Garden Fairies visit the 25th Anniversary of the Green Thumb Festival


Jodi shows off a new orchid

A couple of years ago The Garden Fairies had a booth at the Green Thumb Festival, but this year we opted to just be visitors. Held the last weekend of April, the festival has been going strong for 25 years.

Early risers make sure to get there to Walter Fuller Park early and are seen carting plants around in wagons. Shoppers who get there later in the day on Sunday can take advantage of vendors giving deals.

Hand painted rain barrels

The festival features environmental and horticultural exhibits

Vendors sell every kind of plant imaginable. At the festival you will see The Garden Club of St. Petersburg Flower Show. Educational events events abound including; a grow and share program, a diagnostic clinic testing soil and water samples and a recycling rally.

Some items are given away for free

People stand in line for mulch and 500 Butterfly plants. More than 2,000 trees were for sale for $3. Add to the list; a plant auction, a tool sharpening booth, entertainment, children’s programs and a food court.

Walter Fuller Park, St. Petersburg Florida, April 30 to May 1, 2011 – 25th,  Sat. and Sun. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

See the pics from our Green Thumb Festival Outing including lots of unusual orchid images


Parading Around at The Dunedin Life & Light Lantern Parade & Festival

Life & Light Lantern Parade & Festival finds Cathy & Kiaralinda all aglow

Tina Marie Avila, owner of Casa Tina Restaurant, has had a ten year dream to light up the night in Downtown Dunedin with handmade lanterns. Many thanks to Tina, a tireless promoter of fun things to do in Dunedin.

Held in honor of Earth Day

The Life & Light Lantern Parade & Festival included two days of lantern-making workshops, organic plant sales, seed swaps, funky music bands and sustainable gardening demonstrations.

Grateful Gluttons and Garden Fairies

Professional lantern maker Chantelle Rytter of Atlanta was engaged by Tina to teach lantern making. Chantelle runs an organization called the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons. Their mission is to get grown-ups to come out and play. They believe that individual creative participation in civic events is priceless cultural development. The Garden Fairies and Gluttons are in synch on all accords!

Siobhan and Shannon show off their lanterns

A small Garden Fairy contingent, along with other participants, made recycled lanterns out of cardboard boxes scrounged by dumpster diving. Garden Fairy Kiaralinda joined a group who made flower shaped lanterns on Thursday Night.

Too much light(ning)

We were looking to light up the night, but mother nature had bigger plans. A potent thunder storm appeared right before the parade was to begin. The storm dampened participation, but a hardy group hung on, enjoying a wine before the marching began. The lanterns glowed with the help of LLD lights that we were able to purchase from Chantelle for $5. The parade was a quaint with a small time vibe. Dunedin once again shines in our minds, day and night!

A partnership for great causes

Casa Tina’s family of Downtown Restaurants partnered with The Dunedin Harvest Food & Garden Co-op for  the first Life & Light Lantern Parade & Festival on Earth Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24, 2011. This community art event was a fundraiser for the Planting Seeds workshop series and the 1% Food Project.

266 gnomes

April 30th the Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons is going for the Guinness record to challenge the Toronto Gnome’s record! They need over 266 gnomes to beat the Canadians. On their website, they proclaim “it is your civic duty to personify a surly urban garden gnome on April 30th and help your city achieve it’s rightful place in the Guinness Book of World Records! The Atlanta Gnomes intend to own that record in perpetuity.”

Lots more great lantern making and parading pics- See the Slide Show

The Krewe of the Grateful Gluttons

Life & Light Lantern Parade & Festival Events Schedule:

Saturday, April 23, 2- 7 PM

• Life & Light Lantern Festival w/ Live Music

• Paper Lantern Making Workshops

• Gardening & Sustainability Demonstrations

• Great FOOD at 3 downtown locations!

Sunday, April 24, 12 – 8:30 PM

• Life & Light Lantern Festival w/ Live Music

• Paper Lantern Making Workshops

• Gardening & Sustainability Demonstrations

• Great FOOD at 3 downtown locations!

• 8 PM LIFE & LIGHT LANTERN PARADE!


What’s Bloomin’ Now! Bougainvilleas

The middle of the blossom contains the true smaller less colorful true flower

Bougainvilleas are considered one of the world’s most beautiful flowering vines

They are members of the Four-O’Clock (Nyctaginaceae) family and are native to Brazil, Peru and Argentina. These colorful climbing shrubs have paper-like blossoms which are actually bracts, located just below the flower stalk. Look closely into the middle of the blossom and you will see the smaller less colorful true flower.

