Ren Faire

Today we to the PA Flavor Fest at the PA Ren Faire grounds. It was free and something to do. Tasty wine samples too!

Some of the shops were open including my favorite little fairy garden cottage. It's nestled under trees and it appears that the vines are growing right through the roof but I could imagine living here amongst the statuary, fountains and fairy houses. It's a magical little place!

Some fun things coming up this week including an update of the EHAG Emporium on May 31st at 9PM.

Also a big announcement on June 1st!

Blooming Wednesday

Always something new blooming in the garden.

The funny thing is, I can always remember where I got each plant.

Bachelor's button from Craig's List.

Salvia from a yard sale.

Peach-leaved blue bellflower from Groff's Plant Farm.

"Husker Red" beardtongue from The Flower Wagon in Lititz, PA.

Love in the Mist from the Landis Valley Herb & Plant Faire.

Knautia Melton Pastels from Groff's.

Sweet smelling pink peony from an Ace Hardware store my mom worked at.

Winterthur

We spent the day on Saturday at Winterthur in Wilmington, DE. Former home of Henry Francis du Pont who was an avid collector of early American furniture, antiques and very big on creating amazing gardens on the 60 acreas aurrounding the mansion. I love this place, it is quite magical!

The quarry garden is one of my favorites, hundreds of blooming primrose.

One of today's highlights was the peony walk. Hundreds of pink, white and red peopnies were still in bloom despite the rain.

Pink roses against an old rock wall are enchanting.

You can almost smell them, right?

Japanese iris at the koi pond was very fitting.

I don't know what this is, but I like it!

If I had loads of money, I would only drive vintage cars.

They have way more personality than new cars.

The swan hood ornament on this car had me swooning.

Nothing says "cool" more than a 50's era Caddy! Would ya look at those fins!

New Blooms & Mother Goose

It's Wednesday already, I can't believe how time flies!

Here are some new flowers in the garden, the above photo shows two types of salvia and a burgundy penstemon in the back. I'm mad about salvias lately.

Lovely Delphinium. I think this would make a nice watercolor painting.

A new addition to my garden, Persian Cornflower.

Yarrow with a Scotch broom in tha background.

I love the delicate pink flowers on this toadflax.

In PFATT we are having a Mother Goose Challenge this week.

My favorite rhyme as a child was "Banbury Cross" and I have always wanted to incorporate this theme into a piece of artwork. Here is my painting of the "fine lady upon a white horse". I wanted it to have a whimsical Rennaissance feel. Be sure to search Ebay for PFATT and see what our other members have created!

Ebay auction for this painting.

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross

To see a fine lady upon a white horse

With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes

She shall have music wherever she goes

Blooming Wednesday

Wow, it's Wednesday already and I have NEW beautiful blooms in my garden. Today it was rainy so I had to post some pictures I took yesterday. Some of my favorite cottage garden plants are blooming like iris, foxglove & lupine. The garden is alive with color!
What's blooming in your garden?

Beautiful blue sky earlier this week.

Rainy iris today.

I just can't get enough of this foxglove.

Everyone loves gardening (uh, except my husband).

Mee Mee loves to squish the flowers.

A gentle giant, blonde, Belgian Horse sign currently for sale on the PFATT marketplace.

Happy Mother's Day

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." ~ Washington Irving

"The mother's heart is the child's school-room."

~ Henry Ward Beecher

Happy Mother's Day!

Garden Faire

Today kicked off the 2 day Herb & Garden Faire at Landis Valley Museum. Over 70 vendors there selling  everything from heirloom vegetables, garden art and perennials. My mom and I headed out this morning to see what we could find. I am so grateful for my membership to this wonderful museum, it is a Lancaster County treasure. The perennials were a bit high and I couldn't find anything that I was dying for but I bought some unusual tomatos that were grown and sold by a local high school's ag program for only $1.75 each! I bought a Giant Valentine, a Cuor di Bue, Isis Candy and Japanese Black Trifele.  My other purchase was an English Puddler, which is like a birth bath for butterflies. The business that sold them is Pine Hollow Primitives and they had some beautiful accents for the garden. I really wanted this amazing birdbath they had and a hedgehog statue was too cute!

Behind the tavern is the cutest little garden,

Inside the tavern, I love this shot. The light was beautiful.

An old Harrison's Yellow heirloom rose.

This one has been around since the mid-1800's.

Even Tanya flew the coup to check out the vendor.

Tom is back at the barn, calling for his mate.

Beautiful buttercups. They make me smile everytime I see them.

Beautiful blooms on Wednesday!

"If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom." ~Terri Guillemets

I awoke this morning to find that the iris have started blooming! I was so excited, I rushed out to take pictures as the sun was rising. You can see my neighbor's meadow, err, yard, in the background. He hasn't mowed it yet this spring. I think he's making hay or something over there.

A lovely chive flower.

 

Perennial sage, one of my favorites. I think I have about 5 different kinds.

The flag unfurls. When I was a kid, we called them flags. Did you?

 

I was really excited about allium last year and planted about 15 bulbs around the garden.

 

Sweet pink columbine.

A luscious fuschia spiderwort.

And here is something that doesn't belong in this post but I had to share, my Bride of Frankenstein painting created for EHAG's B&W Fright Challenge. I'll be listing her on ebay this week! Isn't she a beauty? 

 

"My spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature; the past was blotted from my memory, the present was tranquil, and the future gilded by bright rays of hope and anticipations of joy." ~ Mary Shelley