Yu Yuan (豫園) is purportedly a garden designed to induce contentment for royalty. The unifying theme is rock. It is found throughout the garden in both (seemingly) natural formations and in intricate patterns. Plants and flowers are occasional focal points, but obviously not of primary concern. To find the garden, one must navigate a sprawling […]
Getting to Yu Garden in Shanghai
First, you go to the concierge and ask for information about the subway and how to exchange currency. He gives you a map in Chinese, but with pin yin, as well as characters. He also shows you just where the garden is on the map and the best subway route to use. Then, you go […]
Straw Bale Gardens Number 2 and 3
After barely missing the star role in a slap stick comedy/tradgedy, as the shovel set in flight by the airborne straw bale came close to whacking me, then narrowly avoiding poking out my left eye with the branch of the butterfly bush I was pruning, my front driveway area is looking much nicer. So much […]
Idaho Botanical Garden in Early Spring
Most of my girls and a dear friend visited the Idaho Botanical Garden with me on Melody’s birthday this year. I had never been there before, always wanting to, but never able to drag myself away from my own garden on a sunny day. This year I bought a year long family pass. I hope […]
Easy Grow Light Stand for Seedlings
My engineer husband doesn’t like gardening, but he almost can’t help himself when it comes to researching and inventing things. Hence, I have a new set of grow lights for my birthday this year. I also have some that he made me about 5 years ago, with some metal shelves that he fabricated himself […]