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Tag: garden


more chanticleer

2
May

ruin at Chanticleer

Today I am sharing more of my newest obsession – Chanticleer – a public garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

stone wall

In my last post, I shared some photos from a recent visit.  Today, I am sharing more photos – this time from one specific area of the seven garden areas at Chanticleer.

plant at Chanticleer

The seven Horticulturists at Chanticleer are each responsible for the design, planting, and maintenance of an area.  The areas are continually evolving, each with its own feel, yet joined together as one complete unit.

Chanticleer wall

stone with flower

The photos in today’s post were all taken at the area called The Ruin.  The Ruin, one of the seven areas of the garden, is built on the foundation of Adolph Rosengarten  Jr.’s home.

ruin wall at Chanticleer

wall at Chanticleer

It is meant to look as if the house fell into disrepair.  The Ruin has a focus on hardy perennials, both woody and herbaceous.

flowers Chanticleer

Of the 50 acres owned by The Chanticleer Foundation, 35 are open to the public.  The remaining acreage is in agriculture, woodland, service areas, and staff housing.  The main path is just under a mile in length.

pansy mantel

I hope I have inspired you to think about planning a visit to this fabulous garden or maybe another beautiful public garden close to your home.

flower with stone

ruin garden

Thanks for stopping by!

Chanticleer ruin

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

 

Comment » | garden, inspiration, travel

visiting chanticleer

25
April

Chanticleer landscape

I recently visited a spot I have been admiring on Instagram for years!   It was my very first visit and I enjoyed it so much I have to share a few photos of this glorious place – to give you a sense of what it is like.

bucket of pansies

Chanticleer railing

Chanticleer is a contemporary garden within a historic setting, located outside Philadelphia in Wayne Pennsylvania.

orange garden chair

It opened to the public in 1993.  Most of the floral and garden development presently has occurred since 1990, designed by Chanticleer staff and consultants.   Chanticleer has 20 full-time staff – 2 manage facilities and 14 are gardeners and groundskeepers.

garden at Chanticleer

ferns at Chanticleer

Visiting in April, not too much was in bloom, but this garden has such beautifully designed foliage, it didn’t matter!  The garden is a study of textures and forms filled with ideas to take home!  Even though my visit was on a dismal, rainy day, it was a wonderful visit!

Chanticleer rooster

The Chanticleer Foundation owns 50 acres, 35 of which are open to the public.

plants at Chanticleer

blooms at Chanticleer

Today’s photos are a little overview of this fabulous garden.  There are actually seven areas of Chanticleer – each design unique.  Today’s photos are a little overview of the entire garden.  In my next post, I will share some photos of one of these unique garden areas.

garden fence at Chanticleer

garden chairs

If you are a garden enthusiast, be sure to put Chanticleer on your list of places to visit!  (Do what we did – combine it with a trip to Longwood Gardens!)

Thanks for stopping by!bowl of flowers

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

 

1 comment » | garden, inspiration

pumpkin peeping 2024

20
September

pumpkins with pottery

I do feel just a little bit guilty posting these photos while it is still officially summer!  Not one to easily give into fall, I did visit a couple farms to check out what was displayed for the upcoming season.  Here are some of my favorites from the traditional – orange – color pumpkins.  (My favorite – white pumpkins – will be in my next post!)

I love the addition of green – with plants or squash – to a fall arrangement!

white and other gourds

pumpkins with ferns

A squatted pumpkin shape is so much more interesting than a round one!

sunlit pumpkins

How great do these colors look together?

pumpkin character

closeup pumpkin color

 

cascade of pumpkins

 

orange pumpkins in sun

basket of gourds

I always love an interesting stem!!

pretty pumpkin stem

 

colorful pumpkin mix

 

crate of pumpkins

It is the best time of year for visiting farm shops and garden centers!  So much to explore!  Have you started yet?

