A Gardeners Confession

It has been 2 months and 26 days since my last post. I have avoided my blog and neglected my garden. I have not fertilized any of plants. I have not picked weeds. I did not cut back my Salvia for a second bloom. I
did not get enough sun.  Doug and I are going to be the two really white people on the beach next week.

Well, now that my garden soul is clean, I can re-invent Linda, again.

The shop is doing well. I highly recommend every person should have their own studio! Don't tell me your not creative. "Feed it and it will grow"!  I waited to long to get my studio.  I had looked into renting a small studio back in 1987 but...to many excuses to list. My advice, "do it".

One of my many finds this Spring was a beautiful old wrought iron light fixture. I just turned this outdoor fixture into and indoor Fairy Terrarium. I see a new workshop at the shop for this very soon.

Vintage Stuff for Rent

We have so many vintage items we decided to go green and rent them out for Weddings and parties.

This is a great way to reuse items without having to purchase and store them after an event. We have the space and want to share these fun finds. treestarhollow.com

Fairy Picnic

The fairy shop is gaining more interest everyday. I am having a great time and the creativity is pouring out. My recent pieces really show how much fun I'm having. Fairy garden enthusiasts are visiting and sharing ideas. Every gardener has twigs and branches to start making furniture. Any type of tree or shrub works.

Vintage Fairy Furniture

I always enjoy meeting Fairy Garden enthusiasts. Yesterday I was shown some "Vintage Fairy Furniture". It was made some twenty years ago and it still looks adorable. This furniture sat on the dresser of a young girl. Sometimes at night while she was sleeping the fairies would leave foot prints. There where even a few occasions where the fairies would leave "fairy dust kisses" on her cheeks or fairy dust on her nose when they tickled it while she slept.

Painting a floor

We have been working on the new shop. It has a floor that is both plywood and concrete. We decided to paint and stencil it. I am really happy with the colors and can't wait to move in the fixtures and fairy stuff.

Fall 2011

We have been busy this Fall. We took part in the Harvest Festival in Sharon Springs, New York. What a fun time we had! Everyone was so nice and welcomed us to the small historic town. We had a chance to visit with the Fabulous Beekman Boys and take a tour of their farm, we even met their Lama "Polka Spot". We came home with a few sign copies of the new Heirloom Cookbook.

We have secured a new location for our Fairy House Workshops. The new location will be opening in March of 2012. We will also be selling reclaimed garden items. I love giving new life to garden treasures.

Grape Harvest

The grapes have gotten out of control this year. They have decided to expand (on there own) to climb the two River Birch trees near the arbor. That being said harvest was a bit more challenging this year. We did however harvest and make the 2011 addition of Concord Grape Jam. It is by far our best year. No artificial color or flavor. The texture is wonderful, but back to the color, its so beautiful.

Wine Bottles in My Garden

I have used wine bottles to edge my herb garden for many years. I just can't stand the thought of tossing out those beautiful bottles. This year I saved our Christmas tree and pruned it to hold wine bottles in my vegetable garden. But most recently, I have found myself planting the bottles around my yard as hose guards. I added a few pieces of colored sea glass on top of each bottle for a little garden art.

Fairy Garden 2011

This year the Fairy Garden is bigger than ever. New housing has gone up in Fairy Hollow.

Beekman Boys

On Sunday I attended the Green Festival in Chicago. Among the main speakers were Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, also known as The Fabulous Beekman Boys. I made sure I was able to meet them since I am a big fan of what they do. I have told friends "I found two guys who are living my life". They are very inspirational for me to push Doug into speeding up our dream of living full time on the farm. Check out their show on Planet Green on Tuesdays nights.