Put the Tarps Away!! Grace is Coming Over!!

I found Grace's blog on a rainy Oregon day in January of 2010. The holidays were over and I was having gardening withdrawals and needed to find a web site with some "eye candy."

I googled something like "gardening in Oregon" and when I clicked on Grace's web site I hit the mother lode! 

There it was in all it's glory, pictures of her fabulous garden with paths leading to who knows where but we all want to find out.

And her "lust for rust" garden art is so creative. I have a feeling that Grace can spot a bargain a mile away at a garage sale. 

I would see a trellis missing a rung and think, "Oh darn, too bad that trellis is missing a rung". And Grace would be thinking "I can hang a lantern right where that rung is missing." And she painted it red and it looks gorgeous!

Even better, I could not believe it when I realized that she lives in the same town as me. I instantly bookmarked her web site, shared it with my gardening friends and returned every day for three months looking for an update.

I had never visited a blog before but I was willing to join the blogging network so I could post a message to Grace to try to get her back to posting and sharing pictures. 

My first comment said something like "Grace, where are you? Where are all your wonderful pictures and witty posts? We miss you! Come back!" 

She must have thought I was absolutely nuts because she had been in blogland posting all along. But in my blogging ignorance I had book marked the post from that fateful day in January and not the main page. 

I must have read that post 100 times, enjoying it every time. I finally realized my error when I clicked on something by accident and found her current post. Yes! She and her garden were still there for my viewing pleasure!

After working in my garden in the spring it was time to start taking some pictures so I could remember what I had done for next year. 

Inspired by Grace's blog I decided to start my own blog this summer. After all she made it look like so much fun! 

Guess who left me my first comment?! Grace! I was thrilled, she is like the Meryl Streep of garden blogging and she made a comment on my blog! 

I think I wrote her and said some stupid starstruck comment about her being a celebrity and how I loved her blog. Again, she must have thought I was either a stalker or nuts! But her blog is great and to me she is a celebrity! Move over Meryl! Grace and her wheel barrel of succulents is taking your place!

The summer is over and fall is here. Most of the pictures from my garden are during the summer when it was in it's peak. Now my plants are looking rather sad and either overgrown, bug eaten, or just plain ready to curl up for the winter. 

So....guess who wants to come over to see my garden? Grace!!!! 

I am sure as fellow gardeners you have felt that surge of panic when you realize you are having company and your garden just isn't up to snuff. If your visitor isn't into gardening as much as you then it's no big deal. But this is Grace Peterson for pete's sake!! I can't say no because I would love to meet her and hope to get a chance to see that spot in paradise she calls her garden. So I immediately say yes, of course!! 

Panic attack! Maybe she will leave her camera at home. Yah right.  Asking Grace to leave her camera at home is probably like asking her to leave her left leg at home. "Grace, please only bring your right leg, the left one I would prefer stayed at home, is that alright with you?" I don't think so. She is going to want to bring her left leg and her camera! 

My second thought was "Oh no, can I paint the house by Saturday?" 

A bit of history here. Last fall we re-sided our house and it was finally my big opportunity to pick a new color. We wanted a color that would be cheerful and bright to get us through the long dark winters in Oregon. 

Ok, so we went a bit overboard. It's cheerful alright. For the first month my husband and I called it "the clown house".  Surrounded by houses in different tones of beige our house is a bit shocking. But it definitely makes it easy to find when we give directions.

Anyway, all I could think about was Grace's post when she took a picture of a house painted in a horrible pink color and labeled it "pepto bismol!" I am so in trouble. Maybe it will be cloudy Saturday and it won't stand out so much.

After writing Grace and sharing my reservations about having her see my garden in this condition, she was her usual sweet self and reassured me that we are all human and it's alright if it's not perfect. 

Whew, that was a huge relief and I am so excited to finally meet her and her friend Carol if she can make it too.

My third thought was, "what a great excuse to go plant shopping!" Today I bought two hanging baskets as replacements for my patio as well as three flowering cabbages for who knows where, a mixed color pot of mums and 2 cool little ornamental pepper pots! I feel so much better now! 

I will see you on Saturday Grace!!!!

Visit Grace's blog at: http://www.gracepete.com/