Lenten Roses in Bloom

I'm in love with Helleborus 'Pink Frost' in the Rose garden. It needs a few more ;)

They are all under snow now.

But oh! What a lovely start to March! 

First Snowdrop Sighting!

Galanthus elwesii

One of the most exciting January moments is finding that first snowdrop, usually in the Birch Walk.

Stay warm friends! 

-Julie

Welcome 2017

Sunset on New Year's Day in the Woodland... light until 5:30pm!

Goodbye 2016!

Some of my favorite shots from this year, clockwise from top left: Clematis 'Etoile Violette' on the lamp post, The Knot Garden, Agastache near the blue garden door, The Postman's gate into the Birch Walk, Centurea, The Rose garden at sunset, Hardy Gladiolus byzantine, Birch Walk with flowering mustard in late spring. Center: David Austin Rose.

Thank you, friends, for joining me in my garden this year! 

Happy New Year to you! 

~Julie 

Merry Christmas!

The Garden door dressed for Christmas

 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, 

and the government will be on his shoulders. 

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, 

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Winter solstice

Christmas Rose, Helleborus niger, lifting to the light.

There is still hope growing, even on this day, the shortest day of the year...

December 2016 ~ GBBD at Havenwood

English holly for a proper English garden, even in PA ;)

Welcome to December in my Pennsylvania garden! 

The snow has fallen on Havenwood and all that was brown is now fresh & clean again in time for Christmas. We are celebrating our third anniversary of being in our beloved garden, with most of it being just 1-2 years old. I love the kind of garden that most Americans would consider an English-look, though in reality it is really a combination of the formal hedges from the Italians, French styling in materials and colors, and an English-style planting.

Enjoy your look around! 

Are My Bulbs OK in the Snow???

Crocus tommasinianus in the snow...

People always ask, "Are my bulbs are going to be ok coming up in harsh winter weather?" 

"My tulips are poking up and it is only January! Are they going to be ok?" 

More Winter Scenes at Havenwood

Feather reed grass topped in light snow in front of our pillar arborvitaes and honey-brick house.

Winter scenes at Havenwood

Primrose blooming in the snow on New Years Day

Hello friend!

I have missed sharing here on WMG recently!  I have been able to Instagram, which has become a form of mini-blogging for me. You are welcome to check in with me there anytime to see what is starting to bloom around Havenwood, or just what we are up to. I am hoping to continue to share some of our big changes and achievements in our garden here in more detail this year.

January 2016 - Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Creamy Lenten rose, Helleborus orientalis, already beginning to bloom on the warmer days this month.

Welcome to Havenwood! We have been having an extremely mild winter so far, and so we have more blooms this January than any other. Enjoy your walk around!

Snow still here...

Sammy Squirrel getting a bit dusted looking for his sunflower seed meal. Read more about his adventures here...

 ...though maybe not for long. It is 50 degrees F today (10 C), so it is dripping away, but it will take a little bit to see the bottom of these piles!

Our snowmen from January are still standing, though leaning a bit. Are we ready for spring?.... oh, yes.

January Scenes

The first beautiful Crocus tommasinianus forced inside this January

Hello from the snow!
I hope this post find you snug, warm, and enjoying the cozy moments of winter in your region. We have been driven inside by sever cold, snow and ice since Christmas. We are making the best of our winter by keeping busy with school, crocheting and some rest before the spring gardening season arrives. Here are some scenes from outside and in this week at Havenwood....

Merry Christmas!

How to Make Pillows using Wax Paper Transfer

Chairs with French themed pillows in our library room

One more house project, and this one is my favorite: new pillows for my pretty chairs in the library.

I started with this lovely vintage french bird and wreath from The Graphics Fairy. I personalized it by adding some pretty text underneath that says, "Havenwood 1925," which is the year that our house was built. I needed to use my computers preview program to make a reverse image so that the text would not be backwards. (Some computers will do this reverse image in the printing set-up options.) 

A Gardener's Laundry Room & other Vignettes...

Shelf in my basement laundry room.

I have always wanted a pretty laundry room, mostly to help me actually enjoy being down in the basement folding, folding away. After a bit of tear out and painting, the basement in Havenwood works really well for doing just that... adding a bit of green and bling.

How to: Wooden Stool with French Typography

On our new landing at Havenwood

Welcome back inside!  We are having some nice days this week, but I am still excited to share some of my new inside projects for our new home.

I found this lovely stool in an antique shop in our area that actually has reasonable prices. So, I snapped it up and knew just what to do as I have been admiring so many projects on a wonderful site called The Graphics Fairy. I chose the above graphic from their beautiful list of french words, made an inverse copy of it in my computer's basic paint program, and got ready for some fun. :)

Art Inside Our Havenwood

Welcome to our new home! :)

Here we are in April, and we are finally having our first week of nice weather this spring! We have all been itching to enjoying the outdoors... and this gardener has been going a bit crazy for it, honestly.

But one nice thing about all of our bad weather in March was that it gave me more time to be inside our new walls, wondering what to do with them. (... Seems like winter unleashes some of my craft craziness... like last years' coffee filter flower wreaths...)  I was finally brave enough a few days ago to take a try at at stairway photo arrangement and was able to use some of my favorite new craft-making techniques too! Would you like to take a walk around with me?

Color for the Weekend: Orchid 'Electric Orange'

Wilsonara 'Electic Orange', also known as Gay Spice

 My favorite orchid from the Phipps Conservatory's Orchid Show this winter...

Garden visit: Phipps Conservatory's Winter Orchid Show 2014

Large baskets spill over with a variety of orchids in the Sunken Garden at Phipps Conservatory this winter.

If you are in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area this weekend, be sure to stop by for the last few days of Phipps Conservatory's Orchid Show. It was a warm and colorful break from the doldrums of our cold, unrelenting winter! Here are a few of my favorite photos from the Sunken Garden room in the last wing of the conservatory.