If the Garden Bloggers' Fling in Austin, Texas was a movie, it would win an Oscar for best picture. The "production company" of local Austin bloggers put together a script that included events and gardens that kept us entertained and delighted from Thursday evening all the way until Sunday evening. Under their direction, we drove around the city in comfortable, air-conditioned buses with two of the best bus drivers you could ask for checking out gardens of all shapes and sizes. Like any great … [Read more...] about If the Garden Bloggers’ Fling was a Movie…
travel
When a gardener goes to the Outer Banks
When a gardener goes to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, She chooses a route that will take her through Charlotte, North Carolina. In Charlotte, she fulfils a long-time dream to see the gardens of Elizabeth Lawrence. It's just down the street from Wing Haven, so she of course checks those gardens out, too. Finally, she makes it to the Outer Banks and the first thing she does is go back across the bridge to check out the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo, North Carolina. There she finds that … [Read more...] about When a gardener goes to the Outer Banks
Wildflower Wednesday: Wing Haven
I really don't think I can do an adequate job of describing Wing Haven, the nearly three acre garden of Edwin and Elizabeth Clarkson, who lived down the street from Elizabeth Lawrence in Charlotte, North Carolina. For me, Wing Haven started out as the place to go to pay the entry fee to visit Elizabeth Lawrence's garden. When we had finished visiting Elizabeth Lawrence's garden, if one can really "finish" soaking in the atmosphere of the garden and examining all the plants … [Read more...] about Wildflower Wednesday: Wing Haven
The safest place for a plant during a drought
The safest place for a plant during a drought is in a container in a slightly sheltered location that keeps it out of the hot sun. Ideally the location should also be near an outdoor faucet which has a hose hooked up to it so that the gardener can water the plant the minute it looks like it might need a little drink. In my garden, there are three plants in containers that occupy such a location. I check them daily but I try not to fuss over them. I know you can kill a plant with … [Read more...] about The safest place for a plant during a drought
A pleasaunce
I must tell you that Elizabeth Lawrence's study contains some rather large rabbit holes. A few evenings ago, I fell into one and came up with a brand new word -- pleasaunce. Let me start at the beginning. When I came home from my vacation and looked at my photos of Elizabeth Lawrence's study, I didn't feel I had done it justice, or that I had asked enough questions. For example, the wall containing the door into the study is lined with built in bookshelves. I took pictures of … [Read more...] about A pleasaunce
Elizabeth Lawrence’s Study
What fun it was to go inside the house of Elizabeth Lawrence after touring the gardens. I wanted most to see her study, which features a large window that looks out over the garden. When we entered the study, I could see that Andrea, the Wing Haven staff member who works in Lawrence's garden, sets up the vases to display samples of what's blooming in the garden, just as Lawrence was known to do. That's fitting because Lawrence's study is under a conservation easement, so it can't be … [Read more...] about Elizabeth Lawrence’s Study