Garden Inspiration: The Philadelphia Flower Show

We're still working on the new blog and website! In the meantime....

Is the nice weather putting you in the mood to get outside and work in your garden? If so, I have some inspiration for you...

Waaayyyyy back in March, we visited the world famous Philadelphia Flower Show. Everything was so beautiful. It is amazing to think that all of the gardens and even buildings were constructed inside the convention center... you really feel like you are walking outdoors through garden after lovely garden.

This year the theme was English gardens. There were teapots, umbrellas, and Union Jacks everywhere! I loved it.

I have to say that the problem with going to this show is that I come home with way more ideas than I have the time, money, and energy to implement in my own garden. There was inspiration everywhere! Oh, how I wanted to come home and start digging in the dirt immediately!

You can't celebrate Britain without Big Ben:

Or a tribute to the Beatles:

All kinds of English gardens were represented at the show. A formal garden:

A quaint cottage:

A royal garden gate:

Beatrix Potter's garden... perhaps she sat in a garden like this and 

was inspired to write Peter Cottontail??

Jane Austen's garden:

One of my very favorite displays was this Cricket Club. (Remember- all of these displays were built inside the Convention Center building, were displayed for the 8 day show, and then had to be completely dismantled once again!)

Entrance to a "Secret Garden":

 Another of my favorite displays was this simple collection of cloches, glass jars, and concrete containers holding all types of vegetation: potted flowers, cut greenery, vegetables, and succulents:

(Don't you love the giant fern fronds in this cloche?) 

(Who would have thought that rutabagas & turnips planted in concrete containers 

could be so fun and attractive?? I love this!)

Harry Potter themed display:

There were also lots of ideas for fabulous and dramatic tablescapes:

 (In addition to the very large urns full of flowers shown above, there were also smaller arrangements scattered about):

So that is our tour of the Flower Show. This is just a small representation of what was shown there. Truly incredible and inspiring!

Now I must get out into my garden... While it's easy for me to have grand plans, it is usually all I can do to get my existing flower beds weeded and mulched... but it's nice to dream.

If you could have any kind of garden or outdoor feature (such as a fountain, fire pit, etc.) what would you choose? I have been telling my husband for years that I want him to build me a wood-burning pizza oven outside!! I'm still waiting!

New York City: Get Inspired

A few weeks ago, I jumped on the train and met up with my friend and fellow Henry Glass Fabrics designer Brenda Pinnick in New York City. What a fun day we had! NYC is full of inspiration and creative stimulation, but never so much as during the holiday season. The word for the day was COLOR! I hope you will be inspired too- I took lots of photos. (I took all of the photos with my phone, some are better than others...)


Here are some Turkish bowls found at a street fair (I wanted them all). Look at the colors- cheerful without being too bright. And the green in the upper right corner looks a lot like the Pantone Color of the Year for 2013- Emerald. We are already seeing this all over the stores, especially in accessories like handbags. You will be seeing more of it in the upcoming year:

Here is Brenda, "loving" the bolts at Mood Fabrics (the same one visited by contestants on Project Runway). Even though I didn't buy anything (I recently cleaned out my sewing room, I'm not ready to fill it up again...) there was certainly no shortage of inspiration. So many colors, so many fabrics, so little time... Of course you don't have to visit the Big Apple to be inspired- stroll around your local quilt shop, favorite gift shop or boutique-y clothing stores for lots of "eye candy". Look for trends as far as colors and themes.

Something I discovered at ABC Carpet is the trend of patchwork and over-dyed carpets. All I can say is, "WOW!!"

Old carpets are cut up and pieced together. (See, those quilting & sewing skills come in handy everywhere!) Sometimes, as shown below, the carpets are over-dyed and the colors are deeply saturated. The effect is truly stunning. My iPhone photos don't do justice to these works of art :)
Has anyone seen this done before? It was new to me. We saw a lot of turquoise, fuchsia/raspberry, and yellow.

Sometimes, entire carpets are over-dyed. We were told that this vibrant turquoise is the most popular color right now:

Here, over-dyed carpet has been used to cover large ottomans. Love it!

More color inspiration- stacks & stacks of hand made quilts. I believe these were made in India (notice more bits of Emerald Green, and last year's Color of the Year, Tangerine):

All of that shopping made us hungry! Brazilian Chivito Steak sandwich, served with ham, a fried egg, and herb French fries. It was delicious. When I bit into it, the egg yolk ran all over and it was so good (incredibly messy, but good):

Someplace I have been wanting to visit for a long time is Eataly, an Italian Market owned by famous television chefs Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich. Lots of inspiration here, too- to shop and cook and EAT. If you are ever in NYC, I recommend it, it's lots of fun just to walk around:

(Yes, that cheese IS $37.80 per pound- it must be really good...) 

The market is divided into sections: meat, fish, cheese, wine, etc. You can purchase food to take home, but there are also prepared foods that you can eat and enjoy there.

And finally, some NYC miscellany...
Giant Christmas tree at the train station:

And of course, a Miniature Pinscher wearing brand new shoes:

I hope you have enjoyed this "trip" to NYC with me!  There are lots of ways to charge your "creative batteries." It can be visiting a particular city, or a favorite shop. Or maybe the mountains or beach or hiking in the forest. Or maybe just sitting at Grandma's table eating her famous (fill in the blank)......

What is your favorite place to go to be inspired?