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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Things I Love About "things i love"

It was a fast four days. Franklin is a quaint small town south of Nashville, TN. My visit with my only sister, Marmee, was fully loaded with all the things that make for a great trip and a very fun girly- time visit.

The winding country road Marmee lives on is bordered with acres and acres of open fields and lined with trees in the midst of seasonal changes. It's a scenic drive in any direction and she is the kind to take the time to soak it all in even on a busy day.

Before I publish a post of our visit to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, I just had to share another glimpse of a few of the "things i love" about Marmee's farmhouse and gardens.

Green Osage oranges litter the ground beneath branches heavy laden with many more of these wonderfully textured green orbs. A perfect addition to the autumn ambience seen throughout the gardens this time of year.

Nandina bushes drooping with deep reddish-orange berries flank the entryway to the picket fence that leads to the front door.

Even though three nights in a row temps dipped to the freezing point this week, there are a few flowers defying the early frosts and determinedly hanging on.

Yet others gave way under the frosty layer after delighting the gardener for several weeks with Cosmos blooms on lanky stalks of delicate greenery.

The gentle rocking of old iron chairs provided us with relaxing hours of endless conversation under the trees at day's end. The weather was better than anyone could have ordered up... abundant sunshine with cold temps to start and end each day but totally comfortable all the hours in between.
There are so many nooks and crannies in a sprawling garden on acres of land. Some more developed and finished than others. Each though with its own delights and special welcome.

Interesting lighting and unique decorations make each area useful for its own purposes.
To the west the summer vegetable garden and wildflower garden now spent for the most part lie waiting for spring's tilling project. Still, the sunflowers remain standing sentinel above the garden supplying the abundance of wildlife from their massive droopy heads of seeds. Silhouetted against the pink and purple sunsets (we ooooed and aahhhhed over every evening) they serve as another reminder of the changing season that is upon us.

One of my favorite things was sitting around the outdoor fire pit behind the barn. The crystal clear sky, full of bright stars, along with the crisp and cold air drew us as close as possible to the flames while family and friends told stories late into the night.
It's always fun to photograph someone else's garden areas. This one was especially exciting as I strolled around to take it in more than once not wanting to miss a single thing.
Thanks for coming along and stayed tuned for more on Cheekwood Gardens.

23 comments:

  1. From your post I can almost feel the love and relaxation you shared with your sister in her garden.

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  2. I love the sights from Tennessee. Takes me back many years to the time when lived in the area south of Nashville. Your photo shows some of the things I love too.
    Marnie

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  3. Isn't that the perfection in our minds when we think of a country lane? Someone should paint a picture of that.

    I must find out more about those chairs! They have so much character. How old are they?

    Cameron
    PS Thanks for catching up on my blog -- I'm glad you were off having a fantastic time with your sister.

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  4. Looks like you and Marmee had such a great time! It's always great to see your sister. I too have one sister that I rarely see but we stay in touch by blogs and phone. Enjoyed your pics Meems.

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  5. What a beautiful & loving post.
    Can't wait to see more of the gardens and I also love the chairs. Cherry

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  6. Good morning Meems, sounds like you had a wonderful time. What a beautiful place to live and to visit!

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  7. It's fun to explore other gardens. How nice that you are your sister are able to get together & share common interests. Your sister has a beautiful garden in Tennessee.

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  8. meems i almost don't know what to say but i am so glad i got to share with you the things i love and you loved them too! we did have a glorious 4 days. so many posts are tumbling around in my mind. it will be fun to see what you saw at the gardens and other places we were both voraciously taking photos.
    thank you for taking the time to come visit even amoungst other family goings on.
    i love you that is one of the people i love at thingilove-marmee.

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  9. How wonderful to have such a beautiful relationship......Marmee never fails to enchant me with her posts......this post told of love of a sister and all she holds dear in her garden.........tku for sharing your time together with us........

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  10. We pass through that area on our trips home to Alabama. It's beautiful, especially this time of year.
    It sounds like you had a lovely visit. I love campfires in the fall.

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  11. What a wonderful visit you had. That road she lives on, man oh man!! Beautiful. I love all of the quaint little things she has tucked here and there.

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  12. Meems, I love Marmee's log and garden. She has a delightfully good eye! She has a very loving presence.
    Tennessee and Williamson County in particular are lovely...the rolling hills and miles of roads lined with horse pastures are fun to drive .

    I am looking forward to your visit to Cheekwood...it is just a few miles from my house! I am just sad about missing you!

    gail

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  13. I'm glad you and Marmee had such a wonderful time together. I love your photography, from the views to the close ups. What a beautiful place she has!

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  14. Fantastic post. I love the picture of the road with the trees showing their fall color.

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  15. Creating cool things to see in the home and garden is obviously a family gift.
    So glad that you have a fun trip!
    P

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  16. Very pretty - Makes me wish I were there. . .

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  17. My sister-in-law got married in Franklin - right around this time of year several years ago. Thanks for bringing back such lovely memories - you've captured the landscape just the way I remembered it!

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  18. What a wonderful place. I'm so glad that the 2 of you had this time together. I love everything about your home, the road, the fields, the camp fire, & omg, those chairs are to die for. Where in the world did you find them?

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  19. Lovely photos! It is always fun to see another blogger's garden from someone's else perspective. The osage oranges (we called them hedge apples) bring back memories of when I was young--very few are left around here now.
    Looks like you and Marmee had a wonderful time together and were blessed with beautiful weather to enjoy the outdoors.

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  20. Fall is a good time in so many ways: it trips something in our brain that makes us incredibly nostalgic. I don't know what that is, because you'd think there'd be a sadness with summer ending ... but not so, at least for many people.

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  21. Beautiful post! And the pics... those first two really make me miss the fall colors seen north of us here in central Florida.

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  22. Hi Meems, your loving post about the things you love touches my heartstrings. Reading the words from both of you is stirring up happiness with the love you so obviously share. I eagerly await the Cheekwood experience, having been there once before, but it was winter then. I hope to return sometime with Gail as my guide! You do look great in the *people* photos BTW and the link does not work properly in her post. But we still know how to find you!!! ;->
    Frances

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  23. oh how I love those old iron chairs. and the osage oranges brought back memories from my childhood in Virginia. I haven't seen them since! Beautiful photos and garden.

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


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