Southold Historical Society Garden Tour: July 9, 2005

Truly a thing of the past!

Arlene, wow how did I miss this? I am glad someone mentioned it on the daylily forum. You have a wonderful place, can I come and live there? No, this Southern girl would FREEZE!

I also love all the copper work your husband has done.

I have never heard of a church admission. So sad.

Maybe you'd like to come up, stay here, and watch the dogs while we go away someplace cooler: the Gaspe Peninsula.

I'm sure this is hot enough for you, this week: at 7:44 AM, it is 77 degrees with 88% humidity.

Thanks for all the compliments: weeds don't have too much of a chance when the plants keep growing as they do!

Pirl the garden is a work of art! If I where a fairy your garden would be the perfect home. And to open your home like that to a tour I hope the guest realized what a treat they received. I've said it before, but have to say it again. When my house grows up it wants to look just like yours.

Congratulations on the tour selection and you and Jack's accomplishments.
.... everything and anything else has already been said, so -
Good Show!

Araness and 8'bed: your words are like music to my ears. Loved the part about this being the perfect home if you were a fairy! I have a little fairy in my strawberry herb pot and had a Fairy Tale Garden until the hydrangea, Tardiva, spread out much too wide. All our hybrids of Fairy Tale Pink by various "fathers" surrounded it. I gave them all fairy tale names according to their looks. Then I had to move them all but still do have them.

Pirl,
I enjoyed your "tour" immensely. I have a similar garden or maybe it's just that we have similar tastes-big long borders, clematis in my roses, lots of little birdhouses here, we were on a tour this year, etc. but I wish you lived nearby. I think we would be great garden friends! I know I would learn so much from you (I have many hybridizer friends) and I would hope you would learn from me, too. I will listen closely to your posts on DG.
Boojum

Thanks boojum! Long borders are dreamlike to me. There was one shot where I messed up. I'll post it here. Oh, I LOVE TO LEARN and I think everyone who gardens does, too. There's always something new for all of us to enjoy and learn about. If I hadn't listened to "the real PIRL" I'd never have made being on the tour twice. Of course, having Jack is my real prize!

He made the trellises, tuteurs, window boxes, copper work, cut out the sod for our gardens, does the mowing, edging, composting, spraying, feeding, shares the weeding and deadheading with me: he's my dream come true.

Here's my man, the morning after!

This is the one I wished I had used instead of the "long view" one that I did use. I envy the birds that perch in this dogwood, for the view they have, with none of the work. They've given us many plants: white bleeding heart, the lovely lavender Stokesia and spread the Echinacea seeds for us. Maybe it's their way of thanking us and I am always grateful.

pirl--absolutely outstanding gardens! I love they way they wind around from sun to shade. How kucky you are to have a DH that can tell a thistle from a daylily! :)

May we see more of your personal daylily hybrids?

Thanks Wanda! Coming from you it's a super compliment!

I'll post some of our hybrids later in the day. I still have many more to photograph but it's too hot to be out now.

This is a great garden! Wow .. all you need is a little statue of Saint Peter.. or maybe the Virgin to stick near the door. . . . LOL what a stunning garden. So classical in look . . . really sharp wish I could have been there to nab a daylily or three! Mitch

Saint Peter? I'm familiar with having St. Francis or St. Fiacre in the garden, but St. Peter is new to me.

Personal joke on this one sorry - I keep a collection of Saint Peters in my garden... dont really know why just found my first one in Mexico and loved the look....

Mitch: Wait 'til you see the picture I'll take within five minutes!

I know this is blurry but I was laughing. It's for Mitch! I've heard it said that a grunting animal will show up when you put up a statue and sure enough a pig turned up. He threw the flamingoes out of the pool and he's in it now!

ROFLMAO

You crack me up.

Thank you so much for the beautiful tour of your gardens. Just Awesome!!!
Winnie

Thanks winnietn and thanks Janis, the birthday girl who has fudge and isn't sharing it with me! Wait until tomorrow!

Pirl ~ with a story like that it's no wonder why the gnome is sitting with his head in his hand!

Hey Moby! I think he's drinking on the job. He better start praying!

I offered to trade some of my fudge Arlene... now you have to find the thread I posted it in :)


I'm skipping away happily.... whistling..... being totally innocent

Arlene

I sooooooooooooo know what you are getting for YOUR birthday... and its not fudge :-P

Janis

Thanks so much for pointing me towards this thread Arlene! You have done a marvelous job of creating your own little Paradise. Everything is so picture perfect, it looks like a movie set. I can tell both you and your husband have put a lot of love and sweat into it.
I especially love Petals and the way she seems to be studing the coleus at her feet. What a sweet face she has. Of course I also love your little Gnomes, the glass grasshopper and am green with envy looking at the gorgeous astilbe. OK, I love it all and I love that fact that you both seem to get so much joy from it!!! I'll revisit often.

Susan

Woofens: this could be a full time job!

Susan: Petals stares at her coleus while I stare at my callouses!
"A movie set" - well that's an outstanding and very complimentary phrase. I'm so impressed. Thank you for your kindness!

If you ever need astilbe: the white 'Bridesmaid', the lavender 'Rhineland', or the purple 'Purple Lance' just let me know - we have tons of it. We love sharing our plants. If we had kept all we gave away we wouldn't have a blade of grass left!

Thanks, Susan. You're very sweet.

Arlene -
Very, very nice!! Now, how are you going to out do that next yr??!!

I can see it now, you'll be hurrying to write down all the ideas, and the neighbors think you are slow. Little do they know just how quick you are! Quick with the wit and the ideas!!

