To market, to market

After spending several hours at two of last Sunday’s Garden Conservancy Open Days gardens, we drove into the town of Lake Forest on the north shore of Lake Michigan to find a little something to eat. One of the volunteers suggested a few places in what is considered the oldest shopping center in the country. Market Square. It is a charming block of stores of varying architectural styles that house retail as well as other types of business with living quarters upstairs. The idea of mixed use properties isn’t as novel as we might think these days, as Lake Forest’s Market Square illustrates.

We ate at the Market House. It felt good to sit and relax, sip iced tea, and feel the cooling breeze of overhead fans on the restaurant’s porch. When the waitress said that the salads were made from local produce sold at the small, open air market across the street, we decided to give them a try. My choice was the special of the day, shown above, made with fresh arugula, avocado, heirloom tomato, goat cheese, and toasted walnuts, with warm shrimp and a balsamic vinaigrette on top.

Sated, we took a stroll around the square, which was charming with fountains and towers adorned with clocks and weather vanes, green common space, and all one could imagine in this historic shopping center which made its debut in 1916.

The produce market was closed, but, we were able to see most of what this open air business holds. It is really an alleyway between two building, running through to both sides of  the block.

I couldn’t believe how many plants, produce, and ornamentation was in this rather small space, or how visually appealing it was, not to mention the scents from the herbs and flowers that hinted their presence as we walked by.

Click on some of the pictures to get a better view of all the wonderful things in this small space.

I so love these hidden gems of life that find their way into my own.

Don’t you love these unexpected finds that life sometimes tosses your way?

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Open Days – part 2

The second garden we visited on last Sunday’s Open Days was a mass of color and texture, ponds and walkways. Peonies danced with roses and the poppies were showing off in a profusion of riotous blooms.

In among the flowers, glass artwork caught the sun.

This one brought to mind, for me, Dr. Seuss.

A new use for an old bird cage.

A clambering noise from the pond drew us in, with this fellow making the most racket, as his friends sat or swam nearby.

Of course, I couldn’t resist the clematis now, could I?

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Zoe

Shortly before our wedding, a shower was had by a friend and bridesmaid, Marlene. Beautifully wrapped boxes were opened and gifts were accepted with gratitude as we anticipated our life together. In the midst of it all at Marlene’s house, a kitten appeared. A darling Calico full of energy and life, rubbing the ankles of those in attendance and otherwise stealing the show. I remembered the kitten as I read Dee’s blog, complete with an excerpt from her newly published book, The Twelve Habits of Highly Successful Cats and Their Humans. The kitten, you see, turned out to be one of our wedding gifts from the hostess, Marlene.

It was 39 years ago that we were gifted that kitten. We named her Zoe, the Greek word for life, as we began our life together.

Zoe was a character of a cat. She didn’t purr, but she loved Greek Kalamata olives and, strangely, Ben Gay. Sore back muscles got a second kneading by Zoe whenever the Ben Gay ointment came out. Imagine, a Calico cat on a very sore back in purr-less ecstasy over someone’s aching muscles?

Zoe really loved us as much we loved her, but she was, shall I say particular with her attentions to others. Our niece Heather, just learning to speak at the time of Zoe’s appearance, would respond when asked after the litany of questions we ask toddlers about animal sounds, “What does Zoe say, Heather?”. Heather would smile  sweetly and say “hisssss”.

Thanks, Dee, for the reminder of such a thoughtful and wonderful gift and joy of life our Zoe brought, and for the announcement of your new book, a companion to your first, all of which you, dear reader,  can find out about here.

The serendipity of Dee’s post and the reminder of Zoe is that Tom and I just celebrated our 39th anniversary this past Sunday. I don’t know where the last 39 years have gone, but I’m so grateful and blessed to have shared them with Tom for so long.

We spent the day in our typically nature kind of way, touring Garden Conservancy Open Day estates, visiting an organic farm, and eating at one of our favorite Francesca restaurants, La Sorella de Francesca in Naperville. We were seated at a window spot we especially like and each of our meals was delicious after a long, busy, inspiring – and very hot day.

The flowers on the ledge outside our window were so lovely, I decided to take a picture, and found my Tom in the reflection as well. I love these moments in life, don’t you?

Zoe!

To life!

(click onto the picture to find Tom)

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First, it rained.

It rained before we set out to visit the open gardens for the Garden Conservancy. It wasn’t a heavy downpour or violent storm the likes of which visited us, repeatedly, this summer, it just a gentle rain. It must have been welcomed by the gardeners early that morning. Although the ground was wet, the plants were gleeful. They glistened in the sunlight, clinging pearls of water on the tropical leaves.

Isn’t it amazing how a tiny drop of water can magnify the beauty of a leaf or petal after a rain?

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Lotus and waterlilies

At the foot of the extravagantly dressed dahlias, which posed for you yesterday, were several serene pools. Formal and exquisite, which contradicts my haphazard style of gardening, they were calming reflections of the sky above. This is one of the things I love about the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program. The many forms that gardens take throughout a region and the many forms a garden takes within its own borders. This garden was originally patterned after England’s famed Sissinghurst Castle gardens. It has since taken on a more tropical plants in a midwestern suburb on the outskirts of Chicago. There is a wonderful article about the in the September/October issue of Chicagoland Gardening Magazine.

It is late summer here. A prelude to Autumn. The waterlilies were few on Saturday, but, the lily pads were like slippers, waiting to slip onto weary feet. They were lovely to see.  The show stoppers were the lotus plants,  turning their unique seed pods to the sun. I had fun for a while with my camera, which is like an extra appendage to me. Duct taped to hold the batteries in and plagued with dust spots at all the wrong moments, it has been faithful to me, for which I am grateful, especially with some of these images, which I hope you will enjoy.

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