Have a great weekend and start to the new season!  Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie  

 

 

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shades of green pumpkins

17
November

misc pumpkins

I did a couple posts this fall about color and styling of pumpkins.  There is one more color palette I want to mention before we leave this topic!

tower of pumpkins

When styling pumpkins for fall, green is an option we hadn’t really seen in the past.  What fun varieties there are now!  So, in this post, I am offering up some examples of how the color green can be added to pumpkin vignettes!

green striped pumpkin

green and orange pumpkins

Not only are pumpkins offered in a variety of colors, but have you noticed there are pumpkin offerings in softer, muted looking tones?

pile of green pumpkins

pumpkin tower

Of course, a multi-color theme is a styling option as well and incorporating fall flowers is so fun!   And though pumpkins come in a variety of colors, fall flowers, like the colors of the falling leaves, are available in even more!

green squash

No matter your preference, I hope you are having fun with color this fall – whether it be with pumpkins and/or flowers!

bunch of pumpkins

And yes, I know Christmas décor is coming in hot, but it is technically still fall and I like to embrace the fall décor at least until Thanksgiving!

3 green squash

green striped squash

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

squash snakes

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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pumpkin’ to talk about

20
October

outdoor fall decor

Growing up, pumpkins were one shape and one color only.  Today, there is a myriad of varieties of pumpkins/squash that are so far beyond the plain round, orange pumpkin from my childhood!

crates of pumpkins

study in orange

orange in peppers

Of course, there are certainly plenty of styling options staying within the traditional orange color palette, if that is your preference – but so many more choices than just a round orange pumpkin!

bunch of pumpkins

orange striped pumpkins

orange mums

tons of pumpkins

standout pumpkin

The photos here are some fun vignettes I’ve seen this year!

oranges of fall

Are you inspired to put out some pumpkins?

fall in orange

Thanks for stopping by!

squash in fall

Have a fabulous weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things,

Jackie

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mini pumpkins and faded blooms

14
October

mini pumpkin hydrangea

As the garden starts to fade and all things pumpkin are amped-up, it seems a no-brainer to combine the two!

decorated white boo

I collected some faded garden blooms and some sweet little pine cones from a tree out front to use as baby boo embellishments.

pinecones and mini pumpkin

Little white baby boos are my favorite pumpkins and combining them with items from my yard is a really easy, no-cost way to create some fall decor!

faded blooms mini pumpkin

I hope you are inspired to use some of the items in your yard to create some pretty fall décor for your home or to gift.

boo on blanket

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!

Remember to find pleasure in simple things, Jackie

1 comment » | diy, garden, style

the summer blues…and purples

16
July

hydrangea overview

Yes, white flowers are my favorite flowers.  Sometimes an exception happens.  When I planned and planted the garden at my current home, I kept a very healthy, well-established hydrangea planted by the previous owner.

hydrangeas in bowl

If I had planted one myself, of course, I would have chosen one with a white bloom. The one in my yard is not white.  So, during the summer, there are a burst of blue and purple from this lone, non-white blooming shrub in the garden!

hydrangea petals

There are so many blooms, that no matter how many I cut to display inside or to give away, there still remains a big pop of color in the garden!

purple hydrangea

The photos I am sharing here are the current arrangements in my house – all from the same single hydrangea in my yard.

close up hydrangea

I didn’t have a flower frog large enough for the pretty low container I used (purchased last year at Target) so I improvised with some scotch tape to help keep the blooms in place.   The tall vases I used are vintage.

vases of hydrangeas

My tips for long-lasting indoor hydrangea blooms:

Cut the blooms in the early morning.  Remove as many leaves as possible.  I like to keep a couple leaves just because I like the way they look in an arrangement.  But, because the leaves use water as well as the flowers – the less, the better.  Using scissors or a knife, make one or two vertical cuts in the stem.  Then, use something heavy to smash the bottom of the stem.  Immediately run the stem under hot water.  These steps stop goop on the inside of the stem from clogging in the bottom of the stem which prevents it from absorbing water.  Immediately put the stem into its container of water.  Follow the same process for each stem.

preparing hydrangea

I hope I have inspired you to bring some outdoor blooms inside!  If you don’t have any flowers in your yard, Trader Joes has very affordable prices for cut flowers!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great weekend!  Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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philadelphia flower show 2022

24
June

philly flower show fave

I have been to the Philadelphia Flower Show in years past.  Hailed as the world’s longest-running and largest indoor show in the country, it is hard for any flower lover not to visit at least once in their life!

