A Garden Lady Gathering

Today was a fun day. I had lunch with my wonderful garden friends here in North Carolina. It is one of the few days that we could all actually get together. Sunny but cold, a perfect day for some comfort food and good friends.

We meet at Janelle's for lunch and a bit of show and tell. I brought irises for Robin and catalogs to pass around. Robin brought handmade doilies for each of us and showed off her new garden scrapbook. Susan brought delicious deviled eggs and Janelle provided the feast. A hearty chicken casserole with a very sinful creamy sauce. Peas, biscuits, orange fluff, and butter pecan cake completed the meal. Everything was delicious but the cake was out of this world. Very rich and sweet! I love anything to do with butter pecan! We all urged Janelle to enter it into some cake competitions. Yes, its that good.

It was fun talking flowers with everyone. I don't get to as often as I'd like. We all have very different garden styles so there is lots of good tip sharing and pictures.

Janelle has a beautiful woodland type garden. Her trees create a very high canopy that lets through dappled light. Lots of ferns, hostas, hellebore's, daffodils, hydrangeas, boxwood, and astilbe adorn her extensive beds. Stone paths lead the way all around the yard which is slightly sloped. A small pond and waterfall are next to her deck protected by a perfect Japanese maple.

Robins garden is an ever evolving cottage paradise. She is constantly adding new beds and digging new amendments into her soil. Poppies and other cottage style flowers are in great abundance and create that cottage feel that is so comforting and inviting. A beautiful antique rose meanders along a long fence.

I have not had the pleasure of touring Susan's garden yet but have admired her place whenever I have driven by. She lives in a wonderful farm house complete with beautiful barn. Along the roadside is a charming split rail fence that is now backed with large boulders. Susan lives on a sharp curve and her fence pays the price repeatedly for the careless drivers! I hope to visit her gardens in the very near future.

Then there is my garden. A small area crammed to the gills with all the plants i can get a hold of. Someday they will get spread out onto a wonderful parcel of land.

Around 2 o'clock we all had to disperse for various obligations. It was such a treat to have lunch with some friends. I hope we will make this a monthly event.