We attended a wedding reception at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum this week.
What a lovely place for the special event. It was held outside in one of the picnic shelters with beautiful scenery all around. We were also invited to come early and enjoy the September gardens in bloom at the arboretum.
There was much color, everywhere. There were vibrant, annual gardens, as well as rich, colorful dahlias.
I was surprised to see many showy, rose bushes still in full bloom. I stopped to smell them!
It’s always fun to see a few, unusual plants in bloom.
It was a wonderful afternoon, celebrating two lives joined together in marriage, and celebrating Minnesota’s finest blossoms and the upcoming fall season.
The Habberstad House Bed & Breakfast in Lanesboro, Minnesota is a charming, historic B&B. We had a delightful weekend there, eating breakfasts…and in the Lanesboro area, riding bikes…antique shopping…attending plays…walking…eating pie and ice cream, and other delicious food.
The historic Habberstad House Bed and Breakfast.
The beautiful Habberstad House where we stayed, was built in 1897, by Mr. Habberstad who was a banker. He and Mr. Scanlan partnered together to bring a bank to Lanesboro. One man was catholic and the other was protestant, an unusual business partnership back in the day. The Scanlan House is another historic Bed and Breakfast in Lanesboro, built by Mr. Scanlan…two blocks away from Mr. Habberstad’s house.
A side view of the Habberstad House.
Besides being a residential home for a couple different families over the years, the Habberstad House’s history includes being a nursing home for a short period, and also a hospital. Our room had previously been the maternity ward, or birth center, where babies were born.
We stayed two nights at the B&B. Our Innkeepers thought of every little detail and the B&B is top-rated on Trip Advisor for 2021. The house has five rooms to rent, plus a carriage house over the garage.
The gardens in front of the Carriage House.
The rooms were well-appointed and clean and each had a private bathroom. The house is so pretty, and well-maintained. The inside parlors were inviting, as was the large outdoor front porch, with rocking chairs and a swing!
A view from the second floor porch.
There were colorful gardens with a fountain on the side of the house, including benches – to sit and enjoy the flowers.
Gardens at the B&B.
I always like a whimsical touch.
The Innkeeper, Elaine, was welcoming, informative and engaging. And a fabulous cook.
The first morning’s breakfast. photo by ta
The breakfasts were amazing…tasty and colorful and huge portions. Each morning the first course was a fruit compote, followed by a full plate of eggs, meat, fruit or veges. The food was presented in an appetizing way, besides being delicious. We had good breakfast-mates too, and therefore good conversation each morning around the dining room table. Our breakfasts lingered for one to one and a half hours. What a luxury.
The Habberstad House B&B.
It had been awhile since we stayed at a B&B, but this delightful experience reminded us how special they are. Elaine, our hostess, alerted us to several other B&B’s in the surrounding areas. I’m ready to try others for sure, but we’d also come back to the Habberstad House. They set the bar high.
Antique, pull-down maps, chalk boards, pictures of George Washington and Abe Lincoln, and an aged, class photo decorate an old, country school building converted to a restaurant in Mantorville, Minnesota.
Front view of the Old School Cafe with bell tower.
The old school house is now the Old School Café, with good cooking, and a popular spot for town folks to eat. The portions were generous and the food was tasty and the ambiance was nostalgic and cheery.
Old School Cafe.
Outside was also inviting. There were old wooden benches and a school desk on the wide, front porch. There was a bell tower with the bell intact and rope hanging from it. Sculptures of children were placed around the grounds…a lovely idea for a school house yard.
The children on the slide was my favorite sculpture.
Another sculpture of children at a drinking fountain.
There were many, pretty flower pots scattered throughout the yard. On one side of the café was a charming, old wooden house dated 1855, that looked occupied, and the other side of the cafe was a garden area. It was fun to look around, and a delightful way to start the day.
1855 house next door to cafe.
I love whimsey. This little troll was attached to the 1855 house outside wall.
An outdoor seating area along side the cafe, between the cafe and the old house.
There always seems to be a kitty cat hiding in gardens.
Our next stop was the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota.
A well-done sculpture of a farmer and two pigs, outside the SPAM Museum.
An interesting, fun (and free!) museum dedicated to the story of Hormel’s specific product SPAM. Hormel began in the late 1800’s but SPAM was created in 1936 and became popular in WWII when the military ordered lots of SPAM to provide for the armed forces overseas… because it was convenient, and the shelf life was lengthy.
