A Beautiful day in Ohio at Dawes Arboretum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 My path to a full recovery hopefully on Monday at 9:45 am.....

 My quick visit with Priscilla who happened to be on her lunch break...she cheered me up yesterday..."before something else falls off my body..."

 I will see the beauty of my garden once again....

the miracle a day can make ....Medicine is an Art too....that is a quote from my surgeon ....I knew then and there i was in the right place.....














Today I spent three hours with my special adults from ADD Connections at Dawes Arboretum....all 12 of them!!!  First thing we did was go outside to enjoy the first great day we have experienced in ...well the 19 days of rain.  The participants quickly went to work transplanting at least 36 coleus plants... what a joyful exercise in collaborating with one another.  I can not express in my words the absolute JOY I find in being with these incredible people.   We then went around to inspect how fast the seeds they had planted last Friday...their lettuce collection was growing and showing wonderful promise in the new raised garden beds.
We then gathered out wits...went to the bathroom...and took a walk down to study the pond plantings ...the spring house...the well ...and then sat on the front porch of the Dawes Family house to witness the beauty of the hummingbirds.  With all the rain for the last couple of weeks...the flower gardens and the herb gardens are spectacular.  When we returned to the education center...the Zand Building...we went to work on our journals with drawings identifying what we had learned today.  It was a joyful lesson as I walked around the work tables ...to see how each individual processes the glories of Nature on a clear blue July morning.  I will return next Friday...hopefully with a very clear and new prospective ... to create a visualization of our summer's beautiful blooms.  The SPECIAL Garden landscapers have put in a wall...paved brick for accessibility and a water connection so watering will not prove to be a carry and replenish our thirsty plants.  My hope is for us to "Let us grow together" for years to come.... a serene place to have lunch...work the soils...plant the beauty of flowers and herbs... and yes, grow together.  The official opening is on Friday from July 26 ...I can hardly wait... this is a dream come true

 Priscilla can always make me laugh..so creative and witty......

 Joe is back this summer...and listens to every word Jenny shares with the group.... He is a delightful man who loves my Roxie pup....

 The driver of the van... told me she was hoping the "check engine light" was just kidding on the drive over...

 Troy introduces himself to Tara...another new member of this group...

 Jenny expertly shares the root system of the tiny coleus plants to each new gardener...

 I love the paint brush colors of this beautiful summer annual....

 Katie continued making new name tags for the new members of our ADD connections.........she is in school to become a teacher...

 shaving cream....food coloring...markers...and a swirl ...lay down the name tag...smooth with a ruler... clear the foam...and surprise you have a unique name tag to wear each week...

 first we will scoop a green plastic pot full of planting soil....

 Mark is a real pro here ...I think he helped others and planted about 5 pots for the garden....

 each table ..was a buzz with activity....

 the name tags were now ready to "tape" on...next week we will put them into their plastic sleeves with the pin backing...

 Ruth brought her three grand children...they will be a summer camp next week...Melissa carefully cleared the soil from the table top...

 now Katie is showing each participant exactly where to place her hand painted sign identifications........

 The garden is blooming and growing so well.......

 Joe decides to help Jenny wash the table tops......he did a great job.ready to dry in the sun and move back into the studio when we returned from our hike.....

 Elaina is a retired teacher ...37 years... and the sweetest spirit still shines from her heart...

 On our hike down to the family home...we study the blooms that attract honey bees and butterflies.....

 jenny show Mark the June bugs...and the lacy evidence that remains when they feed on the leaves...

 look in the background...the garden is getting the finishing touches with the wall and rock landscaping....it is so beautiful...but just wait....

 the beauty of a beautiful tree story.......

 Jenny advises us to look up....study the soft needles and fronds...........

 with close examination...Joe decides he would like this tree for shade....Jenny is a great teacher.....

now we are at the cool...literally cool Spring house...........

 I love the textures on the roof top.....

 here is one of the original wells ...just a few feet away.....

 jenny explained how the Spring house was employed as an early refrigerator ....

 look at the side of this magnificent house...uphill.......

 I love the red veins of this leaf in the bright sunlight...........

 more evidence...the June bugs have been busy here ...I think we counted 9 bugs on this leaf.........

 I fell in passionate love with this purple Persian plant 's leaves.............

 a moment to rest...on the family porch ...waiting to see the hummingbirds and hear the story of the dairy faem that was here in the early 1900's....

 I must plant this annual next year .just to enjoy this brilliant color............ stunning.........but I do love purple..........

 the conversations went to the first plantings of trees here in the arboretum..........

 the front garden entrance was so fragrant............

 everyone who touched the blooms...shared the fragrance on the morning summer breeze........

 delicate white blooms filled with bees and blue butterflies..............

 this is the family herb garden...............

 the glorious yet very simple phlox.....

 White Oak majesty.....

 coated with soft lichen on the base of this trunk......

 giving us all...a glorious cool shade as the day's morning heat began to rise...............

 close examination for the blues and greens  in the spongy  lichen........

 the back of the family house ...probably the main kitchen..........

 close examination of the rain barrel that collects the rainfall for future watering on dry days.............

 back in the studios and journals are distributed to each person.........identify.remember what we did and what we saw..........

 Yes we can all work together to get the spelling right and make our drawings colorful....

 up at the main office center...I stopped by to make our reservations for the opening and I need to return back to the resting place...this beautiful resting bench....perfect for reflecting and quiet thoughts........

 once again the bright colors of the coleus plant greets the visitors...........

 the miracle of the day lilies ...one miracle a day.......

I think this plant will make me sneeze..... but I love the yellow buds..............have a quiet evening in a garden near you.  Imagine and Live in PEACE.... Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart