Wordless Wednesday: Street Gutter Irises in Portland

Garden for Sale or How to Grow On

I returned home the other night from a 6-mile walk to find Maurice waiting for me on the porch. I've been avoiding him—living my busier and healthier life—and I've been trying really hard not to think about what I am going to have to do soon.

Since my health is of the utmost importance, I've decided it's best to sell the house during the divorce process. This means that my garden will go too. When I first moved in, I always used to joke that the house just happened to be in my garden. I wish I could separate the two, but that's not possible. The garden will go with me in other ways. 

So now begins the difficult process of choosing what I cannot leave behind and it is so odd to pick what seem like favorites—but they really aren't. It feels more like I am picking the plants that define my garden style, and I'm finding that quite interesting. Many of the plants I want to take with me in containers are not at all the showiest things. But maybe that's because as a seed hoarder, I know the potential of little tiny seeds and something tells me that if I work hard enough I will have a larger blank canvas waiting for me in my future. 

So let me know, what plant would you take with you and why? I am actually really curious, and to be honest, it would be nice to hear from others right now...

Damask rose. I will be taking one of these with me.

Wordless Wednesday: The House & Garden of My Childhood

Penny the guard dog.

Mom the Estate Gardener working hard to finish her latest project—a tile deck.
If interested in how she did it check out: http://www.gratedex.com/ 

Handmade Garden Projects

Last week my 20-year-old niece came over to visit me in the garden and as soon as she arrived I put down my review copy of Handmade Garden Projects. She immediately grabbed it though and after a few minutes of flipping thorough it blurted, "Wow Annie, these are really cool projects! I want to make something now. Like right now!"

And this is exactly how Handmade Garden Projects will make you feel too. Yes, there are instructions for the different projects, but there are also extra tidbits that will help with your overall funky garden design. Somehow, between the pages, the book gives off the creative energy of its author and creator too—Lorene Edwards Forkner. We could all use a little bit of personality sometimes and I think many gardening books lack it. This is not one of those books. 

Like others, I too had the pleasure to see Lorene's garden during the Seattle Garden Blogger's Fling in 2011. It was absolutely a high point during the trip. I too like to repurpose and recycle old things in the garden and I love how it continually changes how I see things. I am often in awe of those like Loree who are able to push the simplest and sometimes most inelegant of objects into things of beauty. It truly is an art to understand how to place found objects. 

There is nothing quite like the chance encounter in a garden for the viewer. So often it's where we've come to expect the expected. When we don't find it—at least for me—it can be exhilarating. Just when you become blasé about something like this, it often takes the talent of someone like Lorene to open up your eyes all over again.  

Here are just a few of the projects included in the book that I captured during that tour. Have a look through and at the end of this post simply leave a comment to win your very own copy of Handmade Garden Projects! (Deadline Friday May 25th at noon PST.)

AND THE WINNER IS: RYAN MILLER!! CONGRATS AND YOUR COPY OF THE BOOK WILL BE IN THE MAIL SOON.

Welded Gabion Column (Lorene Edwards Forkner). 

Outdoor Terrarium (Lorene Edwards Forkner). 

Cocktail Table. (Lorene Edwards Forkner). 

Wire Plant Support (Lorene Edwards Forkner).

Shutter Storage Space (Lorene Edwards Forkner).

Bamboo Obelisk (Lorene Edwards Forkner). 

Old World Water Fountain (Lorene Edwards Forkner).

Sleek Succulent Gutter (Lorene Edwards Forkner).

There were so many amazing things I had to leave a few more funky pictures.

So please don't forget to leave a comment to win your very own copy of Handmade Garden Projects.

Here is your prompt: Have you repurposed or recycled something in your garden that you're really proud of or do you have plans to do so this summer? Let us all know and good luck! (Deadline Friday May 25th at noon PST.)