When we arrived it was nearly lunchtime, and Jeff had packed one of his amazing picnics for us, and we sat on a picnic table overlooking a beautiful, pristine, hedge-trimmed expanse of lawn. The perfect location for a picnic.
We had planned on spending the entire day touring the grounds, but it was spitting rain and there weren't enough people visiting the place to warrant the guided tram tour around the 127 acres.
Instead, we shopped the Arboretum's awesome garden store and spent our entrance fees on some hard to find heirloom seeds and also some organic heirloom tomato starts which already had flowers on them ready to bloom. Score!
My lovelies...
Here's hoping I manage to keep them all alive, because we've got several interesting varieties in there which I hope to see to fruition...including striped, ruffled and a creamy white colored tomato!
There was also a small portion of the arboretum around the garden shop which we were free to explore. My boys had never seen how bananas were grown before
And then these beautiful plants
They were a deep indigo blue color (the photo does not do the color justice) and smelled wonderful. Anyone know what they are?
Then, there were some of my favorites
There were several gorgeous rhododendron and azalea specimens around, but this was the only photo I got because
He was a beautiful fowl, as was his much plainer though still lovely counterpart, the peahen.
I had to laugh, because Jericho was narrating this peacock behavior
with such comments as, "Heeeeey, ladies...check. me. out!"
Alas, in spite of the peacocks best efforts, the nearby peahens seemed largely unimpressed
The males of the species come by their name rightly with their cockiness and strutting their stuff, but one had to admit...he was a beaut.
I love the blue glitter on his head. And that color of blue...fabulous!
We plan to return on a gorgeous, warm day and explore the entire place.
There is a Queen Anne cottage on the property that I would love to see, as well as a lake and large separate garden areas that include native Australian plants, as well as species native to Asia and Africa.
My kind of fun.
Though perhaps I'll be nice and ask for that for Mother's Day so my kids won't whine about 'having' to get dragged around the place on a regular family outing, haha.
After taking our purchases to the truck, our boys again spied that gorgeous expanse of lawn and, starved for green desert-dwellers that they are, couldn't resist taking a run on it.
Run, Forrest, Run!
Daddy even obliged by giving Judah 'rides' on the lawn.
Which...didn't work quite so well for Jericho.
Though his dad is a strong man, this feat is much harder to accomplish now that Jericho is officially taller than his mother.
There were numerous Birds of Paradise flowerbeds about the property.
Which begs the question...which type of birds are we talking?
or
??
After the Arboretum, we stopped off in Pasadena for some antiquing and thrift store browsing. They had a gorgeous selection of art and antiques in the mall we went to, but the prices were astronomical, being a high-dollar city area and all.
We instead went to the city of Citrus, and we actually came within a block of IKEA, but wonder of wonders, I declined Jeff's offer to stop. I know that place is as boring as the fabric store to my guys.
Instead, I poked around in some antique stores in the old town area while the boys went to a soda fountain and played in a park in the rain.
Later, we stopped off at a huge Salvation Army thrift store there, and Jeff and the boys went in there with me to look for snow gloves for our trip to the mountains later this week.
No luck on finding gloves, but as Jeff walked down an aisle in the dishware section of the store, he saw something white that looked a lot like the milk glass I have on my hutch, picked it up and asked, "Is this that stuff you like?"
It was exactly like the milk glass platter I got a while back...except for only $6.99! What a steal!
You da man, Jeff!
Having scored the best deal of the day, I also think he might finally understand the thrill of the hunt, as well.
Hopefully this means more stops at thrift stores in other communities. **big Cheshire grin**
5 comments:
Oh, what fun! Yahoo on the milk glass! I love that stuff, myself. Here's hoping you post pictures when your tomato plants fruit...
XO,
Pam
That plant you asked about is called a Ceanothus, or California lilac (they don't smell like lilacs, but they do smell GOOD!) We sell them at Lowes. They come in that tall variety but also in a shorter prostrate form that is a groundcover-like plant with the same distinctive flowers and fragrance. Nice, eh? Now, back to the post...I can't wait to read the rest!
Just keep bragging on how Jeff snagged that milk glass dish for you...tell everyone you know (in front of him). Just a little tip from your mother.
The Bird of Paradise is not named after a bird. It's simply named that for it's birdlike appearance. Strelitzia or some such thing I believe. We sell those at Lowes, too! (Inside garden up north here).
I love the peacock posing on the table with the boys, looking like he's got his wings tucked into his hip pockets!
And Jericho cracks me up. But has anyone ever really noticed the BACK side of one of those peacocks when he's got his dance going? Talk about walkin' behind NO BEHIND!!! There's NOTHIN' there!
That sounds like a day I would have enjoyed to the max too. Hope your tomatoes make it. It's not as critical to keep them warm (60 degrees is fine) as it is to give them really good light for at least 6 hours a day. This is where a cheap 4 ft shoplight fixture with one warm and one cool white 48inch bulb works magic. A timer, and you're pretty much set.
We're starting to see rhodies and azaleas blooming here, too. The weather is warming. I almost wore shorts today but was glad I hadn't when I ended up staying two extra hours into the chilly evening.
p.s. I grew tomato plants in my basement under those kind of lights.
Sounds like a wonderful day! Loved all the pictures:)
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