The gazebo at fdr

But I have never been to the Philadelphia Flower Show since COVID.  And since COVID, there has been one huge change to the show – it moved outdoors from the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

pavillion orchids

Because of the change, I was especially excited to visit the show this year – my first with the outdoor venue.

orange at the pavillion

sky at fdr

The site for the show since COVID has been FDR Park – a 348-acre park located in South Philadelphia along the Delaware River.

orchids for days

The venue turned out to be really great – even though the day my daughter and I chose to attend was a 94-degree day!  Yes, it certainly was hot, but we found some nice breezes and some shady spots to rest.

orchids over water

The food and drink options were fabulous with many great seating areas available.  We chose to have a snack in the boat house which provided a shady spot with a picturesque view of the river.

pavillion at fdr

orchids philly flower show

Though I prefer white flowers over multi-colored and I am not particularly an orchid fan, the flower installation in the gazebo overlooking the river was my favorite!  A profusion of multi-colored flowers, predominately orchids, dazzled in the space.  The photos I share here are all from this installation.

roses at fdr

My daughter and I hadn’t been to Philadelphia in quite a few years and we had many stops on our list!  I am glad we included the flower show as one of our stops because it really was enjoyable – particularly because it was held outdoors.

pavillion orchid display

urn at FDR park

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous weekend!

philly flower orchids

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

1 comment » | garden, style, travel

early gardening

13
May

white bleeding heart

May is the time for gardening…and, it is the time when my creative spirit moves from the indoors to the outdoors.  Typically, in this part of Connecticut, Mother’s Day is the ‘all clear’ for frost scares and it is on for planting annuals!

This time of year is so fun – using free time to visit nurseries to hunt for the perfect garden additions, adding plants to the garden, and planting annuals in containers.  For me, this includes searching for the new and unusual in white plants/flowers.  (If you follow this blog, you know I have what I call a ‘virgin’ garden – all the flowers bloom in whites!)

planted watering can

My garden is off to a great start!  It looks as though all my plants are doing well – the established and the new!

I am starting off the season with just a couple of planted containers.  I redesigned the basket by my front door with some spring annuals and planted in my grandma’s watering can.

planted basket

A small start, but one that brings me great joy!

I hope you find happiness in a pretty plant that you walk by each day or a visit to a local garden store!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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fall chair planter diy

24
September

closeup plants for fall

An unwanted chair is the perfect piece to use as a fall planter!  While everyone else is decorating with cornhusks and scarecrows, use an old chair to create a unique vessel for some pretty fall flowers.

before chair planter

You don’t need much…an old chair with an upholstered seat, some old screening, a staple gun, and some potting soil.

chair planter steps collage

The seat is removed and screening is stapled in its place.  Handling the screening requires a lot of caution – it can be sharp.  Thick gloves to protect your hands from cuts are probably a good idea.  If you don’t have any old screening, you can buy some at Home Depot.  They sell thin screening that comes in a roll that is very inexpensive.  I bought some and cut it with regular scissors.  I cut a square larger than the square I needed because I allowed for space for soil.  I used a staple gun to staple the screening around the frame of the chair.

replace chair seat with screening

After the screening was secure, I painted the chair.  You can leave your chair as is or paint it in any manner you desire.  I used Annie Sloan Coco chalk paint I had left from another project and then added some dark wax.  (A bright pink chair with pink flowers would be fun for October – breast cancer awareness month!)

Once the chair finish is completed, the fun part begins!  Pick out an assortment of plants that you want to plant in your chair – I like visiting a local nursery for some small varieties.  I knew I wanted a tall purple grass as the main plant!  I also added a couple pumpkins, not that I expect them to last long – the squirrels make short work of them at my house!

fall chair planter

A chair certainly is a fun alternative to a barrel or other common fall planter and it can be used for many years to come!  Use your annual junk pick up to find a good candidate for your planter!

pumpkin stack

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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