A Garden Tour Part 2

Now for the continuing saga of a Sweet Bee and her Worker Bee as they tour gardens around the county....

Today's episode:

Where Two Gardens Digress Dramatically!

Garden #2

 This garden is on what once a peach orchard.   The Victorian style home and gardens were started in 1980.

It's on 6 acres and HUGE!  I'm pretty sure they have some help, don't you?

Can you see the cute little teapot? 

I thought the little note was so charming.  Click on it to read about their beloved willow tree.

Now can't you just see Baby Bee delivering a sparkling lemonade out to me on that porch?

And foxgloves!

And foxglove overload!

And delphinium overload too!

 What is it about tall gangly flowers that appeal so much to me?  Delphiniums, foxgloves, hollyhocks.....maybe because they remind me of that tall gangly fellow I married 22 years ago.....(yeah, I'm stretching it a bit, but just go with it people, okay?)

Each of the stops on the garden tour had a water jug cozy!  Isn't that a cute idea?  They seemed to match the decor and style of each home and garden.

And this is their kitchen/herb garden.  One of the sons owns the most charming tea shop in Old Town Clovis and this is where he grows much of his herbs and veggies.

Garden #3

And now for something completely different!

 This garden is a huge deep pit!  Can you believe it?

The homeowners wanted to create a noise barrier for the traffic sounds

and apparently the guy working the excavator didn't get the memo that he was supposed to build rolling hills and instead just kept digging down and down and down........

This picture gives you a better idea of how steep the drop is. 

And looking back, it really has the look of our local mountains.

All this in the middle of the city!!! (a city of 500,000 mind you) 

I just couldn't resist a picture of these great chairs. (No, I didn't sit on them, but I was tempted!)  They were painted to match the deck that overlooks the pit.  

If you want to see Part 1 of our garden tour, please click here.

Come back soon if you want to see more of our tour (and I'll share my favorite garden then - I know, I know - I'm SUCH a tease)!

Thanks for buzzing by!

A Garden Tour Part 1

Worker Bee and I recently celebrated our 22nd anniversary and we decided to go on a garden tour for our "date!"

What a wonderful day we had.  The weather was wonderful - warm, with a cooling breeze.  Our lunch out was a wonderful treat - yummy food in a casual comfortable restaurant.  But I know why you're here - you want to see the gardens!

Stop #1

The Garden of the Sun

This garden is a demonstration garden.  There are orchards of fruit trees and vines, beds of vegetables, herbs, perennials, and small-space gardening demo beds.

 This is a gardener's dream!  

 Look at those foxgloves!  Those are one of my favorite flowers!  

(But wait until you see the next garden - it's foxglove overload!)

  I kept telling Worker Bee what a wonderful location it would be for a wedding reception. (Good thing we have a few years before Baby Bee is ready to tie the knot!)

 I just love herbs.  I've always had them and I just love stepping outside to get fresh herbs for something I'm cooking.  They always smell heavenly!  They had a plant sale at this garden and I was hoping I'd be able to find a bay cutting and I did!  We used to have a nice little bay tree but Worker Bee says he killed it.  (I think we both did by moving it, but if he'll take the blame, I can live with that.)

 One of my favorite gardens was the Children's Garden.

 Why look!  It's Hairy Potter!

 Cute little crayons all over this garden as garden accents.

 Right behind this fence is a parking lot for a KFC and a Carl's Jr. (Hardee's in other parts of the country) and you would never know it - so peaceful and pleasant.

 This was a tangram garden.

 This is a living sundial.  You stand on the month, put your hands directly over your head and it points to the time.  It pointed to 11 when I did it and it was exactly 10:59.  Pretty cool, hunh?

Thanks for coming with me on part 1 of the tour!  Much more to come!

Hope you can buzz back by like all those ginormous black bumble bees we saw!

Garden Blues

Oh, I've got the gardenin' blues!

Had to share a few blue pretties from my Picket Fence Cottage Garden and my Kitchen Garden!

We have a volunteer cornflower in the Kitchen Garden!  

It started growing in February.  I told Worker Bee I think that's a weed, but he suggested giving it a chance and I'm glad we did!  

Isn't it a beautiful blue?  Just one bloom so far, but there will be more to follow.

And off in the Picket Fence Cottage Garden (yes, I name my gardens) I've got one of my favorites - pincushion flower or scabiosa.  (Love when I can remember the botanical name of plants - doesn't happen very often.)  

I've had a bee in my bonnet lately to take small plates I pick up at thrift stores or estate sales and use them in my garden.  

Here's my first one - a sweet little blue and white plate I put in a pot of boxwood by the front door.

I tend to get bees in my bonnet a lot!  I painted many of my terra cotta pots with chalkboard paint a few summers ago and so I wrote a little note to you.  

(Yes, I agree - perhaps chalkboard art is not my greatest talent.)

Thanks for buzzing by!

   
Linking up to My Romantic Home
for
Show and Tell Friday!

And I'm linking to a party that's new to me but I love the concept....
Simple & Sweet Fridays
over at
Rooted in Thyme

Lucky at Thriftin' and Lucky in a Giveaway

Lucky Thriftin'!

Worker Bee and Baby Bee were gone to a dance showcase in Northern California this weekend so while the bees were away the Thriftin' Bee went out and played.

 Isn't it pretty?  I was charmed!

And I have to be honest - I didn't even now it was from Tiffany until today when I was taking some pictures. 

I haven't found a lot of information on this, but I think these were sold from 1998-2010 from the Tiffany's catalog.  

Now, should I keep it or try to sell it on ebay???

Baby Bee has decided that for her 12th birthday (which is in February 2013) that she wants a tea party. So I thought it wasn't too early to start finding teacups for favors for her guests.  Here's the first one!

 Looks like a wild rose to me.  What do you think?

Wish I could read the bottom.  Any ideas on who the manufacturer might be?

Also found another globe - but NOT vintage.  

As Worker Bee (the geography major) informed me - any globe that has Myanmar instead of Burma is at least from the 1990s.  (Plus Russia instead of USSR was also a giveaway.)

I'm thinking I might use THIS globe for crafting instead of the one I bought a few months ago.  

Lucky Giveaway Winner!

Have you met Heather from Vintage Grey?

Sweet vintage inspired blog!

She just recently opened an Etsy shop.  

To celebrate her new shop, she had a giveaway and I won! 

A sweet little fat quarter (yes, events seem to be conspiring to get me to sew this summer)

and

 one of her charmingly embellished tea towels.

 Look at that sweet crocheted edging!

Sweet little patchwork tag! 

More sweetness - look at that applique (Dresden plate?) on the edge of the towel!

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you - that's a lace hanging loop!

And last but not least - check out the fabric in my favorite color combo right now - aqua and red!

Thanks for buzzing by!

Your visits and comments are such a treat!