Forever Amber Flowers

3 years ago we had a bumper crop of peaches 🍑 from one of the trees I had planted. (see first four pics) The branches were so heavily laden with fruit that we had to support them from breaking before harvest! The past 2 years, between late frosts and peach leaf curl, we’ve had nothing 😢 This year was shaping up to be the same when I spied a handful of fruit very high up in the tree. I got out the ladder and put the extension on the picker and began my harvest. A sad seven small peaches, mostly inedible ☹️ So we’ve had to supplement this year with (for whom I should be the spokeswoman because they are my favorite and I tell everyone I know and meet that they’re the most perfect piece of fruit you’ll ever taste!) and we’re eating and drinking all the peach recipes this summer and especially this month as August is Go out and grab a taste of summer before it’s gone! 🍑🍑🍑

I’m a little late with this post but just in time for This was Friday, 🇺🇸Flag Day and the perfect opportunity to use my “new” vintage patriotic plates & china! Gotta love the red, white & blue! We picked up some farm fresh strawberries for one of our favorite cocktails; Strawberry Gin Smash🍓🍓🍓. A fabulous Flag Day fete indeed!

Throwback to patriotic parties & posies of Memorial Days past. This Memorial Day is rainy 🌧️ and super windy 🌬️!! Not flag-flying weather nor outdoor celebration weather! And my co-host is in North Carolina visiting the grandkids so no party this year but I’ve already got a patriotic table scape in mind for Flag Day next month! 😆Hope everyone’s holiday is happy! Happy Memorial Day! 🇺🇸

Thank you to everyone who purchased my tulips this month I hope to be back next winter with more tulips to brighten the darker days. Right now, the last of my tulips, that took their time blooming, are brightening my kitchen (against a snowy backdrop!) and making me look forward to next year!

Thank you sooooooo much and for hosting my 🌷Tulip Takeover🌷 today! And THANK YOU to all the wonderful folks that purchased my tulips! So grateful for all of you! It was a beautiful day and it was so lovely to see all this beauty finding it’s way into your homes💗

Get ‘em while they’re fresh! Beautiful, fresh picked, naturally grown tulips available today Open till 5pm!

Happy Birthday to this guy today! My rarely photographed but ever present and always loved husband 😘The man of my dreams who makes all my dreams come true! Love you honey! 🎂🎉🎁👑

Happy ! 🕊️💗🐦‍⬛

Same photo. Same me. Same ornaments. In my bedroom…40 years apart! Since our bedroom is finally finished and I finally have a tree in there, I decided to add my old collected, vintage and handmade ornaments from years past to replicate the tree in my bedroom 40 years ago. A close family friend of my parents made a bunch of ceramic Christmas ornaments for me when I was born and I still have them all! This tree and these ornaments remind me of my childhood and make me smile 😊.

Thankful for so many things, this week and always but especially today I am thankful for our home, our forever home💗 It was 11 years ago today that we closed on this house and I have loved every square inch, every moment, every everything ever since. These pictures from last Thursday when it was 50+ degrees and I went out on the roof to hang the big wreath. Happy Houseaversary to us!!! 🎉

“November comes
And November goes
With the last red berries
And the first white snows
With night coming early
And dawn coming late
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate
The fires burn and the kettle sings
And Earth sinks to rest
Until next Spring” ~ Clyde Watson This photo came up in my memories from 2 years ago today (still one of my favorites from Frostmas 2021) and the time change yesterday reminded me of one of my favorite wintry poems 💗 Trying to follow the Earth’s lead and and lean into a slower pace as the seasons change …this is of course in direct conflict with the faster pace the holidays seem to demand and the messy, untended gardens that I’d rather not look at all Winter, reminding of all I didn’t do. But I’ll keep on keeping on! Hope you’re all finding your rhythm and hoping it’s slower, softer & quieter this season. Happy November!

Six years ago today 💕 he’s still the best and I’m still the luckiest. Happy Anniversary honey I love you!😘

So proud of this Weeping Willow Tree…though I really have no business being proud since all I did was plant it 6 years ago. I really haven’t done a thing since, but still it’s spectacular. I planted three of them, along the fence line of our East pasture that always gets very wet. This one is at the lowest spot and gets the most light so it’s doing the best. And it’s HUGE and wonderful and makes me so happy and grateful. I’m so grateful for this tree and all trees everyday and especially on this “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago; the next best time is today.”

The Ninebarks are EPIC this year! They are my most favorite shrub ever; they come in a variety of colors, they do really well for me with little effort on my part, they are super hardy and critter-resilient and I use them in every arrangement or bouquet I make, Spring through Fall. This enamel pitcher is stuffed with just a few stems off my Diablo Ninebark which has completely swallowed the entire West side of our house and back deck…and the birds and I could not be more thrilled 💗

Picked a posy of pink on my way in from the flower field yesterday 💗…the Echinacea have just started to bloom and I needed something pretty to remind me why I toil, through blood, sweat (so much sweat!) and tears in the sweltering heat and humidity, covered in sunscreen and bug spray and an overall feeling of repulsion at my own person…I think I’m gonna need a bigger bouquet. Pictured here: Purple Coneflower, Snapdragons’Potomac Lavender’, Veronica and one pink sprig of Chinese Forget-Me-Not

More ‘Dinner Plate’ Peony because stories just isn’t enough space to talk about this showstopper peony! This variety was an unexpected delight from back in 2020 when I planted two dozen peonies in front of the flower field and I picked up two more of this variety this Spring. You could get lost in the petals…they go on forever, in the most luscious, ruffle-ey shade of pink. Every flower is HUGE and these 5 stems were really too big for the vase I put them in but there are worse things than giant flowers on your table. I picked these in the rain on Friday which is not ideal but I couldn’t just leave them there! If you’re looking to add more peonies to your garden (and who wouldn’t be?)or if you’re trying to decide on one variety, this is it.

