garden — pleasure in simple things

Tag: garden

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.

Comments Off on water you waiting for? | garden, inspiration, style

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. :)

Comments Off on roses for days | garden, travel

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

Comments Off on a visit to atlanta botanical garden | field trips, garden, travel

new read by terrain

October

Who knows us better than our good friends? It always amazes me when my friends think of me in a special way…like shipping me my favorite ice-cream from Ohio when I’m bedridden!

The latest act of kindness from a friend was a gift in a nonedible variety. If you follow this blog, you know one of my very favorite stores is Terrain. Well, Terrain came out with a much anticipated book titled Terrain: Ideas and Inspiration for Decorating the Home and Garden. Of course, any Terrain lover should own a copy – don’t you think? But, I hadn’t preordered one because my budget has been very tight lately.

I stopped at a friend’s house to find she had pre-ordered me a copy (which means a free Terrain tote bag was included!) of the book! OMG!

The book contains 400 pages of Terrain inspiration – spanning every season. Greg Lehmkuhl, Terrain’s creative director, and all the wonderful gardeners of Terrain edited this beautiful book.

I am SO happy to add it to my collection! I think I need to display it in a special spot in my home the way my friend Phyllis did in her home. (The photos today on Friday field trip were all taken at her house.)

If you want to bring a really fabulous hostess gift this Thanksgiving, consider ordering a copy! And, for all my followers who don’t live near a Terrain, you may enjoy this book even more than those of us who do!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Comments Off on new read by terrain | garden, gift ideas, good reads

autumn porch goals

October

I think most of us like to create a little sense of the season on our porches. It may be a simple seasonal wreath on the door, or something more elaborate; like assembling a pumpkin topiary.

One of the best examples of a seasonal porch is at my friend Phyllis’s home! Each season she does a wonderful job of creating a sense of welcome at the back entrance of her home – the entrance that all the true friends use to enter! (How cool is that kale?!)

For Friday field trip, you can experience this sense of welcome as well!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Comments Off on autumn porch goals | garden, inspiration, style

saying goodbye to the garden

October

I’m always surprised at this time of year when I walk out my back door and see some flowers! I don’t really have plantings designed for fall bloom, so it definitely puts a smile on my face when I see something still alive in my yard in October! (No, you won’t yet see any pumpkins!)

For Friday field trip today, I am sharing my favorite stragglers – the plants that are still hanging on – on each side of the house. At the back door view my favorite is definitely my tremendous fern – still going strong! But, so is my parsley – look how healthy and beautiful it is mixed with some mums from BJs!

In the back yard, the succulent mix I added to a vintage iron bicycle is still (almost) there – a few plants have died, but the mix still looks good (with no care whatsoever!)

On my side yard, all the herbs are still growing! I am most excited about the oregano because I have had occasions to use it the most in recent days!

And, in the front – is the only ‘color’ I have –

Why are these flowers not white? I planted them the year I changed my door color to red maple!

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Comments Off on saying goodbye to the garden | garden

more autumn 2018 at terrain

September

As promised, I am sharing a little more of the season change at Terrain, here in Connecticut. It is the best place to get inspired for a new season.

Enjoy the photos here for Friday field trip!

If you live within visiting range of a Terrain, you will want to be sure and stop in for the Annual Autumn Bounty Festival on September 29^th!

Thank you for stopping by!

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

Comments Off on more autumn 2018 at terrain | garden, inspiration, style

autumn 2018 at terrain

September

I was kicking and screaming over the whole season change. Summer wasn’t going away easy for me…and then, I took a trip to Terrain. I should have known better. I should have saw it coming. One trip and I was sucked in – dreaming of all things pumpkin towers and fall colors!

I am sharing some of my favorite glimpses here…you will see what I am talking about!

Serious stem envy! I had to buy this little fella…I needed the stem for making velvet pumpkins!

I always feel sorry for those who don’t have a Terrain nearby to visit! There is no better way to kick off any of the seasons than a visit to Terrain!

Stop back on Friday and I will share some more…even a small glimpse is hard to contain to one post!

Thank you for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on autumn 2018 at terrain | garden, inspiration, style

new life for my fern container

September

I had a lovely little potted fern. It always put a smile on my face. I received it as a favor at a wedding shower and I always loved it. I even tucked a little bird inside of it!

So, I was really disappointed when my fern died – I had enjoyed it for years!

I decided not to put another living plant inside the cute little container the fern lived in, but I did want to reuse it. Since I’d been painting rocks recently, a rock painting came to mind right away!

For today’s Friday field trip, look at the quick and easy rock painting I made for my fern container! (I was inspired by the succulent Easter eggs I made last year! Click here to see them.)

A very simplistic design can bring satisfying results! I hope I have inspired you to paint some! If you want to keep your rocks outside, be sure to spray them with clear coat to protect against the elements!

Of course, if I was embracing the season, I would have painted some pumpkin rocks ;) !

Thanks for stopping by!

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

Comments Off on new life for my fern container | diy, garden

beat it fall!

September

I am not accepting fall gracefully this year! I didn’t have enough time to enjoy the summer and I am kind of bitter about the change of season!

I haven’t even begun to think about changing up my décor, though I did need to add a blanket to my bed last night. And, I must confess, we had a fire lit in the fireplace last night.

Still! I want to keep summer alive!

In an attempt to let summer go gracefully, I started combining the seasons…one way I’m accomplishing this is in the garden. Instead of pulling up the summer annuals and planting fall blooms, I have started combining the two!

Here is one example. In my cosmos/parsley container, I removed the wilted cosmos and let the parsley hang on for dear life while I added some mums. If we don’t get an early frost that kills the parsley, it will look great combined with the mums when they are in full bloom!

I am looking around for some additional ways to combine seasonal plants around my yard. How about you? Have you combined fall and summer plants in your garden? I would love to hear about your combinations!

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great week and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on beat it fall! | garden

↑ Back to top

pleasure in simple things

search

categories

recent posts

archives

my friends & favs

Tag: garden

water you waiting for?

roses for days

a visit to atlanta botanical garden

new read by terrain

autumn porch goals

saying goodbye to the garden

more autumn 2018 at terrain

autumn 2018 at terrain

new life for my fern container

beat it fall!