Thursday, June 10, 2010

you'll find me in the garden...

pansies waiting to be planted in my garden...


its true. if the sun is out, i am out in my little patch of green happiness. planting...pruning...seeding...rearranging. i quite literally look for reasons to keep myself busy out there poking in the dirt.

an early pic of our house in the city, built 1905.

its an obsession that began when we purchased our first and current home here in the city. we are fortunate enough to be in a fantastic historical district near buffalo's hub. its got all the luxury of neighborhood living within minutes of downtown. i love my old home, but its definitely a work in progress. and admittedly, i have a lot planned for the green space around my house. we've tackled some of the major hardscaping projects already, like ripping out a rotting old deck and brick courtyard in the backyard as well as rebuilding the stone wall around the front yard's bed.

each year i add more and more, grooming and restoring our little abode to its former 1905 glory. i dream of brunches in the warm sunshine of my terrace, surrounded by a lush cottage garden full of mystery and charm...of candlelit dinners amongst the fireflies and fragrant peonies. there are moments, at the end of a day spent toiling amongst the blooms, where i will pause and look out at my little patch of life, and i see that mon petit jardin is creeping closer and closer to my flower-filled fantasies.

a nearby neighborhood home, part of the buffalo ny garden walk.

but if you really want to know, my ultimate goal is to have my home garden be included in our city's annual Garden Walk event. occurring each year at the end of july, just when all the area gardens are at their vegetative peak, hundreds and hundreds of homes around the city and surrounding areas open their gardens for people to wander through and admire. i try to catch a new neighborhood or area each year, taking photos and gathering ideas for my own greenspace. its astounding what some people can do with a small space, a few plants, and some sweat! believe me, buffalo is not 10 straight months of snow and cold. though the winds may blow and the snow may fall (really only a few inches each season), i assure you that our harsh and oft publicized wicked winters melt away into some of the most beautiful spring and summer weather in the country.

a charming entry to another secret garden on the Garden Walk.


so if you've been stopping by only to find the 'be back in 10 min' sign still hanging on the door, i kindly apologize, but i've been enjoying the lure of my garden and the beauty of our unusually early summer weather. and i certainly hope you all have been cultivating your own bit of green in your own neck of the woods. oh, i still have work to do in the shop...gobs of custom birthday orders and a new halloween line in the works. it just has to wait for a rainy day...

happy summer!