Went to a Garden Party

Asiatic Lily

Hemerocallis

After a stormy (yet another one) morning, the weather quickly changed into its “party clothes” and was properly turned out as a splendid summer afternoon. This past Sunday I went to a garden party at one of our horticulture volunteer’s private gardens and all the pictures you’ll see within this posting are from that garden.

Digitalis ferruginea 'Kirk Island'

Redbud 'Forest Pansy'


As you might imagine, there is a bit of stigma when you volunteer in the lovely gardens of Cantigny and then you invite people to come to your home garden. The hostess was initially in a bit of a tizzy at the thought of fellow volunteers and staffers coming to her house to critique her personal endeavors. But after a bit of pondering, she righted herself and decided, correctly, that her garden was a reflection of her—both her foibles and strengths are mirrored within her flower beds and borders. But my thought was, “We love her, why wouldn’t we love her garden?”

Acanthus mollis Bear's Britches


Stachys hummelo

Look at that nice color-mirroring in the flower and the stems of the sedum, mmmmm.

Ahhhh..very refreshing!

We all applauded her successes and thought her garden lovely with plentiful shade on a balmy summer day. We had mighty tasty things to eat and a glass of wine, or two. What’s not to like about spending a pleasant afternoon/evening with fellow gardeners/friends under those conditions? Our hostess was relaxed and, as just as she realized, we too should “learn our lessons well” and not stress over whether our container or flower bed designs are “right” or not…think of the lyrics to the above song….

"I learned my lesson well. You see, you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself."

You truly only have to please yourself when designing. If you’re happy with the colors, the heights, the textures…that’s plenty good enough.


Not only did she grow this cool cardoon plant....

BUT, she's also a good composter too!