Todays weddings

I had two weddings today that I did the floral designs for, each individual, just like the couples getting married. One was in Fremont, along the Wolf River. Bright colors, hot orange, vibrant blue, white accents. The black wrought iron arch was set up next to the shoreline, where I draped a long garland with fresh orange gerbera daisies, bright blue delphinium, white daisies along with lots of organza ribbon. The bridesmaids wore short bright blue dresses, the men wore khaki pants and blue Hawaiian shirts. The bride and groom barefoot in a pool of water. The other wedding was in Green Bay, the flowers were white and pink peonies. The girls wore honeydew melon green dresses with their exquisitely scented pink peonies, the bride in white with all white peonies. For the tables set up in the white tent, green wine bottles with peonies, some had two white, some had two pink, some had a pink and a white, accented with curly willow and an organza bow in honeydew. Classy, not overdone, just right. Thats one of the things I love most about doing wedding design, to capture the essence, the feel, the mood that describes each couple perfectly. Some vibrant, some romantic, some casual, some formal, some traditional, some avant garde, each one as unique as they are.

Compost : Garbage to Gardeners Gold

On Thursday June 11 from 6:30 to 8:30 I will be giving a talk on composting at Heckrodt Wetland Reserve, 1305 Plank Rd, in Menasha, Wisconsin. Composting is a passion of mine, and I will be discussing ideas for small space yards and gardens, simple composting ideas, and how this impacts the environment both by adding organic matter to build healthy soil and by reducing the amount of organic material that ends up in the landfill. Its free and open to the public, hope to see lots of people there!

Vegetable Garden 2009

Finally! Who said gardening teaches patience? Today, about two weeks later than typical planting time, the garden is 95% in the ground. This morning I planted Bloomsdale spinach, French grey shallots, Black Krim, Silvery Fir tree, Roma, San Marzano, Crimson Cushion, Tigerella, Brandywine tomatoes, Sugar Baby watermelon, acorn squash, basil, parsley, yellow summer squash, zucchini, bi color sweet corn (can't remember the variety name, have it at home) green beans, and tomorrow morning will be the final planting that consists of 15 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes, summer savory and Scarlet Nantes carrots. Whew! Jeff tilled the garden on Monday and incorporating all the compost and coffee grounds has really improved the quality and tilth of the soil. This morning there were worms wriggling everywhere, happy that it has stopped raining. Summer salads and steamed veggies here we come! The food perennials, the raspberries and asparagus look fantastic, planted last year the raspberries already could use some thinning, and the asparagus shows promise for next years harvest.

Happy Mothers Day!!

This weekend is Mothers Day. Thank you to Jason and Randy for being my kids and for choosing Amy and Jenn to spend your lives with. I'm glad to be your mom!!!

Sturgeon spawning

Last week we went to the Shiocton, WI area to see the sturgeon spawning. Female sturgeons need to be at least 45 years old to lay their eggs, they look almost prehistoric. They follow the Wolf River on their way upstream, then head back to Lake Winnebago. Here are some of the 65 pictures I took.

RIP mom

Live each day for the moment and cherish and remember good times.

Dragonfly, and other glimpses

There is a saying that when you see a dragonfly, it means angels on earth.
I sure hope so. My sister lost her husband and son and her best friend all to cancer, in the last couple years. For Brian it hasn't yet been a year since he died. He was 32, married, 3 kids. All 3 were good people, Clyde loved my sister dearly with all his heart, and Jeannie was always there for my sister.
In December during a particularly sad day, we saw a dragonfly. I believe with all my heart it was Brian, letting us know he is still close.
On Friday last week we found out my mom is terminal, cancer in both lungs and liver. Prognosis is very limited time for her to be yet on this earth.
On Monday 04/20/09 again there was a dragonfly flitting around the shop. Again, I believe it is Brian, telling us that the ones we lose are forever close by, in our hearts and thoughts.
I am trying my best to keep my spirits up and a smile on my face but at times, it is so hard.