Our Gabby Garden Gals' Garden Tour!

Five of us toured SE Iowa today!

First, we visited Tender top Nursery. They maintain lovely gardens both in the shade and in the sun, and three ponds that are very intriguing. They sell plants for any environment. This is where we began our purchases. My little Toyota Camry has a trunk that dares to compete with the storage of most SUVs. ha! :-)

In went our first purchases.
(To be quite honest, I didn't purchase these (not available) ...
but the are definitely on my wish list!)

Next we visited Lowe's - home/garden/lumber store. Of course we were interested in their plants, especially the bargains. We found a few!

Again, in went quite a number of purchases, but they fitted in perfectly with much room to spare.

(I DID purchase this!)

You can see that it's already "in place!" :-)

After lunch at Culver's (yum!), our next stop was Hilltop Gardens, owned by Gerald Hobbs. Mr. Hobbs is a member of Cedar Valley Iris and Day lily Society. He not only grows but develops new varieties of day lilies. A copy of his plant list is here.

Hmmmm. Those look interesting . . .

We're all smiles as we look for the perfect flowers!

Into the trunk went several of his day lilies ... check out the trunk!

Our next stop was Hillcrest Hostas & More, just west of Donnellson.

Yes - we found a few plants to bring home. Most of our purchases were miniature hostas.

There are two spaces left . . . just the right size for Becky's and my hostas. :-) The others had to balance their purchases on their laps, all the way home! ha.

A fun time was had by all. We missed the rest of you! Next time! :-)

Have You Ever Seen Such a Thing?

Frankly, some of us are having "words."

It all began when I caught a couple of our (yours and mine) garden friends in the corner talking earnestly, but quietly. They thought I hadn't seen them, but they were wrong.

I edged a bit closer, but then I noticed . . .

. . . that Hazel and Harry were in the room.

They are so easy-going. It couldn't be too bad, could it??

"Shady, be a dear," said Gladys - bosom buddy of mine that she is. "Please tell those two that it's not polite to whisper."

(My friend Gladys Gardener)

"Gladys," I said. "Are you talking about your friends Bertha Penelope and Agnes?"

"Yes, I am," Gladys replied. "I cannot believe they'd think I had anything to do with that . . . those . . . Things out there."

Oh, my. I was quite at a loss of words. "Dear friend, Gladys, you might say I'm in the dark, but I have No Idea what's happening."

(Enter Bertha)

"Shady, let me explain. We were walking through your yard this morning when we noticed something quite unusual. In fact, neither Agnes nor I had ever seen such a thing before."

(Enter Agnes)

"Yes, Shady. And we thought . . . well, we imagined . . . I mean, we would Never Hurt Gladys' feelings, but she is Quite The Gardener. After all, she's been gardening a LOT longer than we have . . . and we just thought she'd done it. That's all."

Done what??? I thought

(Enter Francine Weidermore)

"And Shady. We know you and Gladys have been friends for a long time. Couldn't you just talk to her? After all, we just want to know what has happened in your flower beds. They're the craziest things . . . and we just want to know what they are."

(Enter Matilda Marie)

"My sweet girlfriends, can you tell us what you've seen? I don't believe Shady has any idea there's something happening in her flower beds . . . and for that matter, neither does it seem that Gladys knows what you're discussing. I think we should take a look. After all, we are ALL good gardening friends, are we not?"

I thought perhaps I should give Matilda a hug. What a sweetheart.

(Enter Myrtle Underkirker)

"Who in the world DOES know what's going on around here? What in the world HAS happened in Shady's gardens? Can we just stop beating around the bush and talk about this? Or do we need to go outdoors? Oh, for heaven's sakes. You might think we're a bunch of earthworms!"


You can't beat around the bush while Myrtle is here! Earthworms?? ;-)

It was decided. We all stood up to go outdoors.

. . . to be continued

(slightly "Shady") ha.

Gabby Garden Gals - Gardeners Extraordinaire!

I know you've been on the edge of your seats to know about the May First Friday Art Walk, held last Friday, May 7!

Click on the photo to be transported to 'Odds and Ends' to read all about it! :-)