8-10-09 flower power brainOne last post about my hometown 4th of July visit. Another usual vacation tradition over the 4th of July is the 20 mile drive over to Rockford, Iowa to visit the Fitz Reading Garden. This is a wonderful, large backyard garden at the home of master gardener, Stan and Corlyss Fitz.
This garden is not only full of wonderful plants and flowers, but full of whimsy and charm. There is an outdoor “reading room” of sorts and the public is welcomed to come and relax, read, or often just sit and visit with Stan and his wife. He has had buses come by to tour the place, and it is fun to read the Guest Book to see who has visited and where they came from. I believe Steve and Vanni win the prize for farthest travel, since they live in Barrow, Alaska.
This year we were in luck and found Stan in the garden. When he discovered us, he happily showed us some of his new favorites for the year. I took many pictures as inspiration for future flower paintings.
We all ended up in the outdoor room, and as usual, Steve shared some of his Alaskan stories with us. Steve is a great story teller.
If you are ever in north central area of Iowa, make a trip to Rockford and ask to be directed to the Fitz Garden. There is also a awesome fossil and prairie park in Rockford. It's a wonderful place to take kids to explore!
http://www.fossilcenter.com/
Love these ideas. Awesome use of the colored wine bottles. I've got quite a collection too. I love the terraced look with stones etc.
ReplyDeleteI may just have to put this one on my bucket list, and must see in the summer.
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