Hmmm maybe next year you'll have to take all the ones you were thinking about giving away and pot them up for prizes. The more prizes the better... One prize per family... you'll have to find/make lots of new things for next yr... She'll be telling the honey she'll be back, gotta go shopping and get more goodies for the yard...

Love the little girlie sitting on the bench with the bandaid on her knee (remember the story), the gnomes, the flamingoes, the itty bitty birdhouses... love it all! You did good girl! ~ Suzi ♥

Suzi,

The society only does this every seven years so we have time to do something new. I was thinking, thanks to a great page by RikerBear, (Garden Talk: I found a rainbow in my garden), of doing a rainbow colored daylily garden across the front of the vegetable garden. I already have the ten items for the visual scavenger hunt in the garden. That is assuming we live to make it!!! He'd be 82 and I'd be, uh, well, over 40!

Thanks for all the compliments. You do remember that Petals leg was knocked off! I was thinking of putting it across her lap and seeing if anyone noticed it!

My daughter once painted those itty bitty birdhouses, for a local crafts dealer, for extra money when she was a stay at home mom. So it is a very minor way to pay tribute and acknowledge her fortitude, tenacity, and courage in going it alone, with little granddaughter Megan by her side, and Toonie the cat, then succeeding and getting her degree. I'm so proud of her!!!!! She's the greatest gift God ever gave anyone but He gave her to me!

Cowabunga Arlene & Jack!!!!!!!! Your gardens are awesome - thank you so much for sharing this with all of us here at Daves. We're all blown away by not only the size and immaculate condition of your gardens, but by the love, dedication & and an awful lot of elbow grease you two put into your place. Very, very very nice! Alice S.

Arlene - Only every 7 yrs for 4 hrs??!! Hey, that is worse than waiting for a "blue moon" cuz at least they occur about every 2-1/2 yrs!! Figured it would be every or every other yr.

Single motherhood is not for the faint at heart!! Glad she did earn her degree! Got a better chance to thrive, instead of just survive, with a degree! Education is very important!! I got my BS in HR in 03 as a single mother too... w/ the spt of my DDs! Starting on MBA soon too... ~ Suzi ♥

oh, what a feast for the eyes and nose and fingers and toes! i would have to be barefoot for the whole tour! thank you so much for inviting me arlene. my "jacks" name is john and he does for me like yours does for you. i esp. enjoyed the long view from the neighbors side and what is that tree in the middle with dark leaves? are they maroon? my favorite little "find" was the band-aid on petal's knee. i am going back later this evening to tour again. so very appreciative to be included. your loves labour is not lost on those who know the gardeners cost, not for the dollar, not for the dime, but in visions and dreamings, tears and time. debi

Thanks so much Alicemay! The elbow grease is mostly Jack's but the love and dedication is the same as we have for each other.

Suzie - Your kids will always see you in a higher light than you can imagine. You've succeeded, just like ButterflyChaser NancyAnn did as a struggling single mom. There are so many mountains you cross that nobody else even notices. God bless you always.

My daughter already had her BA in computer science, before she married and then went on to get her four year degree in Music Therapy (Magna cum laude) to help emotionally deprived and Autistic children. Then she got her teaching certificate and taught school but now teaches music privately and loves it. She's married to a wonderful, handsome young attorney and they have a beautiful home and a lovely life: finally! I'm so happy for her and my granddaughter, Megan and that Toonie, the cat is still with them and has his own bed of catnip!

Sounds like she is doing amazingly well! Maybe one day I will marry again; a handsome young attorney would be very nice!! [I dropped out of law school after 7 months of very little sleep and tons of studying while continuing to work full time and being a single mother, March 15th this yr.] ~ Suzi ♥ :)

What an awesome tour! Thank you so much for allowing us to see your peaceful gardens.
:) Donna

Debi - I'm thrilled you liked them so much! Petal's leg broke off and to remind me to be gentle with that leg I put a bandaid on it. That always reminds me of the pictures my mother would take of me, with a vase of flowers she'd give me, for my birthday. I always had a bandage on my knee. Now I just get physical therapy from gardening way too vigorously!

Tell me which picture has the "tree in the middle with the dark leaves" and I'll try to identify it for you. If it's with Jack and the guests near the vegetable garden (8:31 was the time on the post I think you might be referring to) you probably see our former neighbor, Dorothy Robohm's copper beech tree. She just turned 97 but she and her hubby, Bud, were the two town doctors from 1951 to 1975 when they retired: what a great couple!

The visions is the hardest part. I can envision what I want, pull out, plant and say, "Oh no" but then do it over and it works out. It does take years to have it finalized, section by section.

We appreciate all your kind words and thoughts.

it's the picture taken at 8:27. i just love that shot. an ace bandage has replaced my band-aids of childhood. has anybody seen that moon tonight? its worth getting away from the computer. debi

That is the copper beech I mentioned. I got up to see the very bright moon and Jack and I started singing, "Deep in the heart of Texas" with the clap clap clap and the dogs started barking....Goodnight all!

What a lovely Garden! I could spend hours wandering around and looking at all the flowers. I love the little nooks and crannies with seating. I love discovering little things as you go through a garden. Looks like you have it all. (I can't even begin to start discussing the plants.. they are just lovely and so well put together!)

Thanks Laura! In fact, we do spend hours wandering around, especially in the early morning light. It's so fresh and pretty then before the sun goes on it's rampage and starts beating up the daylilies. We picked over 3,000 deadheads this morning (but we hadn't done it for the previous two very humid days!) and now it's time to dig up daylilies for a neighbor. So glad it's on the shady side of the house right now!

Love it love it love it just perfect!!! Mitch