One door opened

Well, lo and behold.  While hoping and waiting for the door to open for the garden book project, another one opened instead.

I spent the morning running around town and met with the owner of ThistleThistle.  Thistle is a wonderful vintage shop in the Crossroads area of Kansas City.  There is a section set aside in the store for featured artists.  At the end of February, in time for March First Fridays, I'll have a couple of walls in the store featuring my garden photographs!

Of course, being downtown meant a stop at the Kauffman Memorial Gardens to take more pictures.  The orangery at the gardens is a great place to visit on a cold day.  The air is filled with the perfume of citrus trees.  The garden displays are full of color.  

Now, I'm back to wondering how the garden book will turn out and have something else to add to my worry list - getting the photos ready for Thistle.  Some are ready to go, others will come from my shop inventory at Satch's Jewel and I'll get to print, mat and frame some more.  Less than 20 days 'til set up for my very first First Fridays!  

To read more about my dream to create a book of garden stories, click on Perhaps I've lost my mind.  

How many days until spring?

Friday was a beautiful day in Kansas City.  I spent the day seeing customers, handing out price books and talking about new plants at the nursery.  


At the end of the day I was in the Crossroads District, just minutes away from the Kauffman Memorial Gardens, and realized it was time to stop talking about plants and time to go see some.  

The doors were wide open at the garden's conservatory and the sweet scent of gardenias and orange blossoms filled the air.

Gazing balls reflect the view of the sky from the windows above.  Light streaming in from the windows at the front of the conservatory shines through the petals of the flowers of the Euryops.  

If you too are wondering how many days there are until spring and need a plant fix, a visit to the Kauffman Memorial Gardens will probably help.

On the way to the conservatory, don't rush too quickly past the plants in the gardens outside.  Even in the winter, there is plenty to see.  The copper colored exfoliating bark of the China Snow Lilac glows.  I love the lines of the twisted trunk in the middle photograph.  Deciduous female holly plants have bright red fruit all winter long. 

Still time for a bit of Christmas

At lunch yesterday my son and I ate at Winsteads on the Plaza.  While talking about the characters of his next novel, I glanced out the window and saw that clouds were moving in.  Though our next stop was the Nelson Atkins Museum, it dawned on me that we were very close to the Kauffman Memorial Gardens.  I love the windows at the conservatory there and wondered what was in bloom and how would the light and shadows play across the display.  To find out, meant asking my son if he minded a quick detour.  Fortunately, he was a good sport.


We walked into a Christmas display with both deciduous and evergreen trees decorated with beautiful ornaments.  

I'm always in awe at how the conservatory at the Kauffman Gardens is transformed for the different seasons and filled with color and fragrance.  



It's a great place to sit for a while, soak up the sun, enjoy the great variety of plants, and recharge the soul on a wintery day.  




As it was the last day of the year when we visited, I suppose I should make a resolution about my next visit to the Kauffman Gardens.  I resolve to plan ahead so my son has his Kindle for reading while sitting on the bench next to the resident cat.  And, I resolve to bring my good camera rather than my cell phone camera.  

For this visit, I'm glad we got there in time to enjoy the bit of Christmas that was left in this season.