garden — pleasure in simple things

Tag: garden

fall 2020 at terrain

September

Today I am embracing the season. I am providing a few of my favorite views from a fall visit to Terrain in Westport, Connecticut. These photos are sure to help inspire your fall creations! So, grab yourself a pumpkin latte and enjoy the show!

Happy fall from New England! I hope you are inspired to work on your own projects this weekend! Have a great one!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. If that’s not enough – you can see some more of Terrain on my Instagram feed.

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the garden barn

June

When you have close friends that have fabulous gardens, you have the benefit of finding out about all their fabulous gardening resources!

Today, I am taking a field trip to one of these resources. Two of my friends frequent a place called the Garden Barn and I have never been – until now!

I could plan a whole outdoor constellation themed party with these two topiaries and plenty of little white lights! So fun!

I could never go wrong taking a recommendation from either of the two friends I mentioned with the fab gardens. I knew the Garden Barn would be great, but it was even better than my expectations. (The fact that I have been isolated for so long may have contributed to my excitement!)

From the moment of arrival, the variety and quantity of beautiful, healthy plants is overwhelming. And, the knowledgeable staff at the Garden Barn makes visiting a learning experience.

For today’s post, I decided to pick one unique item to showcase from my visit – topiaries. I haven’t seen these at any other garden store I have visited so I thought they would be fun to share!

Have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S. If ever in the vicinity of Vernon, Connecticut, make a stop at The Garden Barn.

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easy garden diy

June

Some years back, I blogged about some easy DIY garden stakes based on some I had seen. On a recent visit to my friend Wendy’s garden, I noticed she had added a bird to one of these stakes in an arrangement she created for her side door. It is SO adorable, I need to share!

You can read the original post/tutorial by clicking here if you’d like to create your own. Just add a cute bird like Wendy did!

Thanks for stopping by!

Note: The other photos in this post are also from Wendy’s gardens. (Of course, I had to find a way to add some white flowers to the post!)

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

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a purple pop of flowers

May

We just had some snow here in Connecticut – not typical weather for May. The cold snaps have made all the flower gardeners hesitant to get started with putting out annuals this year.

I usually use Mother’s Day as my ‘safe to plant’ indicator, but I know some of the experts say not to plant until after the new moon.

With all the hesitation to get plants in the ground, it was so refreshing to see my friend Phyllis has started working on her garden décor. The plantings she had put around her side entrance really look fabulous. She changes things up each season and for spring she has incorporated a splash of purple into her creations.

I hope seeing these flowers make you smile as much as I did when I saw them!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend!

To see Phyllis’s porch in autumn, click here.
For a tutorial on making DIY garden teepees, click here.
For a tour of Phyllis’s garden in summer, click here.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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make the list!

March

I sat down one night last week and began to think of all the little projects that I always have on my mind but never seem to have the time to accomplish. I thought I really didn’t want all this extra time at home to go by and find myself regretting not getting some of these projects accomplished!

So, I made a list of the projects I plan to tackle. I don’t know about you, but the hardest part about spending all this time at home, for me, is to slow down my pace! My normal routine of working 3 jobs doesn’t leave much free time and normally I am constantly on the go! Without going to these 3 jobs, I really have to slow down my pace – otherwise I would have all my projects done in a few days! My biggest challenge has definitely been pacing myself!

You may remember I used evergreens to put together a holiday arrangement in my hanging basket.

In these uncertain times, I can’t make plans to do anything that would have a cost attached to it. Of course, some of the projects I were imagining had to be eliminated from the list right away because they required a big purchase. But the organized person I am, I had already acquired and stored away supplies for some of the projects I had planned for a future time.

Here are the first projects on my list!

Create a spring planting for my hanging basket.
Paint the legs on the Ikea bench by the back door.
Refresh a sign that needs an update for my friend Wendy.
Reorganize my top dresser drawer.

Number 1. on my list – check! An easy spring update for my hanging basket!

I had to spend a little bit to buy a couple weather-resistant plants – I purchased them at a local herb farm. (Good thing they are weather resistant – it is snowing as I write this!) I already have paint for the bench and I had purchased some organizers some time ago from The Container Store to help with my drawer organization when I was ready. I have plenty of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on hand that I can use for Wendy’s sign. The start of the list – with supplies at the ready!

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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terrain holiday 2019

November

If you follow this blog, you know one of my favorite places to shop is Terrain. I am super lucky to have a store location so close to me in Westport, CT. Each year, I feel an obligation to share some photos with you because I know many of you are not able to shop at this fabulous store!

Each holiday (actually, each season) Terrain has a really wonderful open house and it is one of the best places to visit for some real holiday inspiration.

This year, I am not able to squeeze in even a short trip to the open house next Saturday.

So I made a quick visit this past weekend to get a glimpse of the beginnings of this year’s preparations!

Today I am sharing a few photos with you and I will share some additional photos on Friday.

I hope you enjoyed this little photo trip to the Westport Terrain. Stop back on Friday when I share my favorite part of this year’s holiday decor at Terrain – the pink accents! Here is a little preview:

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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autumn in connecticut

October

I know I complain about the end of summer but it is only because I hate to see my favorite season end!

