Weekend At The Gardens

Bonsai

Made my way to our local botanical gardens, Matthaei, this weekend. I got married here and I’m a little embarrassed to say this is the first time I’ve been back since then, even though it’s just a 20 minute drive away.  I don’t intend on staying away so long from now on since this is a wonderful resource for me to come and snap my own reference photos for flowers and various plants. To my delight, I lucked up and visited on a weekend where they were having a beautiful outdoor Bonsai exhibit. It brought back memories of a failed attempt to do my own with a little bonsai tree purchased from our local grocery store. It wasn’t until we got home that we discovered that the poor thing was infested. Word to the wise, don’t buy bonsai from a grocery store. Get them from a reputable nursery.

Anyhoo, here are a few photos from my weekend adventure. 😊

Peony

A lovely indoor Koi pond.

Bonsai

This is how pineapples grow. I honestly thought they grew on trees like apples. Learn something new everyday.

This monstrosity is a Peruvian Apple. I suspect you don’t make pies from it.

Furry cactus. That’s not it’s real name, that’s just want I called it. Amazing but creepy.

This is a Sausage Tree…and that’s all that I’m going to say about that.

These purple beauties didn’t have a sign on them so I have no ideal what they are but from the angle I took this picture, you get the feeling you’ve entered the land of Dr. Seus.

African Senna. I have a feeling these will end up in my drawings.

Fairy Gardens, I Never Knew Of Such Things

Snail and mushroom sketch in moleskine.

The rabbit holes you tumble down are numerous when it comes to the internet. It starts with one thing, that sparks an interest in another thing, that leads to another thing and before you know it, time has gotten completely away from you. For me, it begun with mushrooms, then there were snails and then I was on to lady bugs when I begun to wonder “Who could live in this world?”

FAIRIES!

Fairies that’s who. I had completely forgotten about those mythical little beings that populate the hidden world of my backyard, that was now slowly recreating itself within my imagination and quietly urging me to share my drawing table. So on I went to look up fairies.

Oh my goodness!

I didn’t know there were so many different kinds and that they take on various forms. From gnomes and sylphs to imps and brownies. As it turns out “fairy” is used more so as an umbrella term rather than a reference to any specific kind of fairy. Even elves are fairies. So Legolas is a fairy. 🙂
I went on and tumbled deeper into this magical little world only to come full stop in a fairy garden. Fairy gardens?  I never knew there was such a thing. How could I not know? As a lover of little things, herbs, plants and gardening. How could I not know about these little houses, miniature trees and dragonfly wings? Peeking out the window at my winter covered backyard, oh how now I wish this snow would quickly give way to Spring? I have a new canvas to play with.

Snow blankets my backyard.