In the landscape Bougainvilleas are often used as focal points

You can brighten up a dull hot area with the splendiferous sprawl of a bougainvillea on a wall or fence. They thrive in hot climates, from Texas to Thailand. Surprisingly, bougainvilleas grow in Locarno, Switzerland, which has a mild Mediterranean climate and is famous for its bougainvilleas. In cooler climates consider using bougainvilleas as houseplants. There is a size for every space, right down to miniature bonsais. Add dwarf variety bougainvilleas to hanging baskets for an exotic touch.

Admiral Louis-Antoine de Bougainville

The bougainvillea plant was discovered in by
French naturalist Dr. Philibert Commerçon

Discovered in 1768 in Rio de Janeiro, Bougainvillea is named after Commerçon’s close friend and ship’s admiral Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in which Commerçon was a passenger. Finding the Bougainvillea was a highlight of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville’s trip to the Brazil.

A natural choice for color in coastal regions, bougainvillea is highly salt tolerant

To keep Bougainvilleas lush with blooms, you need to prune them often and aggressively. Bougainvillea may be pruned at any time of the year. Bloom initiation does not depend upon pruning – a bougainvillea has a bloom cycle followed by a rest period whether pruned or not. Clip the long thorny arching branches but take care to protect your skin. Invest in a pair of long rose gloves for this task, cutting back all long shoots cut back to 18″-20″ for best bloom. Bougainvilleas need 60 degrees in the winter to set blooms. In the Tampa Bay area they are nipped by frosts and freezes, but come back quickly.

Bougainvillea are relatively pest-free plants

But they may suffer from worms, snails and aphids. One common problem we see on Florida’s bougainvilleas is leaf damage resulting with a chewed and scalloped edge. Healthy bougainvillea vines, seemingly over night can be eaten away by mysterious night time intruders, munching on the leaves of your plant. Scalloped edge leaf damage is caused by bougainvillea loopers. Bougainvillea loopers are small worm like caterpillars that are commonly called “inchworms”. While not deadly to the plant, nonetheless the damage is unsightly.

Sundown Orange intermingles with Barbara Karst

Try natural predators

Such as birds and omnivorous animals to your garden to help keep the bougainvillea looper caterpillar population under control. If your bougainvillea loopers multiple faster than the predators keep them in check, use two natural pesticides. Note: Not all pesticides will have an effect on bougainvillea loopers. Look for Neem oil or bacillus thuringiensis (BT).

Bougainvillea do not like ‘wet feet’

Take care not overwater. Some people have a hard time managing bougainvilleas usual rampant grow spurts. See the list below where you will find some slow growers.

Some of our favorite bougainvillea varieties:

Ambiance, also known as James Walker, is a moderate to fast grower.  New buds are a deep orange, maturing to a brilliant, hot pink – a beautiful contrast of colors.

Barbara Karst is a moderate grower with a full, thick growth pattern and extremely reliable flowering habit.  She sports the darkest shade of hot pink; only the new growth is truly red in color.

Elizabeth Angus is a moderate grower with a full, lush growth habit showcasing bracts in unique, vibrant shades of purple. Leaves are large, quilted, and glossy. Best suited for training into bush, standards, and hanging baskets.

Flavored ICE is a deliciously colored, extremely slow-growing bougainvillea with variegated leaves. An ideal container plant. Beautiful variegated green and white leaves look cool even without their colorful counterparts.

Helen Johnson is dwarf bougainvillea with the most reliable flowering habit. Ideal for use as ground cover and absolutely stunning as a mass planting.  New growth opens coppery orange, maturing into a uniform pink color.

Imperial Thai Delight sports white and pink bracts. Perfectly suited for every application such as bush, trellis, standard, hanging basket, and bonsai.

Sundown Orange has unique bracts open as deep orange, then turn to coral, and finally mature into a salmon-pink. Her tri-coloring works so well with the color schemes of Floridian homes and architecture. This new introduction is quickly becoming the favorite among weekend gardeners and landscape designers.

