The Natural Garden

I love visiting Thuja Gardens, tucked away on a hillside on Mt. Desert Island! It has a wonderful combination of natural features and formal perennial gardens, all in full bloom during mid-August. Inside the lodge was my favorite botanical treasure: a 17th century book about forest trees!

Fooling around with the flowers

We've been inspired by all the pretty books I've been buying! Claudia pulled together some tulips, Queen Anne's lace and white loosestrife and made this cheery arrangement. The pitcher and the lipstick red vase are from Barbara Eigen.

Toothy Goodness

So many clever people around! Susan Hagner stopped by with these delicious tooth fairy pillows, and made me wish my kids were still believers! Lots of colors and patterns, with a tooth tucked in just in case you need operating instructions.

It may be winter, but we've got spring...

If you love the "simple" flowers, tulip time is a joyful one. I've been buying a mix of locally grown tulips and ones from Canada, and it's fun to put out these buckets 'o color. Though we're having a thaw, it's definitely not spring—but surrounding yourself with tulips, hyacinth, anemones, and ranunculus make spring seem so much the nearer.

At Your Fingertips-Garden Resources

Tappity tap...looking on line for gardening resources can be daunting since there are so many! If you garden in the Northeast, you should have the UMass Extension website in your favorites folder. They've got information on gardening, lawn care, pests and pest prevention. You can also send in soil samples from your yard or garden to check for PH, lead and nutrient levels. Super easy and helpful when you're planning a veggie garden and want to be sure the soil is safe.