Saturday at a Special Garden......

Yesterday and today, Fordhook Farm
home of W. Atlee Burpee, scion of the famous Burpee Seed Company, celebrated ‘Fordhook in Bloom” and was open to the public. The property, 60 acres dating from the 1700s, is vastly beautiful and includes a large farmhouse, a huge antique seed barn, spring houses, greenhouses, a cook's garden, test gardens, a pond, vegetable and kitchen gardens, just about everything a garden-lover could want. There were garden tours and plant sales, and hot dogs, hamburgers and cold beverages, served at tables decorated with beautiful bouquets of flowers, under the shade of a huge white tent. The heat and humidity didn’t seem to keep the plantaholics away. For sure, it didn’t deter us.

This wonderful place, (which is right around the corner from my office), is open to the public only a few times a year. The main farmhouse, The Inn at Fordhook Farm, was in the past a Bed and Breakfast, but now is only used by the family for out-of-town guests. We were tickled when we found it open to the public today. Rumor has it the inn is haunted by the ghost of a Hessian soldier, but we saw no signs of him.

Our trip to Fordhook Farm was a refreshing way to spend a hot, muggy, sunny Saturday morning in August.

Enjoy the photos!

THE Lord God planted a garden
In the first white days of the world,

And He set there an angel warden
In a garment of light enfurled.


So near to the peace of Heaven,
That the hawk might nest with the wren,


For there in the cool of the even
God walked with the first of men.


And I dream that these garden-closes
With their shade
and their sun-flecked sod
And their lilies and bowers of roses,
Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,--

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

For He broke it for us in a garden

Under the olive-trees

Where the angel of strength was the warden

And the soul of the world found ease.

~~~~Dorothy Frances Gurney

Over the path and through the woods, on a lunch hour walk I'll go......

Lately I'm trying to get a little exercise on my lunch hour instead of sitting down for another hour just eating. I found the perfect place to to walk and take pictures of flowers and birds..a meandering pathway created as a bike path, which winds past meadows and along the edge of woods, runs alongside a creek for a bit, and out again into a residential neighborhood. It's about a mile and 1/4 long, and I never have time to walk all the way to the end and still get back to my desk without being late.

I discovered there are marshy areas with bluebird houses, and park benches along the way. Last week I discovered yellow wood violets and bluebells, flowers I've never seen up close and personal before, but I didn't have my camera to photograph them. I headed back there this week with my trowel in hand and was able to get the last of the bluebells and violets still blooming. At that point, my battery died~(sigh).

Here are some pictures of the path, which I think is pretty, and what treasures awaited me. Amazingly, few other people seem to use this path, at least it seems that way when I'm there at lunchtime.

~God of tiny tender things
a Valentine
a bird that sings
God of Bramble bush
and thorn
God of tree limb unadorned
Paint the barren, gray and drear
Then leave a promise
ever near...~

(thanks JJ...xoxo)

Wildflowers............

We are the roadside flowers,
Straying from garden grounds,--
Lovers of idle hours,
Breakers of ordered bounds.



If only the earth will feed us,
If only the wind be kind,
We blossom for those who need us,
The stragglers left behind.



And lo, the Lord of the Garden,
He makes his sun to rise,
And his rain to fall with pardon
On our dusty paradise.



On us he has laid the duty,--
The task of the wandering breed,--
To better the world with beauty,
Wherever the way may lead.



Who shall inquire of the season,
Or question the wind where it blows?
We blossom and ask no reason.
The Lord of the Garden knows.




Bliss W. Carman - 1869 - 1921

A Soft Landing.........

Sometimes a body just has to get away. This week, I gratefully had a chance to head down to the Gulf Coast of Florida to our little get-away. The nice part is that it's right on the water overlooking Sarasota Bay.

Hubby had a business trip in Atlanta...and I had 3-1/2 glorious days of solitude to look forward to. What a gift!

I settled in right away, went to the store and bought food and flowers for the week.



The view from the lanai overlooking the water where I made myself some breakfast.






Then I played with my new camera and took some pictures of the birds on the water.








Later, I took a walk outside and spotted a duck couple....







along with this little guy....



and this creature who was very still....



The path I walked is like a tropical jungle.....



I stopped to smell some flowers.....















Couldn't resist this pretty jasmine vine dripping down along the entry way.



Or this lion standing guard over the impatiens...



A view of the lanai, where I spent most of my time contemplating life....



I'd love to be able to stay here forever...........


"I washed away the weeds and foam and took my seaborne treasures home."