Garden Fairy Factoids

Uses: Focal Points, Beds, Containers, Hanging Baskets

Growth Habit: Shrub

Pair with: Drought Tolerant Perennials

Flowering Month(s):Winter and early spring for hot climates, summer for northern areas

Bloom Color: Pale Pink, Rose/Mauve, Magenta (Pink-Purple), Purple, White

Height: up to 20′

Light Requirements: full sun

Growth Rate: Fast

Drought Tolerance: High


Garden Fairies– Alive n’ Stuffed

Mad hatter Garden Fairies are all a glow in the night

Garden Fairies love to dress up. Some people save Halloween to relieve childhood dress-up days, whereas the Garden Fairies look at just about any occasion to create colorful costumes.

Some of our outfits and hats get transformed as much as our yards.

An outfit that has had more lives than Elvis is my Garden Fairy Queen dress. The base of the dress is a lavender “mother of the bride” type dress. Initially the dress was reconstructed for a house tour we did around eleven years ago. The transformation began with foam green leaves which were glued onto the top of the dress. The dress was changed to suit a number of different theme parties including it’s latest incarnations, all yellowed version. The “Yellow Mellow” dress was all dolled up for Kiaralinda and Todd’s 50th monkey themed birthday party.

Garden Fairy Vicky inspired by the “Yellow” adaptation of the dress, made an sensational stuffed version complete with matching black and yellow tights.

My outfit was inspiration for Vicky's Fiona Fairy Doll below

Vicky lived in Tarpon Springs for 5 years and moved back up north 17 years ago. She lives in an adorable log cabin, in Northwest Wisconsin with her husband and two cats. She is a Master Gardner, but during the long winters she pursues other passions; outdoor sports, painting and sewing.

In her own words, Garden Fairy Vicky:

“I LOVE art dolls. Not cutesy craft dolls – ART DOLLS. I own several that I have purchased in galleries going back to 1970!!!!

I have made dolls off and on over the years – always felt a little foolish doing so – after all what’s a grown career woman doing making dolls? Doesn’t she have anything better, more exciting to do with her life?

I guess when you reach a certain age you figure WTF! I should do whatever I like to do.

I was trolling Amazon in December 2011 when I happened to find a book called Creative Cloth Doll Making by Patti Medaris Culea. It gave complete instructions and patterns for new approaches in making cloth art dolls. Dolls that were hand dyed, painted, stamped, beaded, collaged, 3 different bodies of increasing complexity – with a gallery of photos of example dolls by various artists.

Fiona doll, based on Siobhan's costume is 20" tall

This book was my “AHA” moment. Armed with a photo of Siobhan in her garden fairy costume, I plunged into the world of art doll making. What a trip – totally delightful. Not scary and often frustrating like my world of painting. I must admit I am on familiar ground in the complicated stitching of dolls and their costumes – having studied clothing and textiles in college and working for McCall patterns for a number of years. But hey, I hadn’t really sewed in 20 yrs. My 40 yr old Elna sewing machine did not disappoint – as I stitched tiny fingers and toes, gathered fine silks and tulles, even did some free form embroidery.

My experience with paints certainly came in handy for doing the faces and Patti’s instructions gave good basics and some really fine tips. She is a former portrait artist and knows her stuff when it comes to faces.

I made doll bodies 1,2 & 3 – like I was taking a course. Each doll took about 30 hours to make. You can really go nuts adding  details but I had a deadline for each doll, so I had to keep it under control.

So here they are: “Fiona” was sent to Siobhan as a gift. “Bjork” is in the Firefly Gallery in Cable WI in a show called All Things Birch & Beautiful.

Marisa - 20" tall

Marisa is in Art Beat Gallery in HaywardWI in the Really Big Blue Show. Bjork & Maria are priced at $195 (you do the math – it’s a labor of love).

To purchase a doll email Vicky at vzalatoris@me.com or see more of her work at her site

Bjork - 20" tall


Never a dull moment


Sustainable & Symbolic flowers for the royal wedding

Hydrangeas will be used to decorate Westminster Abbey

The ephemeral nature of weddings makes them wasteful by design.

The cost of putting on royal wedding is staggering. But imagine the mountain of rubbish that will be left behind. An estimated 140 tons will have to be cleaned off the streets after thousands descend on London for the big day. Clearly cognizant of their image, the royal couple has made several eco-friendly choices at their wedding–  from the flowers to the wood used to build the media viewing area.

1500 guests received invitations printed on recycled paper and will be served sustainably sourced food and drinks. The florist was chosen partly because of his sustainable approach to floristry. Known for his use of live plants and trees, Irish floral designer Shane Connolly is partly responsible for the tone of the wedding.

