Fish Sun Flower Fields 2021

 At last the nearest 2021 MN Fish Sun Flower Field is open in Albert Lea, MN!  We took a quick visit Saturday with a neighbor and enjoyed every minute there again this year.   The fields are only open for 10 days and with short notice as soon as they peak with the bloom time!  This was the last field  and 10th field planted this year opened last.  

We are trying to get a car pool to there for our Rochester Garden & Flower Club this week but having problems getting email notices out!  Darn!  The person who handles those emails is out of town this week it seems!

I understand these fields are growing in popularity in other areas of this country now!  They are planted in memory of different people in your lives.  One of these in Albert Lea is to recognize veterans!

For more information on the Sun Flower Fields CLICK HERE

Miniature Gardens 2021

Fall is arriving and its time to start thinking about preparing my miniature gardens for their sleep time in the garage this winter.  This year I plan to remove the annual plants and put tags in the containers of what perennials are in there and which themes I used.  It will make it easier in the spring!

This summer I decided it was time for  a winter project to create a Keepsake Picture Scrapbook for my past years of creating miniature gardens.  Some years I've planted 25 - 30 different ones with various themes.  This year I only did 17, deciding I did not have to use all my accessories I have collected every year!  My porch/deck was a bit less crowded and I liked it.  The plants are getting more costly, etc.  I made sure to take good individual pictures of each one this year to add to my picture collection.

In the past I have done picture scrapbook memories of hostas.  Also one of the summer plantings I have done from pictures I have taken over the years.   It's fun to page thru them in the winter!

Each spring I wonder if I will have the physical ability to continue to replace some perennials and add some annuals to care for again.  Although I have made changes for less and easier maintenance these last several years, I still plan to work in more flowering shrubs to reduce the work and still enjoy some flowers blooming.  The hydrangeas have especially brought me joy!  

This year a monkey joined my 'Out of Africa" theme!

Munsinger Clements Gardens, St. Cloud, MN

 Finally a week of lower temperatures in SE MN!  Time to escape the city limits of our town for an adventure for a day!  It has been years since I visited the St. Cloud area famous Munsinger and Clements gardens along the Mississippi River!  I recall how absolutely beautiful the plantings are designed with different colors featured in each area!  A huge variety of focus on sun areas as well as shade areas also focusing on color and a variety of shade loving plants! 

Denny previously had not been there so he was pleasing me.  He quickly moved into picture taking mode when he discovered these are not the usual gardens he is used to viewing!  Between us we took about 80 pictures during our two hour visit.  When we arrived home it was wonderful to discover he had aimed his camera at the larger over all scenery while my focus was on close ups of flowers, planters and color groupings.

We also took some time to catch up with friends we became acquainted with during our 13 winters of Snowbirding in Az!  We managed to have lunch with Ronita and Lloyd from St. Cloud and then met with Bill and LuAnn in Apple Valley on the way home and enjoyed an early evening meal in a restaurant patio!  What a way to enjoy an escape from home for a day!

Click here for more information about these gardens

Wedding venue

 I just can't resist sharing a few pictures of the Sacred Clay County Inn and the scenery with its gardens, etc.  It was an awesome environment to celebrate a marriage.  The inn has 9 beautiful comfortable rooms, each with a private bath, that are very generous in size.  Several areas for gathering and socializing complete with a scrumptious breakfast served in the mornings.  It would be a fabulous place for a family reunion also!  Lots of activities in the area including a wonderful trout stream that wandered thru the property!  Nearby Lanesboro is a tourist attraction with quaint businesses, water sports, hunting, biking trails and theaters with plays running daily!  Even a golf course!  You can rent equipment for tubing, fishing, biking, etc.!

Grooms dinner center pieces!

 TIP:  TO VIEW THIS IN MORE COLOR... CLICK ON THE TITLE ABOVE THIS TIP!

I had the pleasure of creating three center pieces for my grandson's Groom Dinner!

Earlier this spring I planted three round Mini Hosta Gardens of mini hostas for the three tables and they turned out just great!  For the dinner, his mother added adorable designed pictures of the bride and groom when they were 1, 2 and 3 years old with a description of their personalities at those times!  The dinner was served on the lower porch of the inn with that magnificent background of the valley below!

They looked very attractive on white table cloths with green chargers and green napkins!  The Italian meal of Lasagna was mighty tasty!  A good time was had by all including music and chatting around a fire pit after dark!  

The Brides Mother took a center piece home and the two others were donated to my favorite garden clubs silent auction fund raising events!  

Wedding Reception table decor

Sara,  the bride,  asked me to create the center pieces for the reception dinner a year ago.  This spring we took a drive to the venue location and met with the Wedding Planner of the Inn.  She offered a great idea using lanterns lit by those lovely battery operated candles and adding a simple arrangement of greens and a flower at the base.  So, with that in mind.... here is what I came up with!  The lanterns added a very soft glow to the whole room that was delightful!  More of the simple flower arrangements were added to the cake table also.  

The accent color was similar to the bridesmaids dresses.
My great grandaughter, Josie, a Jr. Bridesmaid is
in the background!

Wedding souvenir!

The inn where the wedding was held had only 9 guest rooms and with the bride & groom, their parents and wedding party it was filled.  So, we had a room in Lanesboro, just minutes away, which was a location where we could "get away" from the activity and rest.  (old people like this)  Sunday morning we took a stroll down historic Lanesboro main street and look what I found!

As we strolled by a quaint grocery store, there sat a few pots of "Casa Blanca", one of my favorite lilies,  which did not come back this spring!   Two stalks in the pot and only $8!  It jumped up and into my arms knowing I had a special home ready for her and Denny quietly followed me inside reaching for his wallet!