Some pretty garden flowers on my back porch
this morning to celebrate Mugshot Monday!!!

My cousin Kim has been out working in her garden again!
And this time she’s over-flowing one of my berry bowls with her bountiful harvest!
Thanks for sharing the photo Kim… now can we “share” the veggies too?

With such a beautiful garden… it always seemed like the perfect place for one of my soda-fired totem poles. It has been neatly tucked into their garden for a few years now. I love seeing it every time I go down for a visit. Quite the honor to be “featured” in their award-winning garden!!!

As you go down the terraces, and turn a few corners, the path begins to reveal the totem pole.

Perched on the side of the slope, surrounded by ferns & hosts.

My friends Gerry & Rosene not only have a wonderful garden… but they also have some wonderful collections. And, we have very similar tastes. When we’re together at a flea market it’s a race to see who can sang that cool piece of rust the fastest!!! Luckily there’s always plenty of rust to go around!!! Well here’s one of their collections hanging on a long arbor with climbing hydrangea plants. Beautiful.

It’s always such a pleasure to hang out in a beautiful garden with good friends. Even better to get away from the City for a quick weekend getaway with my cousin Kim. We’re both working too hard and have six million things to do. So it was extra special this weekend to put “everything on hold” and just go away for a road trip! My talented friends Gerry & Rosene live on Central Illinois near Peoria. They were my very first at fair friends several years ago. I was just starting out at MY VERY FIRST art fair… okay, holiday craft show... and they were across the aisle. The were the seasoned veterans. I was the newbie providing “naive entertainment’ for them. They have since “retired” from crafting… and now they spend all their time creating & caring for the most wonderful garden ever. Such a treasure. Not only are the layered terraces & plants pretty amazing. But the creative whimsy and rusty metal accents still harken back to their crafting days. And who doesn’t like some well-utilized rust?!!!

So there it is… a quick tour of their award-winning garden. So many things to find & discover. So many incredible colors & textures. So many plants to tend to. As I’ve always said…. so much fun to have Talented Friends!!! And even more fun that they are so generous that they can be credited with helping my own gardens look pretty special too. The majority of my garden plants have traveled home from Peoria to take up residence in Chicago. Thank you Rosene & Gerry!!!

Pretty little flowers in my backyard. Such wonderful medley of colors.
Love the gradation within each flower cluster. They smell great… very citrusy.
And look even better in a miniature stamped vase… if I do say so myself!

When I finally returned home from Dover, I was “greeted” by an amazing assortment of flowers blooming in my garden. Kind of a surprise since I hadn’t seen them growing for the past month… and now this seemingly “sudden” explosion of colors!!!

“It’s nice to have you back where you belong.”
Classic musical reference anyone?!

Another “explosion” of color happening on my back porch.
Some beautiful gerbera daisies blooming in shades of red, orange & yellow!

Some beautiful blooms on my front porch this summer. I asked the garden “experts” what would be my best bet for a VERY shady porch situation. She suggested some “non-stop begonias.” I’m not sure if the “non-stop” part is just a marketing ploy… but I fell for it… and so far so good!!!