Included in Connolly’s challenges was bringing the outdoors inside of Westminster Abbey, by temporarily installing 8 trees in the church. Trees in church!  As a landscape designer, my crew moves big trees around as a matter of course, but florists? Yes, it’s all part of the job to create a natural look for the ceremony.

Symbolic trees some reaching up to 20 feet high

The aisle leading to the altar will be adorned with an avenue of trees, including six English Field Maples and two Hornbeams. Field Maples signify reserve and humility and Hornbeams represent resilience, mirroring the makings of a successful union. Strawberry plants will be interplanted among the trees.

Kate Middleton, a country girl at heart has requested seasonal flowers

The bride specified neutral colored flowers.Azaleas, rhododendron, euphorbias, beech, wisteria and lilacs will be gathered from the Queen’s land. The selection may overlap with Prince Charles and Diana’s flowers which included gardenia, golden Earl Mountbatten roses, and white orchids backed by miniature ivy and tradescantia. Kate’s bouquet will feature myrtle, the “herb of love,” carried by every royal bride since Queen Victoria.

“Herb of love”

Lacecap Hydrangea in subtle tones

Over 170 years ago, Queen Victoria planted the shrub myrtle, sometimes called the “herb of love,” in her garden after her wedding to Prince Albert. Ever since then, royal brides have ‘borrowed’ a sprig from the same shrub for their big day.

Catch a glimpse

If you are able to hop over to England next week, you can catch a glimpse of the royal wedding flowers which will be on display at Westminster Abbey until May 6th.

Green wedding flower tip

- Use seasonal flowers that don’t have to be shipped from afar or organic flowers.

Too see more…

Floral designer video


What’s Bloomin’ Now! Stock

Stock is an old fashioned fragrant flower which will give you long lasting displays of color and fragrance and a steady stream of blooms for your vases. A member of the mustard family, Stock is native to the Mediterranean coast.

Pair Stock with same color Pentas for a storybook cottage garden look. When the stock starts to wane from the heat the Pentas take over. They are heat tolerant up north, but fade when the summer comes on down south. In the South, look for Stock at nursery centers starting in late February, the same time you would start sowing seeds indoor for summer blooms.

Stock is easy to grow and has few problems with bugs. Use Stock for mass plantings in a flowerbed, or as a border edging. Place taller varieties in the back of the flower garden and dwarf varieties up front. Try planting Stock in a window boxes or hanging basket at nose level where it’s subtle effect can best be appreciated. They also work well in containers where a combination of plants are used. Like Snapdragons, Stock will survive a light frost.

White Stock added to the cottage garden

Garden Fairy Factoids

Uses: Beds, Borders, Container, Cut Flowers
Lifecycle: Annual
Pair with: Pentas
Flowering Month(s): spring and fall for hot climates, summer for northern areas
Bloom Duration: 12  weeks
Bloom Color: Pale Pink, Rose/Mauve, Magenta (Pink-Purple), Purple, Maroon (Purple-Brown), White/Near White
Sowing Method: Start in seed trays
Height: 12-16  inches
Spread: 4-6  inches
Attracts: bees, butterflies and/or birds
Light Requirements: full sun or light shade in hot climates
Growth Rate: Fast
Drought Tolerance: Medium

What’s Bloomin’ Now! Hong Kong Orchid Trees

Hong Kong Orchid trees (B. X blakeana) have fragrant flowers of evocative of showy orchids. If you are interested in planting an orchid tree, I recommend planting a Hong Kong Orchid Tree. Unlike many of the other orchid trees, this variety is sterile and will not produce invasive seeds. The Hong Kong Orchid Tree originates back to the 1880s from a tree that was cultivated at the Hong Kong Botanic Gardens.

Orchid trees are native to northern India, Vietnam and southeastern China. A stylized orchid tree appears on the Hong Kong flag. Stateside in the U.S. you will find these exotic trees grown in Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and California. In our travels end of February around Tampa Bay, we have seen many orchid trees in blossom. The one featured to the right is from a tree in Tarpon Springs.

Hong Kong Orchid trees bloom in late winter while the tree is bare of leaves and lasts until early summer. The flowers feature five overlapping petals, combined to make arrestingly beautiful pink blossoms in tones of magenta, lavender or purplish blue.

Orchid Trees are part of the Bauhinia genus with more than 200 species. They are evergreen, possessing large thick leaves, double-lobed in the shape of a heart, or a butterfly. People from Hong Kong call the leaf “a clever leaf”. Students use the leaves to make bookmarks to bring them good luck in their studies.

