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Friday, June 25, 2010

Red roses and a new Beach Cottage Painting

Welcome. My garden gate is always open for you to come in ,sit and relax and enjoy a cup of tea while I share with you the inspirations behind my art. Bentley, my helpful studio assistant, is ready to show you around.



I love to paint outside where I can smell the roses and find inspiration from my own vintage white wicker furniture. I wanted to paint climbing red roses with a flag blowing in the gentle summer breeze.
Let's go outside into the garden and look for inspiration.





Finding Inspiration . . . . .





Sunflowers in a blue and white vase.




Here . . . . .







There . . . . .










Everywhere . . . . .



A garden hat, pots of flowers and white wicker were my initial inspirations for the painting.



The finished painting with climbing red roses, a flag, garden hat, white wicker, pots of flowers and a blue and white vase with sunflowers.




Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate you visit, comments and those who are following my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special.


Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin

Saturday, June 12, 2010

You are Invited to My Garden Party

Welcome. My garden gate is always open to welcome you to come in, sit, relax and have a cup of tea. Every year I open my garden to welcome friends and neighbors to a little garden party. I start my Spring planting in early March and by June my garden is in full bloom and ready for a party.
I loaded up my Explorer Sport Trac with plants in March and started my early planting.
I have evergreen foundation plants for year round green and fill in with annuals for color. The Lily of the Nile and Penstamin are green all year.
Inpatients and Foxglove add color.




My garden gate is open to welcome you and Friends and Neighbors in to visit.




My flag is flying





I have been looking for something to use as extra seating in my garden that would fit in with my vintage iron furniture and found a wonderful old vintage iron French day bed. I found red outdoor cushions at Wall Mart and pared them with some outdoor cushions I purchased from Pottery Barn at the end of last season.






Bentley, my studio assistant, is busy making sure the garden is in order for our party.




I just purchased the stripe outdoor cushions from Pottery Barn and lucked out as they were on sale and also I bought the last two they had.


"Nellie" my old vintage Rocket Bicycle is all decked out.




I found the old blue watering can at a flea market and love all the shades of blue.







Garden hats are ready to provide shade.


Geraniums are in full bloom.


An old fountain makes a great planter.


Flowers are on the table.





Petunias are blooming and their happy faces say "welcome".


Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, comments and those who are following my blog. If you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special, please leave me a comment or send me an e-mail.
I will be in my studio painting and will be on a little blog break next week.

Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Garden Angels and The Children's Garden

Welcome. I am so happy that you stopped by. My garden gate is always open for you to come in and relax while you have a cup of tea. Do you have a favorite garden quote? One of my favorites is "Garden Angels Gather Here". I would love to share some of my garden angles with you and then take you to a delightful a little garden in Florida where a very special "Garden Angel" lives.



Bentley, my Studio Assistant. is already in the garden looking for garden angels.
























Now let's head to Florida to visit my sister, Leslie, and her adorable Grandchildren and a very special Garden Angel. Last winter was one of the coldest winters on record in Florida and most of the plants died in four little gardens started by the young children and their teachers at a Lutheran Church and School. Leslie volunteered to bring the garden back to life.




Leslie and Grandchildren and a friend sitting in front of the "Children's Garden".




My niece, Jill, and two of her children and a friend in front of one of the gardens. The children had already decorated some stones with their names and footprints or names and "frogs". The children love frogs and picked frogs as the theme for their stepping stones. Jill is the Director of Child Development for the school and was instrumental in recruiting her Mom to bring the garden back to life after the big freeze.




The special "Garden Angel" looking over a bare garden.






Most of the flowers and plants did not make it through the freeze.



Leslie got busy planting flowers and plants that would attrack birds and butterflies. She planted petuunias, pansy, bright yellow daisy and a butterfly bush along with some annuals.















Pansies and bright yellow Daises brought color to the garden.





She painted bird houses . . . . . .








Decorated a birdhouse planter and added a bird's nest to put on a little bench in the garden.









Added bumble bees and little garden gloves (just waiting for tiny hands to wear to help out in the garden) to the garden bench.





Added a whimsical welcome sign to welcome birds, lady bugs and butterflies.








The children helped water and refill the birdbath, hang wind chimes and decorative birdhouses.



With care, the tree came back to life and now the special "Garden Angel" watches over the children and all who visit this whimsical garden .





"All Things Grow With Love".





Now the Children's Gardens have come back to life for everyone to enjoy.


"One is nearer to God in a garden than anywhere on Earth".


Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate you visits, comments and those of you who are following my blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special.

Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin