When I got back from my morning ride, the sun was just starting to hit the garden. So I took a short breather to enjoy the Spring flowers popping up… as well as my stamped totem pole!

I keep hoping that Spring may actually be here…
Still covered with last year’s leaves, I did a little uncovering this morning  and found a little sign of Spring popping up in my backyard flower pot garden! One step closer…

Spring has finally “sprung” in Chicago… even if it’s just inside the Chicago Flower
& Garden Show at Navy Pier. It was such a great “retreat” from the cold with beautiful
colors, smells, patterns & textures! A sign that Spring may actually be on it’s way!

Not only were there tons of beautiful flowers… but there were also piles of tulips!!!
A full color palette of petals. Who knew there were so many different kinds of tulips?!

But one of my favorite things were the vertical wall gardens. Especially because there was
a lot of colors & textures all in one place… each vying for a special place in the sun!

After an incredibly “windy-&-crashing-wavey” bike ride… I showered, changed
and head off to work. But as I was leaving, I noticed this beautiful little plant blooming
in my front garden. I’ve never seen it before. And to be quite honest, I have no idea
what it is nor where it came from. Either way, it’s a beautiful surprise in my garden
that has pretty much withered away for the upcoming Winter days! To me, it kind of
looks like an orchid… but who knows?!… anyone???

After a full summer of growing, my Obedient Plant has finally started to bloom.
I love how the flowers start at the bottom and work their way up in perfect sequence.
And how the little blossoms are lined up so perfectly in four vertical rows…
waiting their turn to pop open!

My garden is green. There’s a lot of green.
But suddenly, there’s a new splash of color popping out.
I had forgotten that I had planted these caladium bulbs earlier in the spring!

So there were some “extra” peonies in the floral cooler at the “glitter gig.”
They were tight round buds, but no sign of blossoming. And since the blooming season
for peonies is LONG over, I doubted that they would open. But I was told that once the
buds can be stored for months if they are wrapped up & chilled. And that once they came
out of the cooler, the heat would “force” them to open… and they did! Last night they were
tight round buds, this morning they’re open, fresh & fragrant. Who knew?….

All set up and ready to go at the Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival.
It’s going to be a beautiful weekend under the best shade tree in the park!!!

Two days of fun in Burlington Park. Both days from 10:00am-5:00pm.
Saturday, June 9th & Sunday, June 10th, 2012.
And the shelves are packed with LOTS of pots!!! Come early for the best selection!

It was great this year… as there were two empty booth spaces right next to me.
So I “spread” out a bit and created the Fire When Ready Garden Shop! Complete with
textured terra cotta planters, windowsill herb flower pots and groovy garden stakes!

Plus a little shameless self-promotion along the way never hurt anything…
especially if it’s about my big TV debut tonight on HGTV!!!