Shade Path Garden in September

Begonias, northern sea oats, Japanese forest grass and Sedum 'Frosty Morn' front our Shade Path this week... and native flat-topped asters are a white haze down its length.

See more of our Shade Path garden on our map.
Have a great weekend!
~Julie

Painting Autumn Flowers and Fruit

My watercolor inspired by the flowers of fall: purple and white Asters, bright yellow wild Helenium, blue Lobelia, toad flax (Linaria vulgaris or "Dear little bunny nose", as my girls prefer), Persicaria, and a fluffy Pennisetum.

My girls and I have been doing some paintings this week that are partly inspired by the flowers and fruits of autumn... but mostly inspired by the beautiful work of our friend Melissa Ellen. She has been posting some process photos of her watercolor paintings lately. We could not resist giving it a try ourselves!

Fall is here, but all is still green...

Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) in the Shade Path.

Rain and the golden hour do beautiful things for the garden...

Phipps Conservatory in Fall

Dahlias at Phipps for fall.

My family took a little trip to Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA last week. Phipps has some lovely outdoor gardens for this time of year! These photos were all taken in the Children's garden, which sits between two wings of the old glasshouses....

(They are actually embarking on the enormous effort of restoration in the old glasshouses this summer. I am glad not to be caring for those exposed, old palm trees as the temps plunge into the 40s at night!)

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ September 2013 GBBD

Blooms and foliage in my zone 5 garden for September.

Welcome to Pennsylvania in September!

We have had quite a variety of weather in the past weeks. One day it is unbearably hot and dry with the temperature over 86 degrees F (30 C). The next day we are all in winter coats at the damp morning soccer game in 40 degrees F (4 C). Despite all of that drama, the garden is still blooming on...

The Secret Garden Coloring Book by Johanna Basford

Our new favorite book by Scottish artist Johanna Basford

My girls love to color and it is an activity that I like to encourage. Coloring is great for working on hand-eye coordination, detail work and even color theory. And kids gain all this practice while completely enjoying themselves. When I purchased this book on Amazon last week, I knew that it would be a winner. At least, I hoped so.

The Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book by Johanna Basford is more than a winner: it is captivating. I was totally blown away by the intricate styling of this book. Every detail is sublime and every page opens up more discovery. It is part treasure hunt, part coloring book, part drawing class and altogether beautiful. And I wanted you all to see it for yourselves...

Stan Hywet's Great Garden ~ Part 2: The Cutting Garden

The Cutting Garden in the three acre Great Garden at Stan Hywet, Akron, Ohio

Visiting Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in August finds the Cutting Garden full to bursting with the classic annuals of summer: cosmos, zinnias, statice, cleome, dahlias and lisianthus. Come take a walk with me!

Stan Hywet's Three-Acre Great Garden ~ Part 1

Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron, Ohio

The Great Garden at Stan Hywet in Ohio encompasses three acres to the north of the Hall. It includes a Cutting garden (for fresh and dried flower arrangements for the Hall), a Rose garden, and Mixed borders that surround generous lawns. The Birch Allee acts as a loose background along one side of the Great garden. Also, it provides some wonderful views of the Seiberlings' Tudor-revival hall.

Zinnias in Stan Hywet's Cutting Garden

I think a row of these electric orange zinnias next to some purple Russian sage (Perovskia) would be quite exciting for the summer months!

The summer flowers in the Cutting garden were all in bloom for my visit to Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron, Ohio.