He Stuck a Bead Up his Nose

Yes, you read that right. Little A decided to do some exploring to see what all he could fit up his nose. All I know is I was sitting at the computer finishing up my last paper when he came walking in the room repeating, "Nonio, Nonio" it's what he calls his brother. I told him just say yeah, he insisted on his nose but we couldn't figure out what he wanted. He just kept saying "Nose" and

Dealing With Rabbits

The RabbitJune 5, 2009Wild rabbits are the bane of many gardens. In a very short period of time they can strip your seedlings down to nothing forcing you to replant if there is time. This is my third garden dealing with rabbits and while I have written about them before on this blog (here) I am taking a bit more of a natural and laid back approach to dealing with them here. We are on

Hands of Hope

This beautiful setting is the gardens surrounding the pool at Vicky Wauterlek's home, founder of 'Hands of Hope'.
Annually she opens her gardens along with several other generous homeowners in the bucolic suburb of Barrington Hills, Il.
This major fundraiser for her organization is this Friday and Saturday June 19th and 20th.

Laurette Grove, shown above, is a volunteer on one of the trips to Africa. Helping women and children in impoverished nations seek medical care and an education. Funding additionally helps build wells, an amazing resource for a region. Here is what I personally admire; 100% of the proceeds goes to their foundation, 100%!

The following snaps are peeks into the grand beauty of this property. As a garden tour guide in England I have to say this setting rivals many of the famous gardens of England.


In addition to the garden tours enjoy the market of quality vendors, such as Scentimental Gardens! Find a bargain at their upscale flea market, enjoy lunch in the garden.........be inspired.
To learn more visit here.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has"
-Margaret Mead

Join me for a demonstration on creating garden party tablescapes. Friday and Saturday at 1pm

Garden Inspiration: French Blue

The beautiful blue flowering shrub was everywhere I looked in Paris. It was in street plantings as well as public gardens. The flowers were fragrant and the foliage looked evergreen to me. Could the blue shrub be unique to France?

When I came home, I had to track down the information on this plant. The shrub is ceanothus or California Lilac. I'm sure the West Coast gardeners are familiar with this gorgeous shrub as it is a native in Oregon and California. Ceanothus is a new one for me as I've never seen it growing around here in North Carolina. I'm sure I would have noticed!


Ceanothus apparently thrives in poor soil and drought conditions. As with many native species, I think it's one of those plants that resents too much pampering from gardeners.

Ceanothus sounds like an easy plant to grow, but will it grow in a zone 7b garden with deer? It is supposed to be deer resistant and some varieties are rated for USDA zone 7, but most seem to be for zone 8 and hotter.

While ceanothus may never find a home here, I can imagine all the ways I'd like to use it to bring the hard-to-find blue flowers to my garden. The shrub may be a West Coast native, but I'll always think of it as divine French blue!


Story and photos by Freda Cameron; Location: Paris, France; May 2009

Grocery Store Vegetables and Herb Seed Sources

I take a perverse pleasure in finding ways to recycle grocery store produce and grow it in my garden. You'd think I'd stop being so tickled and indulge my curiosity some other way than by sticking a little piece of root in a pot to see what happens. My nephew once started a sunflower from a seed he stuck in the office ficus on a dare. No one was more surprised than he was when it sprouted.Here

Farmer's Market and Garage Sales

It was a day of thrifty shopping, well I guess I can't totally say that. Ya'll knew how much I wanted to go back to the Farmer's Market and due to my burn and the rain I never did go this past Wednesday, so the kids and I went today instead. It seemed like the same people there with a few different types of fruits and veggies. But here's what I bought: Farmer's Market:- Apple Butter from

Ribbit Day

If you have not heard the term ribbit it refers to ripping out mistakes in knitting. Today we are doing a major ribbit in preparation for the permanent vegetable beds. Yes we are a bit late but it's been a cold, rainy spring here. So stay tuned for our progress.Happy Gardening!Garden Gnome©2006-2009