Memories

My greatest childhood memory was visiting a Great Aunt in Wisconsin (my home state), she was my Grandma's sister and lived her entire life on the farm where she was born. My Aunt Annie was truly an incredible woman. First, she never married, she never saw a doctor and she never left the farm where she lived for 100 + years. Oh I am sure as a child she would ride to town with her parents in a horse drawn wagon, but these trips were few and far between since everything they needed was right where they lived.

I can still picture the inside of her cozy home, off the small mudroom you entered her kitchen facing a great old wood burning cook stove, in her small living quarters she had comfortable seating, a pedal sewing machine and in her bedroom was the softest feather mattress bed. When everyone else was entering the times of electric lights, television and kitchen gadgets, Aunt Annie stuck to the old ways of life.

She never had indoor plumbing and when you went to the outhouse you were sure to be chased by a mean old goose! She had a barn full of cows, a vegetable garden and a wonderful apple tree which produced the most delicious "snow" apples you ever tasted.

She was a tiny women with long gray braided hair which she wore wound around the top of her head. She was quite beautiful in her younger years, and I often wonder why she chose the lifestyle she did, but most of all I wonder if this was truly the beginning of my love for antiques.

Last year we had such a hard time keeping plants alive in our window boxes because of direct sunlight and little water so this year we decided to decorate them with clay pots and heat drought friendly sedum and succulents ~ I love the way it looks

This is such a neat metal shoe, I bought it from Shelley at Sweet Pea and as soon as it arrived I knew I was going to turn it into a planter.

Heather has been at it again, you may remember the old antique typewriter that Joy planted with live plants, well Heather saw it on the blog and decided to paint a replica of it.

She is some kind of talented, and I am so pleased to feature her work at The Plum Tree.

Last week, I asked Heather if she would be willing to paint portraits of our cherished pets, of course she replied with a resounding yes! So the first one she commissioned was for Duke, as you can see in the pictures below she caught his expression perfectly and the owner of Duke just loves the way it turned out.

Heather is working on two more right now and I can't wait to show them. If you would like a watercolor done of your favorite pet, please email me for prices or stop by and take a look at her work in person.

Such an inviting spot, just enough shade to keep you comfortable while napping.

The Geranium Festival was a blast, we were extremely busy all day and sold lots of potted planters as well as concrete statues. We offer a full line of statuary, fountains and birdbaths as very reasonable prices so if you do not see it in the garden, be sure to ask to see the entire line. Our next pick-up date is June the 9th.

Be sure to check out Joy's blog Green Side Up by clicking on the picture of the day lillies on the side bar. She has some great useful information to share this week when planning you container garden.

Also this week I would like to introduce you to our newest dealer, Sheryl Lanford. Below are just some of the things she has available, please be sure to check out her entire space at your next visit.