A life-size figure, a screen projection, was lamenting how he felt he had an overabundance of SPAM while in the army.
Some in the military might say the government overused SPAM. But it continues to sell today and there are multiple flavors of SPAM, and it is sold in multiple countries all over the world.
An interesting story on how SPAM got its name.
Free samples of SPAM were offered. We tasted the hickory smoked version and it was very good.
Of course, there is a gift shop featuring all things “Spam”, including flip flops that spell out SPAM when you walk in the sand!
A parting shot…a stunning blossom in the gardens of the Old School Cafe.
My friend and I met in Dubuque, Iowa for our annual get together. Dubuque is a lovely river town. It has a scenic river walk along the Mississippi River, a wonderful botanical garden and thrift stores.
Peony
Dubuque met our criteria for a meeting place: water, gardens and thrift & antique stores.
Lupine
Lupine
The day we went to the botanical garden was dreamy. An ideal temperature, bright blue skies with no clouds in sight.
One of the garden sculptures: Germination.
Dubuque is five hours farther south than Northfield, and there were many plants blooming in Iowa that were not blooming in Minnesota yet. There were peonies and lupines and iris’ in their full array.
Iris
Iris
Iris
Iris
In the botanical garden there was an herb garden, a shade garden, an English garden, a Japanese garden, a prairie garden, a rose garden (not in bloom yet), annuals, perennials, peonies, iris’ and lupines, a children’s area, sculptures, trees, lots of benches and green, green, grass.
The Japanese Garden
So much packed into those 52 acres.
The shade garden.
Striking sun pattern on the gazebo.
The arb is convenient and close to town. And has free admission.
Peony
Bleeding Heart
They also boast the arboretum & garden is run entirely by volunteers. It’s a young arboretum…established in 1980.
Peony
Peony
We spent our morning meandering, and sitting on the benches, and smelling the flowers, enjoying ourselves in this beautiful setting, marveling at God’s creation.
Lupine
The Tin Man in an annual garden, with more displays in other annual beds featuring characters from The Wizard of Oz.
Madison, Wisconsin is a great halfway point between my house in Northfield and my friend’s house in Indiana, and it meets our destination criteria of a body of water, gardens and thrift and/or antique stores so we have enjoyed several trips there.
Olbrich Gardens…showing off many beautiful planters.
We traditionally take our annual trip in the spring (ever since 1989), with an occasional trip halfway through the year if we can fit it into our schedules. We have met in many different locations around the country but Madison is convenient destination for us.
Along the trail on a beautiful fall day.
This year we planned a trip in May, but because of the pandemic we delayed it, until finally we decided to go… six months later. It was a tough decision, as are a lot of decisions around COVID these days. We decided on Madison because it’s easy to get to. We were careful where we went and we wore our masks.
The sun lighting up the trees!
When we meet in Madison, we always include a trip to Olbrich Botanical Gardens. The gardens are a must see. Spring, summer or fall, Olbrich Gardens is always a special place to wander the trails and enjoy nature’s beauty.
The purple aster among the white birch is appealing to the eyes.
We had fun walking around the gardens with our masks…but not our facemasks. The first day together we found sparkly, purple eye masks, new and unopened, at a thrift store, so we each bought one to add a whimsical touch to our time together.
With mirth and laughter…
We decided Olbrich Gardens was the place to don our masks and find a photo op. So, when we arrived at the gardens off came our facemasks and on went our sparkly eye masks.
This framed print was hanging in an antique store and we liked the caption. It went with our whimsical mind-set.
Olbrich Gardens had a lot to offer at the end of October. There were still lovely flower arrangements and colorful trees to enjoy in their fall glory.
This tree was labeled Full Moon Maple. Love that name…love the color.
Bright sunshine shone down on us and its warmth embraced us. We took great delight strolling around in it.
I didn’t record the name of this unique berry bush. Yes, these are real, natural berries.
At one point during our afternoon a message popped up on my phone alerting me to a photo memory. I looked and it showedphotos from a Fall trip my friend and I had taken last year (2019) to Madison. The photos were from Olbrich Gardens and the date was exactly one year ago TO THE DAY. That was crazy! It felt like a confirmation. We reminisced, and recalled in 2019 it snowed the night before we visited the gardens so the ground and paths were covered with the white stuff. Not so this year.
