A Little Bit of Heaven

A marvelous garden is tucked into a lush hillside near Birmingham.It is filled with hundreds of hydrangeas and azaleas and myriads of other woodland plants. Winding paths take you into primeval settings of moss and ferns beneath towering trees. A charming garden house, a true retreat for the gardener, nestles in the middle of the garden.Scriptures are etched onto stone plaques, and you can't help but be affected by the peaceful atmosphere.

A friend and I recently spent a morning exploring, storing up memories of this remarkable space. The owner pointed the way and left us to wander, but we were not alone. Two identical gray cats vied for our attention.One kitty went to the extent of wrapping his legs around my own and holding on for the ride. All in fun, of course, but now I know why the owner warned me to wear long pants!

Here are some photos of this little bit of heaven:

Though our world is in turmoil tonight, my hope is for you to have a refuge, and peace and light in the darkest places.   Deb

Glorious Gardens Tour

A good garden tour stirs up a lot of feelings: admiration, wonder, joy. But envy, discontent with my own garden? I admit, a little, but I like to put it within the context of being inspired to make it better. The Glorious Gardens Tour sponsored by the Birmingham Botanical Gardens this year was everything the name implied. The weather was perfect, not too hot, and the tour offered something for gardeners of all tastes. 

The garden tour left me with three main impressions:

1. Stone walls. I want some stone walls! Enclosure creates intimate spaces that make a garden feel comfortable. A large property like mine needs enclosure to prevent the garden from having a feeling of endless sprawl. Yes, I know greenery can be used also, but I love the strength and low maintenance of stone walls.

2. Mushrooms. Cement or cast stone ones. Giant fungi tucked among flowers and woodland plants. 

3. Chickens! All of a sudden I am seeing chickens everywhere. Not long ago a friend suggested I raise chickens. I thought it was a joke and relayed the funny idea to my husband, who, unknown to me, has fond memories from childhood of relatives who raised chickens. Never underestimate the power of fond childhood memories. Are there chickens in my future? I'm not sure yet, but there were chickens at one of the tour gardens.

So those are my inspirations that came out of this year's tour, and here are some photos of these glorious gardens. I hope you enjoy them!

The Mark and Caroline Clark Garden:

The Ernest and Vivian Cory Garden:

The Jane R. and Neil Ross Garden:

The Barbara Saurer and Brad White Garden:

The Ginger and Charles Clark Garden:

Thanks for visiting my blog and taking the tour with me!