Snow....In mid April....are you kidding me?

It seems Mother Nature has a cruel sense of humor here. SNOW that dreaded four letter word, in April mind  you. This is not good at all for us. These Magnolia' probably will be scared  with brown blotches on their flowers. Thanks, is this what you wanted.

Just look at the weight of this snow on these daffodils. I know they will bounce back as soon as they dry out some, but why oh why Mother Nature why are you so cruel to us.

Tulips under the snow, this is not the picture I was hoping to take, once more...Why?

Are you angry with us,what did we do to deserve this kind of punishment in mid April, you need to fix this immediately....no kidding, Ill be expecting better in the next couple of days

That dreaded Yellow of spring

Spring is taking her sweet time to get here to Michigan. The trees are budded the Daffodils are opening, but it's still cold outside. We are about three weeks behind temperature wise. Sure we have had a few nice days, but they have been far and few. It's like this, you can do a yard and garden cleanup in the sun one day, but the next day, you just want to stay inside and drink coffee. Then it warms up a little, then the next day it's back to cold and rain again, followed by three more days of cold.

I hate Forsythia's, They are a sure sign that spring is on the way, they are blooming everywhere here in the city as well as the suburbs. It's not that they are one of the first signs of spring...this I welcome, with open arms, it's just that these darn shrubs are polluting springs arrival with that acidic nasty yellow color, Yuky Poo Poo!!

 
Even after they finish blooming these shrubs have very little interest to me. These are in one of my neighbors yards. I am thankful that they are only around for a couple of weeks. The only purpose they serve to me is that they are a reminder that it's time to fertilize the lawn.

I don't know which is worse, when people shear them into these ridiculous shapes, or when they let them grow naturally. Either way they really BUG me. Look, this yard has them both ways, they really don't like me do they.

I welcome you spring, I just wish you had  a different welcome mat.

The Decline of a once great city

 This post has nothing to do with gardening, It's some photographs showing some of the decline Detroit has suffered in recent years. The pictures are just some of the photo's by Yves Marchhand and Romain Meffe, beautiful, yet haunting images of a city's decline

 This as you can tell was once a beautiful house, now in ruins just waiting to be demolished. This was the home of  William Livingston, a affluent family lived here during the glory days of the Motor City.

 This was once a United Artist Theatre, Oh how grand it must have been at one time.

 This was the David Whitney Building, I had my high school graduation pictures taken here, now empty. Yes that is white marble, take a look at the skylight ceiling. This is one the city has future plans for, it would be a shame to loose it.

 This is the old Packard plant, where Packard's were assembled during the 50's and 60's, if these wall could talk, what tales to tell.

 The plant was huge, now it has become a favorite canvas for Graffiti artist and movie makers Over 30 thousand employees at one time.

 My father took his first train ride to California from this train station " Detroit Central" I still can remember how grand it was inside.

 The Ball Room at the Lee Plaza Hotel, still standing, but I don't think any parties here in quite some time.

 The Ball Room at the American Hotel, just imagine the glamor,and the music from that piano.

Hopefully Detroit will have music again.

These images and more can be found  in " Decline of Detroit" check it out.

Our Wedding

Our Wedding, The Reception and Our Special Night.

 Christopher (Bad Cat) and I did it, that is, we were married this past weekend in Windsor Ontario which is just on the other side of the Detroit River.

Well of course I took on the job of Florist, who else? Here are some pictures of my flower choices. Red roses of course, they are the flower of love.

Red tulips, it is spring after all.

I hit the jack pot with these red ranunculus, though I've never used them before, they are to die for, in hot pink and red.

Gerber Daises in red, can you see a color scheme here?

Before I did any arranging I like to let my flowers rest for a day or two, this gives them a chance to open fully.  Here are some Lillie's waiting for their moment in the the spot light. Not only are the beautiful, the fragrance lights up the room too!

The " Bad Cat" made beautiful cupcakes.
We packaged them in white boxes and silver ribbon for our guest to take home after the Reception The larger cake was for us.

The Reception room was decorated with my arrangements, now we're just waiting for our guest to arrive.

Can you see the strawberries and the Magnolia branches I added.

The "Bad Cat" makes a beautiful cake too!

He makes a Great Husband also, we are so happy!!!

The Reception was perfect. The food delicious, the room beautiful. Everyone enjoyed it, especially me and my new husband. Truly a magical event.

A Blue Jay spring wreath.....just for spring.

 I usually don't do wreaths, except for Christmas. It's not that I don't like them, but I hate seeing dingy ,weather beaten plastic flowers outside. Christmas wreaths are an exception, because hopefully they are only going to be displayed during the holiday season and taken down before they become tired and tattered. Yuk!

 But this year I needed some spring color in my life, because spring just can't seem to get itself together here, so I made a wreath for the front door.

 I wanted blue to be my main color, blue Iris's, viola's, blue eggs, feathers, a blue birdhouse. A little nest for the Blue jay's, and some preserved Magnolia leafs. I even cut some real Magnolia branches and painted the pending flower buds blue.

 To hang the wreath I used blue ribbon too. Come on spring, I'm ready!!

Now mind you this wreath is just for spring, I'll take it down before the weather has it's way with it, I'll pack it away,and if I choose to use it again next year, I'll be sure to freshen it up. Because the only thing worse than an old tattered spring wreath making another appearance, is a spring wreath in the summer.



Mmmmmmm. You know what these are don't you.......strawberry's

 Yep the Bad Cat was at it again, this time working his magic with one of my favorites.

 Strawberry pie!!!

This is just a taste of what's to come, I think he wanted some spring color too.