I’ve been thinking about this post for several days now…and the titles have been written and erased 100 times:  “It rains and we’re mud-covered”, “Playing in the Mud”, “Why didn’t I become a doctor?”, and my current favorite…”I’ve used up all my smiles today…try me tomorrow.”

BUT I am more mature, smarter, savvy, optimistic than that…I shall not complain about the moist, fabulous weather we enjoy with the rest of the country…besides, I have a good complexion in the fog…so instead let me tell you about our Garden Day preparations…thinking that artist Susy Perrine will be here for an entire week lightens my heart immediately…

Let me back up a step…As you may have heard, on June 24th we are hosting an Open Garden Day as part of the Belfast Garden Club Tour Series.  Steve started planting trays of seedlings months ago and in between the rain showers we’re weeding, transplanting and preparing the garden beds.  Susan Perrine is going to spend the week here as the Fiber College sponsored Artist in Residence doing outdoor weavings…she wrote this recently:

“From June 18th until the 25th I will be building a woven twig garden structure out of maple, ash and birch twigs.  Two friends and fellow gardeners, Sandra Reynolds and Laura Clarke will be joining me.  Visit the campground between 10 and 6 pm to see the process, get hands on experience  and check on our progress .

For a FEE you can build your own trellis to take home. Materials and instructions will be provided to construct a 3 x 7’ trellis. You can build a simple woven twig trellis to take home and use in your own garden. Woven twig structures provide an excellent trellis for climbing vines, decorative and edible flowers. Sign up to schedule your class in advance by  calling me (Susan) at (207)449-2978.

-Twig huts have provided shelter for thousands of years. Decorative twig structures have been built in the gardens of Victorian English estates where they would provide a quiet retreat, a special spot to have a conversation, or to catch up on reading.

-Quickly constructed shelters are built on hillside gardens of Portugal to provide shade for farm workers to have a cool spot to enjoy a noontime meal.

– The storehouse of the Popham Colony was a woven wattle and daub building built in 1607-1608

I began building twig garden huts as a hands-on method to teach weaving.  The experience promotes a sense of community, encourages creativity and enhances cooperative behavior.”

I hope that you’ll join Susy and the rest of us for a beautiful day/weekend/week in the garden.  We’ll have plants for sale, art on exhibit and be available to talk about the birds, bees, goats and flowers that fill these 40 acres we’ve been tending for almost 20 years.