Another striking planter…
Olbrich Gardens is a place to revisit again and again. Our trip turned out well. Although we shortened it, it was good to be together, in-person, to catch up with our lives. Someday we will not have to worry about COVID, but until then, a lot of decisions are heavy and difficult.
There are several beautiful yellow lilies growing in my front flower garden.
I don’t remember planting them, but I must have. I don’t know the name of them…but I’ve nick-named them “corn lilies” because they remind me of corn stalks. They start to shoot up around the time corn is planted in the fields and they grow very fast, they grow very tall, and their stem and foliage remind me of corn stalks. The blossom is yellow…it’s a mystery to me…I know there is an official name but I like the name I have given them.
They grow tall…
When the corn lilies finish blooming my Star Gazer lilies open up. I remember planting them…they are my favorite lily and I look forward to seeing their blossoms every year. It will be a few more weeks before they bloom.
Another favorite flower that has just started to bloom is my Cardinal Wyszynski clematis. I bought this in memory of my mother and it climbs up the arbor on our deck, opposite the honeysuckle. I love the color of this clematis (and the name).
On my daily walk I pass a lot of gardens and wildflowers and enjoy seeing this perky sunflower in bloom right now.
Matthew 6:28-29 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”
‘Tis the season for peonies. After the lilacs finish blooming next comes the peonies to enjoy.
I have a couple of peony bushes in my yard. I love the shape and color and smell of them, and I always cut a few stems to have in the house. But the flowers, like lilacs, do not stay blooming for long.
So I was glad to be reminded on a friend’s blog site, Minnesota Prairie Roots, that the peonies were in bloom at Aspelund Peony Gardens, near Aspelund, MN, about a half hour from Northfield. It was a beautiful afternoon so we took a drive to have a look.
The gardens were full. As with many flowers, there are a lot of varieties and colors of peonies. It is amazing. We took our time to stop and smell the flowers and “ouu and ahh” over each color and variation.
A tire swing from a tall old tree. I was focused on peonies so I didn’t look to see what kind of tree it is. But it was fun to see it being used by children.
There is also a winery on site but we did not stay for a sample…it was a very busy place and all the outdoor seating was taken, so we passed.
I took a lot of photos…too many photos to share. The proprietors have a list of each variety of peony they grow on their property. The intention is for you to identify which kind you would like to purchase. Then the chosen bush stays in the garden until fall when you go pick it up and transplant it into your own yard.
The grapevines.
But they welcome all visitors. We chose just to simply walk through the peony gardens, and meander in the wide-open yard taking in the vast country views. It was a sunny and pleasant day… a wonderful time to delight in the beauty of the outdoors.
I have written previously about my dear hibiscus plant. I have nurtured it for many, many years. My hibiscus loved warm temperatures and in the summertime it would happily sit on our deck and bloom and grow and bloom some more, all summer long.
A bloom from my hibiscus plant when it was healthy.
And, as much as I don’t like indoor plants I brought in my hibiscus each winter. Often times I’d threaten to put it in the compost and then it would start blooming or showing- off so I would tend to it another winter.
My hibiscus also had an advocate… my friend Jayne always talked me into giving the hibiscus one more chance when I was going to toss it out. My hibiscus’ life was lengthened many years because of her!
Good-bye hibiscus. It’s sad to see you go.
My hibiscus had tiny specks (mites) on the leaves, last winter and again this winter. I didn’t want the mites to get on my other indoor plants. Also, the branches of the hibiscus were old and gnarly and woody, so I decided it was time to say good-bye and set my hibiscus in the garage.
My Christmas cactus.
As much as I love flowers and gardens and nature, I don’t like to tend to indoor plants so much. But I have four (now). One is the Christmas cactus; from a parent plant that is generations old I’m told.
My healthy palm plant.
Another is a palm plant that will occupy the hibiscus spot in our home during winter and will be put outside in summer. The palm plant was from an arrangement we received when Gary’s mother passed away several years ago.
The palm plant moved into new winter home, former location of my hibiscus.
The other two plants are hardy pothos plants I bought for pops of greenery in our house.
One of my pathos plants.
Although I think it was the right time, it was a very hard decision to say good-bye to my hibiscus.
