Stratford Shakespeare Festival

Best of the Tour

I was recently on a garden tour of eight or so residential gardens. Some had been professionally landscaped, some had been developed over the years by the owners and others were works in progress. My absolute favourite, though, was a delightfully quirky garden containing all sorts of whimsy. The owner does most of the gardening herself and obviously has a great sense of humour which she allows to creep into all the nooks and crannies of her garden. These photos are just a few of the spots that caught my eye. The garden is the sort that offers its visitors many surprises, some that might be missed on a first visit, as there is so much to see. Unfortunately, some of the tongue-in-cheek touches such as the metal hen planters potted with Hens and Chickens are not pictured here. But even so, you still get the sense that is a totally charming and welcoming garden.

Tree Art

I was whizzing along the bicycle path on my way to work when I spotted what looked like artwork. As I cycled home that afternoon, I stopped to investigate and took these photos.

Sure enough, a landscape (signed and dated: J.L. 11/07/11) had been painted on the surface of a tree where a large limb had been cut. We have lost a lot of trees lately to high winds and I guess the artist saw an opportunity to display their art. Located at a fork in the path, there is a lot of "foot and pedal" traffic so the spot is good for reaching a lot of viewers.

What I didn't realise at first, but have since confimed, was that the artist had painted the scene they saw from that vantage point, looking out over the water as the sun was setting on the Ottawa River one evening.

A Bouquet for Outdoors

Peonies have to be one of the loveliest of garden flowers. Their blooming time is all too short, which means we should take the time to enjoy them while they last. They do have their drawbacks: their exuberant petals tend to fall quickly and some object to their heavy scent or the ants that tend to inhabit their heady blooms. If you love peonies but don't want to bring them into the house, why not create a beautiful bouquet to enjoy outdoors, wherever you have seating. Then sit for awhile... and enjoy!

Thrifting Find

A few weeks back, at a garage sale in Perth, I bought six sap buckets that were used for collecting sap for maple syrup making many years ago. They have a nice history and patina and I thought they might make interesting planters. The seller let me have all of them for $7.75, the amount of change I had on me at the time. That's just over $1.55 each.

Imagine my surprise this weekend when I saw sap buckets of the same vintage for sale in a shop in Westboro for $17.50 each!

A Surprise Bouquet

Isn't this trio beautiful? All the more lovely because the peonies and lilac were waiting on my desk for me at work. S. had brought them in. What a lovely surprise.

My love of blue-orange combinations continues.

Thrift Shop Find of the Week

Amid shelves of framed art and photographs, old frames, and laminated posters, I spotted this wee painting. At only $1.89 it found its way into my shopping basket without a second thought.