In a Vase on Monday

Dashing out between gusty rain storms on Sunday I grabbed a few colorful contents for a vase today.  Variegated evergreen euonymus, Callicarpa berries, hydrangea blooms, and Cupressus arizonica 'Blue Ice' got thrown into a vase.  The smaller vase originally chosen kept falling over.

Finally, I gave up on that one and used instead a vase made by Island Art Glass.

Joining the arrangement are some cones found on a walk in the park and three of the persimmons harvested from my tree.

The arrangement eventually ended up somewhere else where it's contents could be admired from above.

In a Vase on Monday is hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  Click here to see what other participating bloggers have carefully arranged or quickly plopped into a container today.

Cleaning Up on Black Friday

For many, today is about getting great deals on merchandise at stores and online.  Businesses hope to cleanup on this day.  After Thanksgiving, I prefer to avoid the madding crowd, stay home, and enjoy the afterglow of sharing the feast with family and friends.

This year, my eldest grand niece, who is taking a floral design class at school, made and brought this sweet centerpiece.

 Because I have the day off, and because the messy garden needs regular attention, I'll be heading out to do a different king of cleanup.

Thank goodness for the leaf blower!

The fallen leaves of Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' "bloom" on evergreens. 

This resembles the red fabric of the table runner. 

This guy isn't amused.

Time to pick the persimmons - Yum.

The Linden and Cherry trees have finished dropping leaves for the year. 

All is not about ending and messiness. Some plants are just gearing up for their winter work.

The year's first blooms on Viburnum × bodnantense ‘Dawn’ which will be blooming and sharing sweet fragrance all winter long. 

Mahonia blooms are abuzz with fighting hummingbirds and the now leafless Euonymus europaeus 'Red Ace' (below) Clerodendrum trichotomum, and Callicarpa are providing a jolt of unexpected color.

Looking like winter.

 Lots of seed pods on the Empress trees this year. 

Dammit kids, I just cleaned up after you last weekend. 

 Happy Friday everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for many things, including each of you who stops by every day or every once in a while. 

The table runner was made by a dear family friend who passed away a few years ago.  The "Give Thanks" decoupage on wood message was made by my brother's eldest daughter and her girls a couple of years ago.  I'm thankful for family, friends, and traditions that transcend years and miles. 

 "Forever on Thanksgiving day, the heart will find the pathway home."                                                                     -Nesbit

Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving today or not, may your life be full of blessings for which to be thankful. 

Wednesday - Autumn Textures

Wednesday Vignette is hosted by Anna at Flutter and Hum.  Flutter on over to her blog to see her vignette this week. 

For a Good Time, Call Alison Part One; Barone Garden

On Saturday night, I stopped by the gas station near my house to fuel up for the week and a large flat bed truck pulled up behind me marked "Barone." The bed of the truck was empty but I recognized the driver from a recent visit, with my pal Alison, to Barone Garden .  The driver, with whom I had a nice chat, assured me that they are happy to deliver just about anywhere in the Puget Sound region.  I'm seeing these pictures with fresh eyes since I'm no longer limited to what would squeeze into the plant mobile.

Barone has one of the largest collections of garden decor in the area and it's always a joy to see their ever-changing inventory.

A hydrant for every dog!

By the way, in case you haven't heard, Fleur de lis garden statuary in Seattle will be closing by the end of December as they haven't found another location.  Everything in stock is now 50% off.   Back to Barone - There's something for every garden style.

Granite spheres

Bridges large and small

Jurassic Park?

The selection of fountains and bird baths is unrivaled.  Amusing bird bath.

Not really my style but gorgeous outdoor fireplace.

Oh those metallic gold pots.

One of these hose pots almost came home with me.  Wouldn't one look awesome with a large agave growing in it?

If there were only space in my bamboo grove for one of these, it might have jumped into the car. 

"Hare Rising"  or hare raising?

Catfish.

I'd not seen this take on the Gunnera-leaf fountain before.

What would you put in those holes?  Succulents come immediately to mind. 

Stepping stones 

Handsome German Shepherds.

I love these natural-looking water catchers and I'd imagine that the birds are fairly fond of them as well.

Both Alison and I fell hard for this gorgeous pot.  It would have jumped in the car immediately if it weren't so large and I could think of a place for it in my garden.

The price was very reasonable.  Alison may go back for this later. 

Handsome.

Someone's got a big head!

Appealing simple lines.

Even a nice selection of steel planters. 

Faux stone fire pit surround. 

This guy's not amused. 

Most of the fountains were in part sun/part shadow and were difficult to photograph.  There were hundreds of different styles.

So much to think about. 

This lady, who looks like she could be a fragment of a fancy historic building facade, did jump into the plant mobile.

Alison also found something special but we'll have to watch her blog to see if she posts about it.  Stay tuned for more from our fun day of garden shopping.