Lily of the Valley 2011

I loved loved LoVeD Kate's bouquet.  So beautiful.  It had to have smelled as good as it looked too.   While lily of the valley is entirely too aggressive in my garden, I've always kept some going because when the blooms come, I pick them every one.  They're just coming into bloom now, so I'm looking even more forward to them this year!

A Primitive Plot Visits The Farm

I am so proud of my mom Peggy, the artist.  I love her art and she inspires me to make my own.  So when I had the chance to take some of her pieces to The Farm,  I couldn't wait to see what would happen.    Gail is keen on displaying items in her shop according to theme and color, and she knew exactly where she wanted to place them.  And in no time, they had flown out the door!

Tuesday Purple

 

MoRe rain today. . . I am thankful for rain.  It was just a few weeks ago that we were wringing our hands because the garden was so dry.  But  I do wish we could ask for a raincheck from Mother Nature :)   Still, it's beautiful--so lush and green with the birds singing and building their nests.

This is my latest attempt to make a collage with photoshop.  Usually they won't upload to blogger, and I have no idea what I did differently.   Have a good Tuesday, watch out for the puddles!

Happy Happy Easter

 

Happy Easter!  This sweet little bunny vase came from my  sister, PJ.

And this little basket went down to London last week to Betsy & Kyle.  The bunnies didn't  last long :)

Best PaPaw in the Whole World

April in London Continued

April in London

I saw this in USA Today and can't stop thinking about it.  The caption reads: 

Masataka Unoura, 81, plants a tree where his house used to be in Rikuzentakata.

Epimedium

I've been telling my friend Gail about epimedium lately.  Love this combo with the daffodils.   After the daffs fade, the epimedium leafs out and it's such  a trooper all through the hot months and even into fall.  Keeps its green heart-shaped leaves, stands upright and follows  my no flopping rule! Good spreading plant, but it's not a thug either. 

I had a beautiful weekend.  Between The Farm and Petals & Co, I took hundreds of pictures, so I have lots to show you :)

April Peonies

No, these aren't from my garden, they're from the grocery store where I try to stop every Wednesday night after exercising at Body Symmetry with Chad. (I'll have to tell you about Chad sometime--he's helped me lose 15 pounds!)

I'm a sucker for peonies.  At the grocery store, in the back yard, at The Farm, wherever. . . Last fall I dug and divided some peonies that were being shaded out and replanted them in sunny areas.  So glad I took the time and made the effort.   

And these are some that were left on the bench last fall and  forgotten, when I ran out of steam and couldn't dig one more hole.   Maybe, thanks to Chad's help, I'll be able to dig more holes this year :)

April Vase

Do your blooms ever flop over and face the ground?  I don't know why--maybe the wind, the dogs, the cold. . . It can't be iron-poor-tired-blood.  Mark covers the garden with compost every spring.  But maybe I'll get some bulb food too.  Anyway, when it happens, I just chop 'em off and put 'em in a vase.  So that's how these  blooms became the first garden vase of the year :)

Every Shed Needs A Wreath

Branching Out

My facebook account has been fixed!  Whew!  That was a lesson in just how addicted I am.  Facebook is like the newspaper used to be.  Here are more pictures from the workshop this weekend.  Love these branch sculptures.





 This is Bob Friese, AIFD, our host, telling us about these gorgeous hand-made reindeer.  No 'made in china' labels anywhere :)

This is James Lutcke, the designer who made the birds for the White House Christmas trees.  We got to hear all about his Washington DC adventure.  His work is incredible.

James' red twig dogwood bouquet armature.  I'm going to findr red twig dogwood to plant in the garden this year.

Looking out from Bob's great room.  Awesome twig valence.

Table setting for lunch, which was delicious--homemade soup, bread, & apple pie.

Hope to go back one day to one of their annual Nature's Creative Edge shows.  In the meantime, I'm going to be looking for sticks!

Branching Out, Returning Home

I had a great trip to Michigan over the weekend.  Got to visit with my mom and my sis which was wonderful, then on to a class that's been on my wish-list for quite some time.   I loved every minute, except for the driving around Chicago, which I'll have to tell you about sometime.

Home looked awfully good when I drove in the driveway last night.  And these new pictures were waiting :)  Yay!  They are so beautiful.  I can't wait to see my Betsy-girl and Kyle-boy again.

 

Here's a quick couple of shots from the Branching Out class taught by Bob Friese and James Lutke.  Great teachers and hosts.  It was chilly, but beautiful.  The studio was warmed by a wood stove.  Lunch was home-made soup, bread, & pie. 

It's really good to be home.  My most immediate problem now is not really going back to work, it's that facebook won't let me in.  And while I am willing to try life without a printed newspaper--I don't believe I can live without facebook.  The facebook team has already responded once, so hopefully that will be fixed soon.  Here's to a good Tuesday :)

 

These went to Tracy who cuts my hair and listens to my stories.   I always look forward to seeing her.

These went to Bridget, who reminds me to be kind to myself.  Who doesn't need someone like that in their life?

And these went to my office.  I came home with hundreds of roses from the show :)  And tomorrow, it's off to another corsage class--prom is comin' up!

Wedding Bouquets

If you'd like to see a few of the wedding bouquets from the ISFA show, check out the Petals & Co blog.

Spring Corsages

 

I took a corsage class at the state conference.  Neither of these look anything like the ones we did in class! But still, I had fun with them.  Love that new flat wire that's in the above picture.  And the green one below was made for St. Paddy's Day.  Did you ever go to school without any green way back then?  I remember getting pinched, so I really try to remember the green even after all these years :)

Spring Saturday

Rocking to the Beat Floral Design Trends 2011

Bill Harper put on a great show!  He was so nice in the workroom and his designs were awesome.  Loved the apples, the yarn, the  strings of hypericum. 

 

Natural garden of yellow runuculus, pussy willow, and bear grass. 

Time to go to the produce section of the grocery to get some orange orange orange!



















The pink nerine bouquet was spectacular.














This is  what happens after a show--everybody goes up to get a closer look and take pictures.  There's Des from Petals & Co in the yellow and black dress.   We had such a good time.