This is not my garden.
Saturday evening, my parents, my brother and sister, and our spouses met at a Japanese restaurant to celebrate my father's 79th birthday. I am thankful every day to have both of my parents, and to have my siblings close by. We are a close-knit bunch, and we always have WAY too much fun when we get together.
I would have loved to sleep in a bit on Sunday morning, but that never happens for me ... the dogs must keep to their schedule and all of the four-legged critters get their breakfast on time, no matter what day it is. Even after doing this, there was no time to sit back and recharge. My husband and I loaded up the dogs and hit the road to Maryland, to spend the day touring gardens with the Four Seasons Garden Club. The weather was cool and sunny, and the day was perfect!
Four gardens (all very different from one another), one delicious Mexican lunch (while the dogs waited patiently in the car in their crates in the shade), 250+ miles round trip, twelve hours ... all spent in the company of some of my favorite friends, and with some folks that quickly became new friends.
As we unloaded the dogs at our second stop, a woman approached and said, "Is this Winnie? You must be Connie." (we all laughed) Can't be anonymous when one is toting around a tiny blog-rock-star Chihuahua, I guess.
These photos are from the third garden we visited. The rose is 'Tausendschoen' (Thousand Beauties) ... I think this particular specimen is more like MILLION Beauties. It's a perfect pairing of location and plant choice. (This once-flowering rambler is relatively thornless, so placing it in this spot on the gazebo isn't a hazard for garden guests.)
I came away from the day, as I always do, with inspiration spinning through my head ... so many wonderful new ideas to use as I continue to work to whip these gardens of mine into shape.