my own worst critic

After being disappointed with my state fair garden this year, I realize how unimportant that sentiment is.  So many of my friends and acquaintances have given me so many compliments on it this week, it makes me so happy that they have enjoyed seeing it.  (I just hope they've been sincere!)

I don't ever do these gardens to win, though it's a nice bonus.  I do it because I enjoy the challenge of producing a garden based on a theme; I enjoy putting different plants together to see if they work well.  It's never been about the blue, or any ribbon, really.  Sure, it's nice when you can produce something better than the guy you're competing against, but it's not the objective. 

I tend to be my own worst critic, in everything I do, and it has been a great revelation for me this week discovering this truth of my abilities.  I do always remember to keep one thing very clear:  have fun. 

I've posted a bunch of pics on my Picasa web album.  Enjoy! 
my picasa web album

i'm still here

Well, after a LONG hiatus I'm pleased to be back at the keyboard writing again.  The last several weeks have been filled with lots of last minute gardenings-to-do for the State Fair, and not-so-gardening-things-to-do too.  I struggled at the end with the fair garden, and wasn't overly pleased with the end result; but, I finished nevertheless. 

The theme was Ornamental Grasses and Sedges, of which I did not have enough.  I tried to really mix it up to showcase the grasses with other plants of varying colors and textures.  I was happy with some of the plantings, and some of the design as well.  I stayed true to the original design that I had conceptualized in spring when I knew I would be planting this theme.  It was a real challenge considering all that I took on this summer and fall.  By the way, I took 3rd place, scored an 85!  (I've never scored below 90 before in all the years I've been doing this.)  My lack of attention to this year's fair garden showed through and through.