Garden Dreams

As is common for Ohio, our weather jumped from the 50s on Saturday to 81 today! My mind has turned to gardening after visiting our local nursery today. As I entered, the warm, earthy smell conjured up images of digging and planting, pruning and deadheading.  I live in a townhouse, with just a small area out front to plant, but I have a large patio, so I hope to do some container gardening this year. Here's part of what I saw today - seeing this makes me happy!

The beautiful Iris - one of my old-fashioned favorites. What are some of your favorite flowers?

And now, I had to share this fabulous cake with you that I found on the facebook page of Farmers Pal, which can be found HERE. My sister is going to try to make it (she's the cook in the family!) I'll post pictures when she does.

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Until next time,
Cindy

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

         What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants

Kingwood Center ~

Kingwood Center is a 47-acre public garden/estate located in Mansfield, Ohio. At one time, it was a private residence. My sister and I have been planning a visit since spring (when it's most well-known for its' lavish display of tulips and other spring blooms.) So, finally this past week we went...it was overcast and rainy, but it didn't dampen our fun at all. In fact, it was nice seeing it for the first time in the "off season," because there were no crowds.  I can't believe I've lived in Ohio for years and had never seen this gem!

The lane leading into Kingwood Center

Built in 1926 by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kelley King, Kingwood Center was opened to the public in 1953. Mr. and Mrs. King never had children, and most of their estate was left to the private foundation that continues to operate Kingwood Center today. Mr. King made his fortune working with the Ohio Brass Company.

The gardens at Kingwood Center include a spectacular spring display of tulips, crocus, daffodils, redbuds, dogwoods and magnolias. In summer, this transitions into annuals, peonies, iris, daylilies, herbs, roses, a shady woodland garden and much, much more. They also have a greenhouse of tropical flowers and  succulents. This time of year, there weren't many flowers in bloom, of course, but the autumn colors were gorgeous! There's also an array of winding paths and curving stairways, stone walls the enclose hidden gardens, statuary, ponds and fountains, and benches to sit and relax.

Just a few of the statues in the various gardens at the estate.

A view of the back of the mansion from one of the gardens.

Until next time, I hope you've enjoyed this tour of Kingwood Center! To visit their website, click HERE.

Cindy

Garden Art ~

"The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth. One is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere else on Earth." Dorothy Frances Gurney

Mosaic Garden Urn 
Art and Photograph by Sharon L. Plummer
Plum Art Mosaics
Houston, Texas

"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." Thomas Jefferson

"If ever a mortal heard the voice of God, it would be in a garden at the cool of the day." F. Frankfort Moore

"I know a place where roses bloom, and the air is fragrant with flowers perfume." Ruth H. Smiley

"Some people like to make a little garden out of life." Jean Anouilh

"Are not flowers the stars of the Earth? And are not our stars the flowers of Heaven?" Clara L. Balfour

"Flowers have a mysterious and subtle influence upon our feelings, not unlike some strains of music." Henry Ward Beecher

Mom's Petunias

When I was in the fourth grade, my parents bought their very first home. We lived in a small Midwestern town and the house was a modest, 3-bedroom ranch-style in a new subdivision. It had shiny hardwood floors, a full basement, small backyard and wooden window boxes. What I remember most about our house on Dudley Street are those window boxes, overflowing with brightly-colored petunias. Every summer, Mom planted and tended the window boxes, as lovingly and efficiently as she did all the other household chores. Always planted with petunias - some years they were multi-colored, other years a theme of red & white, or hot pink and the deep purple ones that felt like velvet to the touch. The window boxes were her pride and joy. Many years later, I remember Mom saying, “our flowers were the best on the block!” Container gardening is an art form and my Mom was an artist - although she didn’t see herself in that light.

People often forego the pleasures of gardening because they think they don't have the room. But, container gardening is an easy and efficient way to enjoy many of the benefits of traditional gardening. Anyone can do it - regardless of where you live. Containers can be traditional - like my Mom’s window boxes, ornate stone urns or clay pots.  Or use your imagination - a basket, old teapot or wheelbarrow can be turned into a fun and whimsical plant cantainer. I once planted flowers in one of my nephew’s old, size-14 tennis shoes! The main thing to remember is that all containers must have good drainage, with at least one drainage hole. Let your pots make a statement - a cast iron urn says "formal" while a wooden barrel says "rustic." Remember - pots and window boxes tend to dry out very quickly, so water, water, water - early morning and evening are the best times. Experiment and have fun, and just like Mom, you’ll soon have “the best flowers on the block!”

"...I must have flowers, always, always." Claude Monet ~

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it,
it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to
someone else." Georgia O'Keeffe

"I'm not really a career person. I'm a gardener, basically."-- George Harrison

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."-- Abraham Lincoln

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers."-- Claude Monet

"Earth laughs in flower."-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 "One who plants a garden, plants happiness."

"There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence."--Ralph Waldo Emerson