The Hong Kong Flag features a stylized Orchid Tree flower

A young tree can be slow to start, with an awkward grow habit. The mature tree has a short trunk, dense canopy, and brittle branches. A pleasing canopy can be developed through proper pruning, taking care to remove crossing branches and suckers. A tree pruned as late as August will still produce abundant flowers on schedule in November.

Garden Fairy Factoids

Typical Dimension: 30’x25’
Usage: street trees, shade trees or as focal points in landscapes
Attracts: hummingbirds
Light Requirements: full sun or light shade
Growth Rate: Fast
Flowering Month(s): Late October—March
Messiness: High, December—February
Salt Tolerance: Medium
Drought Tolerance: High

Swoon-worthy Terrariums

One of the Garden Fairies has a Victorian style terrarium that make plant people swoon. This miniature menagerie was on display at Jodi’s house, a stop on The Garden Fairies’ 2009 Art in the Garden Tour. Jodi collects all types of plants from tiny to tall, she loves them all. Her most petite garden harkens back to Victorian excess, a gothic style metal enclosure that is brimming with color and texture. A feast for the eyes, this gothic style enclosure includes numerous succulents dotted with small exotic Bromeliads sporting vivid colors. Jodi is using a Garden Fairy color trick, using shocking pink to pop the rest of the more subdued colors. She also used some chartreuse green which pairs perfectly with vivid pinks.
Because Jodi lives in Florida and has her terrarium close to her pool she doesn’t use glass, which almost always defines a terrarium. If you are up north, go for the glass. But if you are in Florida, you already know half of the year you are living in terrarium-type conditions.

Jodi’s style of terrarium is called a Wardian Case, which can still be purchased today. Terrariums are available in all price ranges. The crafty website Etsy lists 555 terrarium choices including supplies and mini terrariums costing a few dollars to a $11,950 Biodome. Paula Hayes, a sculptor, prices her terrariums between $4,000-$60,000. Understandably, this might be out of your price range, but the good news is you can make your own terrarium.

Recently we received a question about where to buy succulents for terrariums. Lowes has a a new selection that will leave you lusting for more than you might be able to afford. The selection includes a dazzling array of textures and colors which are attractively labeled. You can also find succulents at some specialty garden shops. Garden Design magazine and CBS Sunday morning just did stories on terrariums, a thoroughly engaging hobby.

To find out more about Wardian Cases see our post with more info

For supplies check out:

Terrain store

For supplies and already made terrariums:
Etsy Terrariums

Buy succulents on the web at:

Simply Succulents

GlassHouseWorks

For more info about terrariums:
Garden Design magazine
CBS Sunday Morning Show story “The Growing Trend of Terrariums”


Terrariums now and then

Plants have been growing under glass since the early 1800s, but the real revolution came when Wardian cases made it possible to transport indigenous agricultural goods. Previously, most plants perished onboard ships. Over half of the orchids transported to Europe in the 19th century died in transit.

Wardian cases were featured in stylish drawing rooms in Western Europe and the United States. The small cases spurred on the fern and orchid crazes, in reaction to the polluted air of Victorian cities. The Victorian terrarium fad is generally credited to writings by Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, who published the book called “On the Growth of Plants in Closely Glazed Cases” in 1842.

Remarkably, this small glass case ushered in a systemic change in commercial agriculture. Encased in glass, plants thrived with almost no help from the outside world. Plantations sprung up after important commercial plants were smuggled in Wardian cases. 20,000 tea plants were exported illegally out of Shanghai, China and as well as the seedlings of the rubber tree of Brazil,leading to the breakup of  agricultural monopolies.

As gardeners are pinning to get back into their gardens after a long cold winter (yes, even in Florida), some are finding a way to commune with flora— under glass! The CBS Sunday Morning Show featured a number of terrarium enthusiasts  in their story “The Growing Trend of Terrariums.” The segment features appearances by Tovah Martin, Paula Hayes and Terrain Store.

Tovah Martin is one of this country’s best-known garden writers and lecturers. In her book  “The New Terrarium”, she writes about the whimsical yet practical world of gardens under glass—a no-fuss way to bring snippets of nature indoors.

Brooklyn based artist and landscape designer Paula Hayes makes exquisitely elegant and expensive terrariums that defy hobby. Paula is an artist whose mediums merge both plants and glass. She combines sculpture and gardening in hand-blown spherical objects using organic shapes. She supported herself as a gardener during her college years and evolved into a master sculpture. Starting in the early 1990s Paula fused sculpture with her love of gardening in New York City’s East Village.