I opened every window in my house this morning…which may not seem like a big deal in June, but I assure you it is. For the past 3 days we have been blanketed in an eerie, smoky haze with air quality alerts nearing 450 (Hazardous levels!). We’ve had windows closed tight since Tuesday morning, waiting it out from the relative safety of our homes, and masking up if we had to go out. Smoke from the raging wildfires in Canada , most started spontaneously due to drought and our changing climate made its way to us and most of the Northeast and beyond. The fact that we are also in a drought, the ground is like concrete, almost every tree, shrub and plant is showing visible signs of distress and the temperatures are swinging wildly inspires a new terror that what’s happening in Canada could happen here. 8 million acres have burned. 8 million. Let that sink in for a minute. And while it’s sinking , let’s also be grateful for every moment that we are safe, every plant that is thriving despite the odds, every bird that is singing, every breeze that is blowing through every open window, every deep breath. And all the Ninebarks blooming in spite of it all! Drought be damned! Pictured here are ‘Diablo’ & ‘Summer Wine’

Despite the heat and the drought and the many trees, shrubs and plants showing obvious signs of distress, the Peonies are mercifully plugging along. This morning I picked the very first to unfurl for my breakfast table. 💗 Mostly ‘Coral Charm’, one ‘Alertie’, one ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ and one whose name I forgot.

Self-seeded & cinnamon -scented Sweet Rocket =💜 This is a delightful biennial that I did not have time to sow last year. Thankfully, it did the job for me. And I am so grateful! Second photo; a vase of sweet rocket with dark purple alliums that have been looking great on table for days.

Dogwood ‘Stellar Pink’ 💗. I planted this tree and a ‘White Cloud’ Dogwood in 2016. The white dogwood is a full, rounded darling little tree that has flowered faithfully each year. The pink dogwood is super tall and has never flowered, not once! So when I spied something pink in it’s branches from the bedroom window, I was very excited! I went out last night with the ladder to try and capture some of the beauty. I can never have enough trees…or flowers…or flowering trees!

The lilacs are fading slowly…but their scent lingers in the air. The fact that they are so fleeting is what makes them so fabulous. On their heels, the viburnum burst into bloom. This spectacular snowball viburnum has, to my delight, all but swallowed the Southwest end of the sunroom. Precisely what I envisioned years ago when I planted it. Viburnum’s are another favorite shrub with creamy, hydrangea-like snowball blooms in Spring, some turning into berries for the birds and stunning autumn leaf color. Spring or Fall, they look as lovely in the vase as in the garden. 💗

A lovely May Mother’s Day fete for my fabulous Mother and Grandmother! In my kitchen awash with the scent of Lilacs and set with the yummiest charcuterie on my “new” flea market platter. The final flourish; a delicious cheesecake fruit & floral parfait in a coupe glass! Dusted with edible gold leaf it was the perfect dessert for a gold 🌟 Mom 😘. to all the Mommas out there!

Happy May Day! Beltane Blessings! This is one of my favorite days and Sabbats…the crabapple trees are starting to blossom, forget-me-nots are peeking out, the bleeding heart is radiant, the birds are nesting and the lilacs are getting closer by the day. The wheel of the year is turning to a new season and everything feels to be on the cusp of magnificent beauty. After the most erratic April weather I’ve ever seen, and a number of confused plants & shrubs, we seemed to get all our April showers at once, in just the past 48 hours! But this morning a welcome respite from the rain and a streak of sunshine breaking through the clouds illuminated some beautiful things happening outside!

“Though they be but little, they be mighty!” The first, the littlest, the bravest blooms of Spring 2023 💗 My heart is so happy to see them!

It’s always the best day when I get to spend it with my best girl 😘 Personally, I adore her. Professionally, she’s killin’ it! She has already built a successful Positive Psychology & Coaching business and now she’s carefully curating the very best people, products and experiences that her local community has to offer and bringing them together under one charming little roof! Follow along as she fills up her new space with all the things to help you live your best life.

Happy Valentine’s Day!💕 This is one of my favorites from last year. Peony ‘Inspecteur Lavergne’ and lacey white Orlaya. Though sights like this are more than 3 months away…the memories keep me going! Happy💗LOVE💗Day to ALL!

Woke up in a Winter Wonderland ❄️

A lot of things didn’t get done last year, at the end of the season and I’ve had to make peace with that. One of the things, one of the big things was that I didn’t dig my dahlias…and there were a lot last year! So I’m assuming I won’t having any going into this season, which is difficult to accept. I always start a tray of dahlia seeds each Spring and have good success with them and abundant dahlias. Trouble is, you never know what you’re going to get when starting from seed…but it probably won’t be your favorites. So I just placed a small order of my most favorite varieties from and I’m so excited! Head on over there right now and sn**ch up some of your favorites for the coming season! She has a gorgeous selection and no garden should be without dahlias! 💓 Happy growing!