Fairy

Puget Sound Gardeners Fling – People, Plants, and More

Last month 100 garden social media influencers met in Puget Sound WA to tour gardens, share meals, and make new friends.  This was the 15th such annual gathering, called the Gardeners Fling.  We meet in a different city each year (except for 2 Covid-fraught summers) and the host city gardeners plan a 4-5 day outstanding garden experience.

Our time in Puget Sound was magical.  Each garden, private and public, wowed in so many different ways.

I’ll start my virtual tour with the garden of one of our hosts, Camille Paulsen, @tahomaflora .

She has crafted her space to frame and enhance the many gorgeous views of Mount Tahoma, also known as Mount Rainier.   The mountain enjoys almost mystical status around Seattle and Tacoma.  The days start with an assessment about the visibility of the mountain and end on the same note.  How fortunate her family is to have this National Geographic-worthy sight from their deck, their paths, their hills, and so many other vantage points.

We were there on a clear day, and the mountain was glorious.

This little secret seating area on the edge of the hillside had a special view, too.

I can imagine sneaking away to to escape here.

Several paths wind through the property, all of them welcoming and interesting.  And many of them with an eye to the view.

On the back deck, a bit of whimsy highlights the distance of treks to similar mountain hot spots.

The light was striking as it poured in between the leaves of a collection of Japanese maples and other wispy trees.

Camille’s artistic flair extends beyond the curating of plants to include an interesting assortment of art in the garden.  Various carefully crafted vignettes were tucked throughout.

Sharing the adventure with so many long-time and new gardeners was as fun as discovering the garden itself.

So many unique details caught my eye.

Sweet spaces scattered everywhere.

 

 

 

The pool area was a lovely gathering spot filled with interesting pots and plants.

Tucked down the hill in the forest, koi languished in a beautiful pond, suprised by all their guests.

Enjoying some pats, Camille’s cat seemed unfazed by all the garden gawkers.

Thanks, Camille, for a great tour of your lovingly created garden.

Another post to come soon highlighting other beautiful sights from the 2024 Puget Sound Gardeners Fling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farms and Fairs


We’re having a big time at the farm in Indiana. We enjoyed an outing yesterday to the little county Fair where sweetie girl got to ride on the Moon Jump and to ride on a pony.

We also ate some delicious sweet corn and some (not so delicious) chili cheese fries (which I knew was a mistake when I ordered them).

Today we’re having a quite day on the farm, feeding horses and watering plants.

I love that everything is green here – they are wondering where the heck summer is.

I know.

It’s STUCK in Texas!


This was my favorite exotic chicken at the fair. I really like them — when they are someone else’s!

And then below, sweetie pie is checking out the goats with her uncle.

By |2016-04-14T02:44:32-05:00July 19th, 2009|Blog, Fairy, Indiana, Kallie, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

The sweet smell of Spring…

…is about to be in the air here in Austin.


My Mountain laurels are plump with buds and a few, ever-so-slightly open blooms.

It seems early, so I checked my blog from last year, and in fact, my post about the beautiful Mountain Laurel blooms in 2008 was dated February 28th, so I guess they are not so early, after all.  (Nice to be able to look back, isn’t it?)

And I am ready. I saw one in our part of town that is a good 15+ feet tall and already full of blooms — it’s stunning. I can’t wait to walk along my driveway and smell all 5 of mine at once.

Just a shot to show you Ms. Phoebe Hellebore’s sister bud who will be joining us soon. Even the buds are delicate.

And the misty weather yesterday has made the Japanese quince really pop today, with even more pretty blooms.
And the garden Fairies were recently hard at work, adding a nicely-lined walkway up to the Fairy House.
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