Happy Rebirthday, America!

Best Fourth in a long, long time. Congratulations, Americans!

 

Upward and Onward!

So, after fifteen plus years of teaching and volunteering at Longwood Gardens, the Flower Lady was banned because she didn't take the jab during the Late Great Hysteria. But, with pluck and perseverance, the Flower Lady has come back stronger than ever in venues new and old, teaching more classes and reaching more people than ever. As we all knew she would. And I am very proud of her!

All references to Longwood Gardens, also known here as "The World's Foremost Display Gardens," are being removed from this site. This is by the decision of the blog owner, me.

Loaded up, ready for action!

August!

 

For several years now we've featured a picture of our kitchen sink shelf every August. And it's August! The Flower Lady made a "flower" out of yellow gingko leaves, there on the right.

Here's a shot of The Flower Lady setting up a demo outdoors at a country club, first live one in a long while, back in June. The theme was "A Fourth of July Party."

Ornithography

See it?

 Finally got a picture of a hummingbird with my cell phone.

 

From Our House to Yours

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Flower Lady did a Garden Club demo in September and here's the lineup of some of the arrangements she created. A good time was had by all! 

Back in May, the FL led a class in making a "fresh-to-dry" wreath. Here it was in June:

 And here we have November:

And, in case you were wondering where I've been, I've been clearing this from the backyard with my trusty axe and bowsaw, thanks for asking.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

You Heard It Here First

Mysterious smiley face appears on man's wood pile.

Hoppy Easter!

Spring wreath:

Spring wreath with friend:

Lazy Sunday

The Flower Lady is downstairs getting ready for a very busy week, so I will take a highly random walk

 down Blog Street.

Getting ready for Easter. The FL found some nice silks for church decorating.

That's a big leaf.

It's been a yo-yo of a winter. A few days of cold followed by warm rainy weather. But as usual I am looking forward to summer. We went down to Cape May in the fall and had some really nice sunny days. People sitting out on the beach in October.

Actually, we arrived as a hurricane was just departing; in fact, we had expected to be hunkered in for a day or two. We were relieved Cape May's "Painted Ladies" survived another storm, though as you can see high tide came up pretty far.

We lost a beech tree in our back yard. What do think, 100 years old? 150?

They had to reseed the lawn after driving a Bobcat up and down it for three days. I told them whatever they did to the lawn would be an improvement. It came up real nice.

I augmented the wood pile. We'll have some nice beech wood fires next year.

Outdoor furniture with a rustic touch.

Well, we have to end with a flower arrangement, right? This is from a floral master class the Flower Lady helped out with. You know, when those floral arteests come flouncing in and give their demos, they need a lot of help in creating complicated designs like these. All for your enjoyment!

Almost Spring!

 Almost spring! Yes, it's time to wash the floral marbles:

Before and after:

Beautiful!

And outside:

I'm going out to clean the pasture spring;

I'll only stop to rake the leaves away

(And wait to watch the water clear, I may);

I shan't be gone long.--You come too.

--Robert Frost

In orbit around a mysterious planet, we cautiously begin our descent.

The terrain looks more and more rugged as we hurtle to the surface!

Seconds to impact!

We discover the surface is littered with...cookies!

The Flower Lady is baking cookies! It must be snowing.

I''ll have to get the cows in.

Landis Valley Farm Museum, Lancaster, PA

Not really. I'm not going out there. Never shovel snow unless the sun is out. Enjoy the view from inside!

Waiting for Santa

Christmas Eve, 2015 -- Waiting for Santa.

Waiting for winter is more like it! Supposed to hit 75 today! 

Happy tropical Christmas, with bromeliad!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! We went straight through from the Fourth of July to Thanksgiving without a blog post! I may have been slacking off, but the Flower Lady has been busier than ever. Recently, she did a big demo in a fancy venue:

Some arrangements from the big show (while under construction, to be finished onstage):

Enjoy your turkey or soy alternative! Next time: stuff from the last six months!

Happy Fourth on the Fifth!

Enjoy the Fourth...

...with floral fireworks!

The Catbirds Are Back!

The catbirds are back, and singing sweetly in the yews. Don't be enchanted by their melodies. If robins are your loud and excitable neighbors, and blue jays a motorcycle gang blowing through town, and crows the dark overlords of mischief, then catbirds are con men and thieves. They sing sweetly, then steal your blueberries. They're eyeing my bushes already, licking their beaks and planning their raids. I know what they're up to.

Who, me?

Smile!

Nice picture from my brother-in-law in Ohio. Smile, it's Spring!

Now, there's a sight to cheer a man's heart after a long winter! My sister, who lives in Florida, asked me just two weeks ago whether we processed outside for Palm Sunday. Of course not, I told her, it was 22 degrees out! And now this-- everything seems to be blooming all at once, beautifully.

Easter Greetings

To Spring and New Life-- Happy Easter!

Spring?

That was one...COLD...February. And March has been no great shakes, either. No spring peepers, no daffodils, just a yard full of snowbirds. Never fear, the Flower Lady is working away, bringing you creations like these:

Black-and-white, by special request.

Someday...Spring!