New Look

I'm playing around with a new look for this blog and thought I would post some pictures I took at home and at the arboretum this late spring and summer.
We've had plenty of rain and heat this summer and the plants have really flourished.
Peonies are some of my absolute favorites and they were spectacular.


It is such a treat to see the combinations at the arboretum, very inspiring.
I love the colors of the azaleas even though I'm not fond of the plant in general. Once the blooming is over it is ho-hum if not downright ugly.
But, you can't beat the colors!

Even though it is just the beginning of August I am looking forward to fall and our drives in the bluff country-beautiful foliage colors! Next week I hope to go picking blackberries for more jam making. The freezer is filling up with fruit and veggies for jams and chutneys. I'm hoping to make small gift baskets as gifts for the holidays and would rather do it once the weather cools down. Hope you enjoy the photos!

Gala in the Garden

Our nearly daily visits to the Arboretum gave us the opportunity to watch them set up for the Gala in the Garden fund raiser. It was an incredibly hot and humid day, in fact the very next day we had terrible storms and 20 tornadoes touching down in the state. This summer has been a study in extremes- cold and wet or hot and humid with wicked storms. It seems so unfair when we only get about 3-4 months of summery weather in any given year. That's about 12 weekends only! The tent set up was immense. I think it could seat 200 easily.
The flowers were gorgeous- mostly peonies and hydrangeas for the swags and arbors.
I loved the hanging balls of peonies. So many varieties! I wish they could have been labeled.

The table arrangements were a little different on each table.


And there were two special guests attending. Since we had such violent weather the very next day I'm sure these didn't last long.
I think the faces might be a bit scary on their own ( or should I say demented?)
All in all it was a beautiful display.