Hayes’ living sculptures take the form of terrariums and beyond. On her website in addition to her terrariums you will see bird feeders, necklaces and planters. Her exhibition, “Nocturne of the Limax Maximus,” is showing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from November 17, 2010–April 18, 2011.

Links

Paula Hayes

Tovah Martin


Fairies Strut Stuff at Sacred Lands

Any other day of the year, showing up dressed as a fairy will elicit bewildered reactions and raised eyebrows— but on Halloween, the traveling fairy flock doesn’t seem out of place. Garden Fairy Lisa commented when we stopped to buy supplies on the way to St. Pete, “We might get some anomalous looks”. Barely, did one eyebrow lift, we were viewed as nothing more than archetypal Halloween characters.

At Sacred Lands on Halloween

We arrived at Sacred Lands in the late afternoon dressed as magical fairies. As we toured the property, Dappled sun shone through our wings and the lush canopy. We kept taking lots of pix until we lost the light.  >View slideshow of Fairies and Peacocks

Like good old hippies, we shared a communal feast, drank a bit of wine, met new people. We were serenaded with live music by classically trained violinist and versatile musician, Rebecca Zapen.

Our outing at Sacred Lands was both invigorating and enchanting.  Sacred Lands’ landscaping is so dense you might drive right by the spot, but that is the point, it blends beautifully into the surroundings. The first thing that grabs your attention once you enter the gates, is the lush flora and parading peacocks. It as if time stood still in this Shangri-La laid back estate, nestled in the Jungle Prada historic neighborhood. Sacred Lands is located on the west side of St. Petersburg on Park Street, bounded by waterfront mansions. Unfortunately, many of Florida’s trees have succumbed to chain saws, but Jungle Prada is an exception, where the abundance of beautiful hardwood trees promotes the appeal of a tropical jungle.  Sacred Lands is reputedly the landing site of the Spanish explorer Panfilo de Narvaez‘s Florida expedition.

Dappled sun shone through our wings and the lush canopy

Many people have asked, “What is Sacred Lands?”

It’s hard to define in one sentence because it ‘s many things and a very unique place. So here’s a description, posed as a question, “How many people open up their family’s estate as a place to basically, commune.”   Sacred Lands is like stepping back in time, you can see what Old Florida looked like and learn about ancient Florida. Garden Fairy Kiaralinda has visited Sacred Lands many times and commented she loves this magical spot, home to a 500 year old oak tree and site of an ancient Tocobagan Indian Village featuring an Indian shell or midden mound.  It is home to Doris and Erik Anderson and the site of Erik’s childhood home which sits directly on Boca Cieaga Bay in St. Petersburg Florida. Doris and Erik Anderson luckily for us keep the faith, seemingly ol’ hippies who never walked away from peace, love and community.

You were a Phantom of Delight

Kiaralinda remembers seeing Erik’s father Harold, a decade or so back, infirm from age, in his early 90s placing flowers, which he did every day, next to the memorial made to honor his wife. Harold lived to age 92 and went by the name “Happy”. He made a lovely memorial for his wife which reads “Lovely Frances: You were a Phantom of Delight. When first you gleamed upon my sight. A lovely Apparition. A Spirit yet, a perfect woman; Nobly planned, a Gentlewoman. And yet a Spirit, still and bright, Bathed in an Angelic Light.”

The first thing that grabs your attention once you enter the gates, is the lush flora and parading peacocks

Today, Sacred Lands Preservation and Education, Inc. is a nonprofit organization

It is dedicated to preserving land that has historical and archeological significance, programs range from history of the site, environmental issues, nature and spirituality including an upcoming workshop on permaculture. Erik gave us a fascinating tour of the property, answering questions about his parents, who shared a special connection to the land. They were some of Florida’s earliest environmental stewards and life long conservationists. Erik and Doris are continuing the legacy to preserve this small piece of precious history.  Events at Sacred Lands are supported by tax deductible donations— Sacred Lands is a 501C-3 organization.

More info about the Anderson Family and Sacred Lands

If you visit you will need to park in the lot  located at 1700 Park Street  at  Elbow Lane.

Info about the musician, Rebecca Zapen  www.zapen.com

View the slideshow of Fairies and Peacocks with pics from both Sacred Lands and a stop in Dunedin to see a host of creatively-costumed characters vying for prizes.