! So of course I came home and read everything that has ever been written about growing them. Unfortunately my research enlightened me to the bizarre knowledge that I have to “trick” the plant into thinking that it is two years old. If you know me you know that I not good at tricks, pranks, poker, OR jokes for that matter. The trickery is written all over my face. I may as well have my forehead tattooed saying that I am not telling the truth. It’s a gift or a curse- not sure which.

Back to the artichoke- Artie, of course. I have told him that he is behaving like a 2 year old. The pouting and wilting has got to stop. I think he believes me at this point.  If he puts on buds I’m pretty sure that I will have succeeded in the plant trickery. I try to look at another plant when I discuss the Artie’s age so that my face will not give away my untruthfulness. I even feel guilty writing about it.

Upon a little internet research I have found that there is such a thing as Plant Trickery. There are plants that disguise themselves using their appearance or fragrance. We all know of the sneaky Venus Fly Trap and Pitcher Plant who lure clueless bugs they want to snack on. Talk about deception!  In either case THEY are the ones doing the tricking. For our purposes we will disregard this type of trickery since this is a post about tricking THEM.

If you have plants that you need to… let’s say, “disguise the truth” to here are some guidelines that you may want to follow.

• Be kind. No plant likes being made a fool of. Do not ruin the trust you have built- the roots of your relationship if you will.
• Wear glasses when telling the plant the necessary false information. If no sunglasses or groucho marx glasses are available, it may be necessary to avert your eyes. Remember your eyes are the windows to your soul.
• Add some fertilizer. A little manure can help the trickery go down easier and “take”.
• Tell the subjects’ neighbors to keep a leaf on it. Even if they know the truth they are not allowed to share it or “snip-snip”.
• Lastly, when all else fails embrace your plant just as he or she is and call it a day. Life is too short to stress or not adore and embrace what you have.

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and decorated! I caught a glimpse of them. Two little girl fairies. Cousins, I think.

Before and after.

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First, set a fairy trap. No, just kidding. That is impossible from what I’ve heard. However, there are many ways to create a fairy garden. I was inspired to start one in an old tree stump after hearing a lecture on “Fairy Tales in the Garden” by blogging diva Amanda Thomsen of Hortmag.com’s Kiss My Aster. A timely lecture considering that it just so happened we had an old tree in the barnyard that was getting cut up for firewood. I found the perfect hollowed out stump complete with a fairy door in the bottom. Yay.

After zipping over to the barn with the skidsteer and picking up the enchanted stump, I found a lovely spot with shade in the morning and late afternoon situated in front of a young blue spruce. While I would love to have a sweet little wooded spot, we live on the top of a hill no mature trees. It could have gone in the nearby hedgerow but I wanted it close enough to see it daily and for LaLa to visit there often.

Note the lovely little fairy door at the bottom. All it needs is a walkway, paint and a doorknob!

Planting the garden in a tree stump is nice because it raises up the viewing level and creates numerous places to introduce your fairy decor.  Speaking of fairy decor… did you know that you can order anything that you can dream of online? I had no idea! I have my eye on a particular metal table and chairs after finding the sweetest tea set at a craft store. Stay tuned on that one.

Varigated ivy, Irish moss, Hinoki cypress and creeping thyme.

A fairy garden doesn’t haven’t to be expensive to make. I used a dwarf Hinoki cypress that had gotten stepped on a couple times in my perennial bed that needed a little TLC. It made a nice small tree for the arrangement. We used a small little wren house for the fairy’s cottage with a cute little ceramic gazebo and mushrooms from a set that LaLa got for her birthday.

Some good materials for a fairy garden include:

• Moss covered stones
• twigs
• low growing plants such as irish moss, creeping thyme, creeping phlox and miniature conifers
• pebbles
• mushrooms- real or faux
• polished stones
• shiny things
• picket fencing
• rhinestones
• doll furniture and accessories
• your imagination

Once your little miniature outdoor landscaping project is planted start adding little accessories to bring it all together and enchant the fairies, your children and yourself. I found a charming little red wagon, some potted plants and a garden hose to add to my garden. I think the perfect little gardening fairy will come. I hope she will be willing to work for her keep!

So what are you waiting for?! Start that fairy garden and enjoy it with wonderment as though seeing it through the eyes of a child. Mine is far from complete so stop back in and see how it evolves! What would be featured in your fairy garden to make it uniquely yours?

