Thursday, May 27, 2010

Fresh Art Spring Tour

It was the spring art tour in Wisconsin along the Mississippi River a couple of weekends ago. As I've said before the small towns and bluff country here are some of our favorite places to go. Private studios and galleries open their doors to the public and show everything from pottery to glass, paintings, and fiber arts.
Of course, on of the first places we stopped was the Stockholm Garden Center. They sell perennnials,annuals, and shrubs. I found my Coral Charm peony here so grabbed that right away! Also picked up a red variety peony, a scarlet flowering geum, and a clematis. My next purchase will include some of these icelandic poppies for my cutting garden strip. I love the orange!
I also may include some oriental poppies if I think I can keep them under control.
I don't think you can beat orange and purple as a combination.
This is the icelandic poppies with some euphorbia.
The alliums were really banging it out! These look great with anything silvery gray.
I love the idea of these bird forms that were outside one of the shops. Filled with soil and moss
and then planted with sempervivums they will be so pretty when they fill in. I personally think they need a few more plants though.
This shop (Palate) has a wonderful collection of gourmet items and kitchen goods.
And this is the gallery (Abode) and the Stockholm Pie Shop. We plan to work our way through all the pies!
This building use to be an antique store and has just recently opened as a B&B.
This little shop next to the gallery specializes in Wisconsin made cheeses, preserves, wine, and beer. Their spicy tomato currant jam is fantastic!
One town further south, the town of Pepin, is where you find this gallery. Saw some beautiful hooked rugs done by a local author/ fiber artist, Mary Logue.
And now for my one and only purchase of the day- a pottery wren house from Stockholm Pottery. Looks great in one of my gardens and will remind me of such a great day!

Friday, May 14, 2010

garden

Our beautiful, warm weather took a turn this last week or so. Much cooler and rainy, but this might have helped the lilacs last longer. My 3 favorite flowers in the yard are lilacs,lilies of the valley, and peonies. Two of the three are blooming now.
The little saucer behind the flowers is the only plate I have seen with lilies of the valley on it and unfortunately I didn't find the matching cup.
The gardens are beginning to pop. I have a shady backyard so there are plenty of hostas and ferns. The yellow green of this variety is one of the best.
While weeding we opened up lots of spots to add new plants- more in the yellow green and also some deep purples- heucheras and ligularias and maybe some astilbes. The sunny area of the yard is now home to the fruit garden- raspberries, blueberries, purple raspberries, and rhubarb. We picked up our strawberries and tomatoes today and will get the cucumbers and peppers on Sunday.
I think the worst of the cool temps are over and it should be safe to get the annuals next week. I have several pots to fill and would like to add a small cutting flower area. I'll add more photos later!