Nature Quotes

Yes, nature untouched is beautiful, but it can be just as beautiful when touched by human hands in a lovely way.

Image from Design Squish

Strawberries and Eggs

Our neighbors have allowed us to collect their chicken eggs and pick their strawberries this week...and you know, it's been really empowering.

Image courtesy of Jenna Ebert Photography

There is something really special about making morning smoothies with fresh fruit and opening a small chicken coop door to find a collection of beautiful eggs.

I'm not sure if I'll run out and buy the chicks, but I definitely want to start my own berry patch now.  The next big trick is talking my husband into letting me have part of the vegetable garden...permanently.

Garden Shifts

It's always enchanting, yet also somber, when the garden shifts from one bloom to the next.  Our amazing iris are sadly closing their petals, while the bright and happy peonies are currently in full effect.

Photo courtesy of gallery32

I sit here typing while taking in the sweet smells of cut peony blooms on my kitchen table, knowing soon enough these cut flowers will shift to new ones in only a few days.

Photo courtesy of Hilary Upton Photography

A Wonderful Stroke of Luck

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dali lama)

A friend sent this quote to me today and I realized it sums up my life perfectly over the past few months. Back in January I had to make a shift from one position to another. I wasn't sure about it at first, but now am more than elated. My new position is teaching full-time and I'm thrilled to wake up every morning. How fortunate to share my love of gardens and design with eager students.  Can this be true?

Image source unknown...do you know where it originated?

My First Spring Arrangement

I can finally bring cut flowers in from the garden again.  Our Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) are popping with color and just begging me to grace our dining room table with their fabulous blooms.



I found my favorite mini-bottles and tucked three stems into each one.  These little glass cuties were purchased at a university surplus store.  They were probably once part of a science experiment, but now fill a special place in my diverse vase collection.

My Favorite Spring Flowers

Though it is sleeting like crazy outside today I am still envisioning perfect flowers emerging from that wet soil.

My all-time favorite is the tulip.  There is something so perfect and seemingly beyond reach about this flower. As a child I rarely saw them and when I did it was amazing.  Even today it is a special occasion to see them bloom and grace my dining room table.

Limit seems to make you appreciate something even more.
How much do we appreciate the dandelion?


Image courtesy of Judy Stalus Photographs

I like daffodils for another reason.  They don't seem as limited as the tulip.  Spring is often graced with thousands of these sprinkled across gardens.  Daffodils were cheerily blooming the week my dad passed away.  It was a sad time, but each year they continue to pop up in April to remind me of how cheery and kind he was to us.


Image courtesy of Judy Stalus Photographs

Flowers and Storms

I was looking out my cloudy window today and thinking about how happy I am that spring is here.  I found this fun photograph by Erin Tyner that perfectly illustrates my idea of this fresh season...flowers and storms.  Both powerful and dynamic.


Photo courtesy of Erin Tyner Photography