well, hello spring....

visiting one of my favorite clients gardens today...i find sooo many pretties to delight my heart.  with record breaking heat and highs in the 80's...spring has sprung super early!!  pollen and bugs included.
ach-ooo.

i have been working on this garden for 8ish years now and the climbing vines on the pergola have never been so prolific and fragrant..

three of my all time favorite vines AND i am a vine lover! 
 a tangle of
carolina jessamine,
 evergreen clematis armandii
and new dawn rose
(which will bloom later).

i just love how they mingle.

the evergreen clematis armandii has a heady intoxicating fragrance and most loverly tropical looking leaves that actually, yes indeedy, stay green all year.

this demure garden lady was added to the garden last year, carved by the owners friend, it makes a strong focal point and yet ,
a soft and restful place to gaze on.

a back view of the pergola with fuchsia loropetulum blooming in the foreground.

please set a while...

isn't she beautiful?
it is really quite satisfying for me to visit my gardens in spring, after not having seen them for a few months.  i usually become very nervous and worried about how things have fared and then when i turn down the drive , get out of my jeep and walk the gardens...
i quickly find the beauty and  
enjoy  the fruits of my labor.
and it all seems so worthwhile!
♥

if it seems as if i have not been posting as often, it is certainly not for lack of imagery or thoughts, but rather so many things going on right now, it is hard to choose what to post about!   it is unbelievably gorgeous outside these days (despite the dust storm of pollen  flying around)...i have been power walking at jim warner park several times a week...rearranging the house (always)....i shot all the photos for my friend's new website for her restaurant called, the bunganut pig (never took pictures of food before, that was fun, especially eating the props)  you can check it out here and if you look at the bottom of their page you will see my credit for the photos (FUN!  credit for photos on a real website! me?)....besides my garden work, i have several paintings going on in my studio and may do will be doing a fair this fall with a new friend , mark porter, who makes barnwood frames and gorgeous wooden bowls....as well as learning new photography and photoshop techniques...the list goes on and on....not enough time in the day.....spring is well on its way now and i still have a snowy header (i can't seem to settle on a new one)....i have always been rather fickle (and freckled...so, "frickled"?)....sometimes it is hard to focus on just one thing......oy.


i'd love any suggestions for a new header!   when you think of my blog what comes to mind?  is it more garden or more art or more vintage decorating or photography or all of the above??  or is it a wishy-washy mish-mash...say that 10 times fast....i have read that it is not good to keep changing ones header....folks like to count on a certain look....do you agree??  i need help with this one, please.
♥


erin
(the frickled one)


p.s.  have you heard about the Bronson Pinchot Project???  remember him?  Balchey from "Perfect Strangers"? OMG! my new favorite show on DIY network....bronson owns 10 houses in Harford Pennsylvania AND 2 barns filled with architectural salvage in which he uses to re fab his houses...he is very knowledgeable about historic architecture and hugely passionate!!!  his side kick Mikey is so dorky and loveable....you will LOVE this show!!!  check out how he hid his refrigerator behind an old bookcase with a swinging door!
http://www.diynetwork.com/the-bronson-pinchot-project/show/index.html

the colors of spring...

 envelope.

pastel hues of new life.

beckoning sunshine.

glittering light transfixed.

dainty strength.

comforting pattern.

a lacy veil,

 of eternal
hope
 and
 renewal.


i hope you find the time to
play
outside!
♥


thank you so very much for the wonderful birthday greetings.
you do my heart good.
erin

DIY flower cake

i made myself a birthday cake!

out of flowers.
no calories!
unless you eat them.

my birthday isn't until next week.
it is o.k. to celebrate early  all month.
promise.
i do.

i have made this kind of flower cake a couple of times before.
once for a friend's birthday
and another time for a garden club demonstration.

i am sorry i can not remember where i found this idea.
most likely from martha?

it is so easy.
pretty too,
and lasts a long time.

and because it is my birthday month
and i am celebrating...
i have put together a little tutorial on how to make this cake...
enjoy!

here goes...
you will need two pieces of rectangular florists foam,
cut the ends off to form a square to fit your cake stand.

you will also need fresh flowers with strong stems.
 carnation's and daisy's work well.

i found bunches of flowers on sale for 50 cents at my local grocery.
total cost $3.50!
  i'll have to remember to buy my flowers on thursdays when the not so fresh ones are sold on clearance.
just found that out ...yippie.
50 cents!

i used the bottom of a plate to depress a circle shape guide into the foam.

cut away the foam to form a cake shape.

make sure your foam shape fits the cake stand,
 with about an inch of space for the flowers.
the 2 foam pieces do not have to be attached to each other, rather just standing next to each other.

completely soak your foam in water.

place soaked foam back on stand.

cut flowers leaving about 2 inches of stem.

 start poking flowers into foam, starting on the bottom row.

add rows of flowers overlapping slightly.

fill in the top layer with flowers.

that's it!
pretty.
at this point, i decided to transfer my flower cake to a different, more sparkly, silver cake stand
 and i changed the rows of flowers slightly.

i welcome
 and
embrace
 the month of march.
for my birthday
for flowers
for cake
for st. patty's day (erin means ireland yunno)
for longer days
and
for
spring.

and i am grateful.
you are
 my gardeners.

our first real snowfall!

it snowed today!!
yippie skippie!
as we watched the rain turn into big fat snowflakes...
my excitement began to build...
and when the snow began to stick to the ground,
well, i knew we were goin on a little field trip!

mr. dan and i threw on some clothes,
skipped brushing our teeth...ew...
and headed for our favorite country road for a few photos
 (make that a few hundred)

i have been anxiously awaiting this first snowfall all winter.

i was as giddy as a young school girl.
(try that sentence with a german accent...it is much funnier)

i love snow!

the snow was soooo wet i had to carry an umbrella to keep my camera from getting wet.
i finally understand why someone invented those stupid looking hats with the umbrella attached...it would have come in handy.

as we returned back to the old homestead...
this is my house with snow on the roof....
it was still coming down,
 in big wet flakes...

some of them even look like little white hearts!
do you see the hearts?

snow covered angels and floating white hearts falling from the sky...
a little piece of
heaven
 on
earth!

a couple of hours later the snow was completely gone
 and then mr. sunshine even came out.
i am so glad we rushed out to take pictures when we did!
p.s.  i know how to add a snow effect in photoshop but did not use it on any of these photos...nature took care of that for me.

have a good week!
erin

this is my first attempt at the new google way of blogging...ha...so new (to me, anyway) that i can not even recall the name for it!  anyhoo, i hope i did it right...learning something new is good for us, right?

i have also installed the new linky followers button on my sidebar...i have been reading all sorts of rumors ("rumor has it", i love that song by adele) about google discontinuing the google friend connect button as of march 1st....i hope this does not happen as i love my followers and i don't want to loose a single one of you!!  you can sign up to follow me in the new linky follower gadget if you care too....i am a little confused by the whole darn thing, but feel sure it will work itself out....fingers crossed here.