Wednesday, November 3, 2010

in the garden ...

In my garden there is a large place for sentiment.  My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams.  The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.  ~Abram L. Urban




I love this clematis ...
My own gardens were quite neglected this year ... everything grew ... everything was watered & fed, but nothing new was planted ...   my little patch of garden in the front is in the full sun, but it is really just a strip of perennials ... which i plan to change up next year ... and my little bit of garden in the back is full shade ... again, perennials ... shade grass, ferns, hostas, a giant helabore, and in the one corner that gets a bit of sun, a rhubarb plant.  The rhubarb plant has been in the family now for 4 generations ... starting with the MacKenzie's in Victoria ... with cuttings given to children as they married and moved into homes of their own ...  It's kind of cool to have a cutting of a cutting of a cutting of a cutting ... I wonder how many other family members still have a cutting of this plant  ... i'm guessing not many.


my helabore ... so hard to get a good photo as the flowers face downward 

I love to visit gardens ... be they tiny, large or completely accidental!

I found this teeny tiny accidental garden growing in the cracks in the pavement on the side of the road


Mona Lisa is high above the city ... at the top of the Queen Elizabeth Park Gardens.  These gardens are gorgeous and were once a basalt quarry .... The Blodel Floral Conservatory sits atop of the park.

Mona Lisa hiding in a silver palm inside the conservatory ...


pretty flowers ...



more pretty flowers ...

And here is a small garden ... this one is in Steveston, BC which is a small historic fishing village ...

Mona Lisa Mae found a little friend to play with in the garden

and I love this blue chair that was just sitting at the edge of the garden ... totally random and cool!
Okay my patient peeps ... nuff about the Garden stuff ... this post has been brought to you by the letter G and the wonderful Jenny Matlock and her abfab Alphabe-Thursday meme.  make sure you check it out to see what the other participants wrote about.

Peace, Love & Paper
~Jo

30 comments:

Izzy said...

beautiful photos! I love gardens too... just wish I lived in a place where I could have a garden, alas, I have to make do with our courtyard here in the concrete city.

Lola said...

Hi again!

Gorgeous captures! I love gardens too! Great 'G' post.

XOXO Lola:)

Mary said...

Love the tradition of the rhubarb plant in the family for 4 generations, with cuttings given away as children married!

Jackie said...

nice gardens! Someone must have been contemplating sitting on that chair . I am not as fortunate to have a garden , besides that anything I grow inside lands up dying or something :(

Sue McPeak said...

There you are dangling MonaLisa and all those pretty Garden shots in front of us. Now, we'll all want to see more Garden shots...or better yet...the actualy Gardens! Very nice and interesting Letter G Post!

EG CameraGirl said...

Your gardens are wonderful even if you didn't purchase any new plants this year. :)

Unknown said...

Mona Lisa gets to go on the best field trips. The garden are wonderful.

genie said...

Mona Lisa Mae is one traveling little monkey...she is so cute. Your clematis shot is beautiful and one I have never seen before.This is a lovely post for the letter G.

Teresa said...

I love your gardens. I admit mine were very neglected this year--way too much rain and mud to get out there, so next year will be a reclaiming year. Nice G post!

Tracy said...

what a colourful garden I just blogged yesterdays photos autumnal and BROWN

Gattina said...

I love my garden too. I made it very easy now. Grass in the middle and bushes around, just 3 flower pots on the terrace and along the entrance. Looks nice and doesn't request a lot of work. I don't get younger either, lol !

Kerri said...

awesome photos, so inspirational. have to ask...could i geta idea from where u got mona lisa from ? she's uber cute & as much as i can't sew to save me..google only laughs at my attempts for templates LOL, great blog & keep up the great work;)

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

The garden shots are delightful. Mona Lisa Mae is toooooooooo cute and she's smart....she knows the garden is a hip and happening place!

Viki said...

Loved all the flowers. Mona Lisa Mae is going to have to get some winter duds if she's going to keep going outside soon LOL.

Susan Anderson said...

Okay, cool. Tell me about the rhubarb. Where do you live, and how does it grow there?

My mom's favorite pie is rhubarb, but she can never find it in the stores any more. So she wants to try and grow some.

She lives in the desert...near Palm Springs, CA. Do you think it will work?

Thanks! Great post.

=)

Jenny said...

I love plants that have been in families for a long time! And the quote at the beginning of your post was wonderful...not one I had heard before.

Thanks for letting us tag along with you and ML as you wandered through these lovely settings and shared the spectacular photos of lovely and beloved places and plants!

This was a GGGGGreat link to Alphabe-Thursday!

Thank you!

A+

Judie said...

Mona Lisa Mae fits right in! She looks quite at home in the garden!!!

Lois aka katesmum said...

Jo... your blog is so unique and I love it so much I featured you on the Sisterhood of Scraps Weekly Post so you will probably have lots of new visitors!! xox

Cheryl said...

I could have kept on looking at more pictures. Was kinda bummed when this ended. Mona Lisa. That one? She's a real monkey isn't she?

I have an indoor Christmas cactus that started out in my great-grandmother's home, moved in with my grandmother, clippings were passed around. That generation killed theirs. I've had mine for 30 years? Done clippings and plantings for siblings. No one seems able to keep it alive. NEGLECT. Supersecret weapon for cacti.

laterg8r said...

love mona lisa at the top of the city :D

killed me that your bro destroyed your other bro's billy blastoff LOL :D

Terra said...

I loved seeing your garden and of course Mona Lisa too!!!

Pondside said...

Sometimes accidental gardens are really the best of all!

H said...

I love the way that the rhubarb has been passed on from generation to generation through the family!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Wonderful garden photos & perfect for the letter G!

My Mom has horseradish roots growing in her garden that she took from my grandmother's garden decades ago!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Wonderful garden photos & perfect for the letter G!

My Mom has horseradish roots growing in her garden that she took from my grandmother's garden decades ago!

flower delivery in philippines said...

Well, I can really say that your garden is so wonderful. Can you share some tips for a healthy garden? Anyway, thanks for sharing this post. Keep posting.

-yumi-

Tina said...

i love how you say accidential garden. great way at looking at those plants in a different way.

paige said...

Nice pictures - I like the first one the best.

Unknown said...

I love gardens! even random growing in the cracks, gardens!

Kathy said...

You and Mona Lisa Mae crack me up!! What a lucky monkey to have you! I just loveeeeee that photo with the blue chair! What a find!