An Enchanting Evening in Anna's Garden

Almost a full month has passed since I spent a warm July evening with Anna in her beautiful garden, sipping ice-cold wine that smelled crisp like grapefruit.  (I recommend reading Anna's blog, The Creative Flux.  Check it out!)

Anna introduced me to her garden explaining what plants still needed to be moved where and I knew in that instant that she was a kindred spirit.  All the plants in my garden have moved around on the tip of my shovel, at least once, except for the large fir tree.  My Pirate won’t enable me (his term) anymore, so it felt wonderful to share this quirk with another gardener.

The scent of vanilla wafted down onto us from her massive blooming magnolia tree as we explored and I took pictures.    

Anna pointed out all of her favorite bits of beauty in her lovely Irish accent; she’s from Sweden and her former Irish boyfriend taught her English.  

Anna stepped up on a retaining wall to show me a dark inky clematis bloom.  I enjoyed all the different clematis winding their way through her plants.

I loved her use of rusty metal.  It added dimension and interest.  

She even had a cardoon in her front parking strip like me! 

Her garden was filled with beautiful blooms.

Can you see the bumble bee?

I admired her artistic combinations of foliage.  Her plants were huge and happy.  I felt her garden surround us like a hug.

And her Podophyllum is gorgeous.  Now I'm excited to see mine grow in.

Look at those huge leaves!

The seed heads contrasted nicely with the new blooms.

And Manneman supervised our visit.  Such a cool name for a cat.  

Thanks for the wonderful evening, Anna!