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This little beauty was shining after a storm in Naples, FL. The Fam and I went down for a long weekend to visit Junebug (aka Nonnie) and Poppa in Florida over the weekend. Of course I was nursing a lovely little sunburn while taking pictures of the local flora and I couldn’t resist some close-ups of this gorgeous hibiscus. Got some great shots at the Naples Zoo. Can’t wait to sketch some of those big cats… check back later!

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Oh, it’s great to be home! Totally enjoyed my trip to Philadelphia for the Flower Show this year… lots of fun, friends, food and flowers! Did I say flowers? Oh, and there were flowers. Lots of them. Little ones, big ones, crazy ones, pink ones, fragrant ones and even one named “Snoopy”… who knew!? Next year’s theme for the show is “Springtime in Paris”. I’m already inspired. Put it on your calendar! I hope the following images provide motivation to attend next years’ show or just garden eye candy for those of us who have endured a hard winter! Please excuse the quality of some of the photos. I was reduced to using my iphone as a camera having left CNY in a flurry to avoid a snowstorm and managed to forget my good camera!

The theme for this years’ show was “Passport to the World”. Garden displays from India, Singapore, South Africa, Holland, Ireland and the US were featured. I think the India exhibit was my favorite. I loved all of the color and the openness of the design.

A giant hot air balloon depicting the globe greeted everyone as they entered the show. This photo was taken the night before the preview as the landscapers were in a shallow pond wearing waders while installing the most gorgeous and gigantic lily pads that I have ever seen.

The enormous giraffe in the South Africa exhibit was magical. The structure was made out of rebar and little glass vases with orchid blossoms were hanging throughout the sculpture. The photo was taken the night before the PHS preview.

The Ireland exhibit. Love the topiary Irish Harp and use of stone.

This “orchid tree” and the moss carpet at its base made up of various mosses and succulents was one of my favorite elements at the show. Gorgeous! Photo doesn’t do it justice.

These “icy” designs were for the the New Zealand exhibit if I rememeber correctly. It was very theatrical. This exhibit was Farmboy’s favorite due to his extreme love of all things cold and snowy. Crazy… I know!

Shown above are photos of the India display. The colors were so vibrant. The rose medallions surrounding the bubbling water features were very impressive. There were performances of a traditional Indian wedding under the canopy during the show.

There were a number of displays that featured “living walls”. Walls made completely of plants. The textures and colors were lush and I especially enjoyed this example. Sorry for the fuzziness of the photo!

The images above are of the Holland exhibit. Who doesn’t LOVE tulips, bicycles, daffodils and scented geranium topiary standards?! I want tulips growing in the tiles of my laundry room. How cool is that?

The two images above show the charming Beatles inspired garden created by volunteers to honor the retiring PHS president Jane G. Pepper.

I went gaga over this display… the colors, texture and lighting. It was featured inside a large shipping crate. A very interesting and “out of the box” exhibit. Anne and Mike from our dinner club came to the show and Anne suggested that I do something like this for our next dinner club! Ha! That’s a good one!

I always enjoy the fashion part of the flower show. The image above is an example of one of the combinations entered in the fashion and arrangement competition. The designers have to relate the garment and the flower arrangement to each other following a given theme. Fascinating.

Isn’t that the cutest?! Love the pussywillow umbrella and those lime green wellies with the purple anemones!

Flower lampshade anyone?

I sat in on a fascinating bee keeping lecture by Jim Bob the Beekeeper in the Gardener’s Studio.

I especially like the competition section of the show. It totally appeals to the plant geek in me. Shown below are some highlights from that part of the show.

A pretty succulent.

The Front Porch competition.

The orchids at the show are spectacular…

as well as the Bonsai.

Medium sized niche arrangement.

Ikebana Arrangement

Tiara made from plant materials! Can you believe that?

Another beautiful, sculptural tiara made from plants.

I always find the miniature rock gardens interesting. I’ve got to make one of those hypertufa containers and do one of these!

And last but not least… my latest little obsession. Terrariums. I purchased a few plants and a cloche and base at the show. Stay tuned for my first terrarium in many years!

Hope you enjoyed the photos! I’ll have a few more to post at a later time. If you were are the show… what was your favorite garden display? Do tell!

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