Lovin' The Lillies

Lilytopia

featured at Longwood Gardens

Lilytopia is the largest lily show

in North America and shows off

the latest varieties of lilies

 developed by Dutch breeders.

Longwood Gardens is located

in Kennett Square, PA. 

The property was originally owned and

developed by Pierre du Pont

to preserve the trees.

It is now maintained by a foundation

set up by du Pont for this purpose.

This season was a second for Lilytopia.

Can you imagine the wonderful fragrance? 

Some of these lillies have never

been seen before in the USA.

The show was inspired by the world-famous

lily show at Holland's Keukenhof...

...and designed by renowned Dutch floral designer,

 Dorien van den Berg...

...with displays of more than

10,000 cut flowers.

Showcasing of the newest varieties of lilies

developed by Dutch hybridizers.

Here a lily...

There a lily...

Everywhere you look a lily.

The show was created to get

us excited about lillies.

I'm excited about lillies now...

well, ok...I always was.

What's not to love?

Gorgeous. Fragrant. Easy to grow.

What about you?

Which ones makes your heart beat a little faster?

Voila!

Looking for the out of the ordinary?

I'm in love with this chair.

Look at her soft curves...

Isn't she beautiful?

Her detail is captivating

She reminds me of a much loved crazy quilt

She's sold at a wonderful place called Voila.

The have all kinds of wonderful goodies.

This light fixture is incredible...

....and fun to boot

Voila says they sell "art for the modern eye"

I'm going to have to agree 

Striking and unique

Wouldn't these hands be wonderful on a rustic farm table ?

Could you pass the bread please

These would make great bookends

Check them out...

...you are sure to be pleased

http://www.voilagallery.com/

Ants...Earwigs...Spiders....OH MY!!!

I don't know what it is about the critters this year but they seem worse than usual. Our toddlers are not bug friendly. Each time they see one, the screaching begins. Mom or Dad has to swoop in, being the SuperHeros that we are, and kill the offending intruder. Ta-Da!

Blue Eyes and I have regular bug service, as we always have, but it's just not cutting it this year. Maybe all the rain? Everytime we run a bath, we have to clean out an earwig or an ant...or two. Not bad, but annoying. I keep finding single ants or ant carcasses all around the house. The scouts are out! 

I love to read Organic Gardening. I knew they would have some ideas. They did!

I found this solution formula at organicgardening.com so I am passing it on...

1. Make a solution of 1 percent boric acid (available at any drugstore) and 20 percent sugar by thoroughly dissolving 1 teaspoon of boric acid and 6 tablespoons of sugar in 2 cups of water. Use a clear jar so you can see when all the boric acid crystals are dissolved. Soak cotton balls in this bait solution.

2. Make bait dispensers out of old plastic containers with lids. Punch holes in them so the ants can get inside, then put the soaked cotton balls into the containers and cover them with lids so the bait won’t dry out.

3. Place the bait containers wherever you see ant trails, in or outside the house.

4. Clean the containers and use fresh bait solution at least once a week.

5. Be patient! The key is to get worker ants to continually carry low doses of boric acid back to feed the ants in their nest. Boric acid is mildly repellent to ants, and using a very low dose makes it more likely that surviving ants will continue eating the bait and taking it back to the nest.

I can't wait to see if it helps! Off to the drugstore I go...NO MORE BUGS!!!

Mothers Day

Some mothers are kissing mothers

and some are scolding mothers,

but it is love just the same,

and most mothers kiss and scold together. 

~Pearl S. Buck

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss

at the bottom of which

you will always find forgiveness. 

~Honoré de Balzac

When you are a mother,

you are never really alone in your thoughts. 

A mother always has to think twice,

once for herself and

once for her child. 

~Sophia Loren

There is an instinct in a woman

to love most her own child -

and an instinct to make any child

who needs her love, her own. 

~Robert Brault

I love my mother as the trees

love water and sunshine -

she helps me grow, prosper,

and reach great heights. 

~Terri Guillemets

Happy Mothers Day Mom,

I love you!

Quiet moments

When was the last time you spent a quiet

moment just doing nothing-

just sitting and looking at the sea,

or watching the wind blowing tree limbs,

or waves rippling on a pond,

a flickering candle or

children playing in the park?

~Ralph Marston

I love this park....lots of room to run.

Shade and sun.

Grassy areas and gravel areas. 

Aren't the colors happy looking?

Lots of different textures too!

So many developmental challenges to tackle...

even a rock wall to climb...a puppet show stage

...and a tic-tac-toe game.

Balance pods. Binoculars.

A ships/cars steering wheel

I love the all lines of the design. 

A big shady pavilion to cook and eat lunch in too!

Back in those trees,

there's a winding, shallow creek. 

Lots of wonderful large trees.

Various oaks, pecans, and bald cypress

provide the cool shade.

We even made new friends...

He's tolerant of us...

just watching us watch him.

He wiggles his nose and flicks his ears

but stays still...watching. 

He then moves higher in the tree...

and looks back down at us.

He goes on gathering nuts

while we go on to

observe ants moving in a line

up the tree trunk. 

There's so much to do when you are four!