Fall though, certainly has some redeeming qualities…

I was able to appreciate some of them this weekend!

I spent some time with family and when we took the time to slow down a little bit, we were able to reflect and appreciate the outdoor beauty of our state at this time of the year!

Driving anywhere here in Connecticut right now is truly breathtaking.

These few photos were taken just walking from lunch…

I didn’t even grab any photos while we were driving – it was too spectacular to hesitate for a photo! But I loved these groupings of pumpkins!

And, I loved to see how some of the flowers are still hanging in!

I can’t believe these cosmos are still around!

It seems our leaves are at their height of color right now – they seem mighty late this year!

I hope you are inspired to find some beauty in the season where you live.

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

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water you waiting for?

August

Unless you are obsessed with details like I am, you probably haven’t been searching for the perfect garden hose! I like every detail in my environment to be beautiful – even if it is just something I use to water my garden!

I was a little surprised when I started shopping around locally, that beautiful garden accessories aren’t that abundant! I find it surprising because there are so many people interested in gardening – particularly in my home state of Connecticut!

If you follow my blog, you know I am really into what I call a ‘virgin’ garden – I love all flowers that are white! So, it would make sense that I would be on the hunt for a beautiful white hose, right? Well, when I didn’t find a beautiful hose at any of the garden stores I visited, I ended up purchasing a hose and a hose holder the exact color of my house. It worked out well because the hose just kind of blends in with the house.

Since the purchase, I have been able to locate a couple gorgeous white hoses and I thought I would share them today on Friday field trip just in case anyone else out there is on the hunt for a really beautiful garden hose!!

I am sharing my two favorites! The first is from one of my favorite stores – Terrain! If you go to their online store, there are a bunch of beautiful color hoses to choose from…my favorite, of course, is the white one! Look how gorgeous it is!

The second hose I found is from Garden Glory. They have some really over the top garden accessories (even leopard!) – check out their website when you have a chance (look at that diamond ring bird feeder!). This is their white garden hose:

One of these hoses would really go well with my white bleeding hearts, lily of the valley, moon flowers, white forsythia…

If you want one, there are pretty garden hoses out there! It will take me until the current hose wears out to save up for a white one!

Have a fabulous weekend! I hope you get some time off for Labor Day! I will be working in the garden! ;)

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Note: The photos of the white hoses are taken from the respective stores’ website.

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roses for days

July

Typically, I’m not a big fan of roses, but it is hard not to be impressed with the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden.

Located near the downtown of San Jose, in the quaint Rose Garden District, the garden contains more than 3,500 plantings and over 189 varieties of roses.

It is easy to tell I’m not on the East Coast as soon as I arrive to the garden – the beautiful weather and surrounding homes are good clues, but also I can tell by a cathedral of redwood trees that contribute to the garden’s West Coast vibe.

Rose enthusiasts will be interested to know that The All-American Rose Selections, a national independent rating organization, sends the new varieties to the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden for testing before released to the general public.

The Rose Garden is a City of San Jose Historic Landmark and is open to the public free of charge (free parking too!) A super find!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a fabulous and safe holiday!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things…like smelling a beautiful rose, Jackie

*Yellow roses have a special significance to some special friends of mine…I’m dedicating today’s post to the memory of someone we all share. :)

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a visit to atlanta botanical garden

November

One fabulous stop included on my Atlanta trip this fall was the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The best part was visiting on the tail end of the Imaginary Worlds exhibit.

Imaginary Worlds was a display of giant living plant sculptures!

These topiary-like whimsical sculptures were amazing to see and ranged up to 26 feet tall and 21 feet wide – including an enchanting mermaid, a trio of gigantic camels (my very favorite!), and a beautiful peacock!

The sculptures were made from steel forms covered in soil and sphagnum moss and planted with thousands of meticulously groomed plants – staged in 14 installations.

The process for creating the Imaginary World sculptures took nearly six months. After metal frames were fabricated, the empty frames were shipped to Atlanta, and the garden’s horticulturists began covering them with a mesh fabric and stuffing them with soil.

Then the planting started. More than 200,000 plants, primarily annuals, were inserted, one by one. Sculptures were built in sections that were planted inside a greenhouse just outside the city, then trucked to the garden in spring for assembling on site. Intricate irrigation systems beneath the surface of the sculptures allowed the plants to grow – and the creatures to flourish – in Atlanta’s summer heat.

I am sure the Atlanta Botanical Garden is always worth a visit, but I was thrilled to be able to visit during the Imaginary Worlds exhibit. I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of the display on today’s Friday field trip.

Though beautiful, we didn’t get the chance to see this goddess in full splendor – she was already being disassembled to create a holiday display.

Thanks for stopping by!

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

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Tag: garden

fall 2020 at terrain

the garden barn

easy garden diy

a purple pop of flowers

make the list!

terrain holiday 2019

autumn in connecticut

water you waiting for?

roses for days

a visit to atlanta botanical garden