The Rose Garden

Being established in an old barn had its advantages and disadvantages--the disadvantages were mostly logistic. It's not hard to heat and cool a building that Looks like a barn. It is very hard to heat and cool a building that IS a barn. Birds are always going to build in the walls and under the eaves and in the rafters of the stalls. Stairs are steep and rooms are odd. Little creatures will make nests and tunnels and you never know what you might run into! On the other hand it had charm. It was charming to hear baby birds in the walls and it was charming to have odd little rooms and nook and crannies to fill with the most unusual collections of whatever struck my fancy. Our florals were all custom, no pre-mades for The Rose Garden! Not then, not now. My cards said [and still do] "imagination running wild". I loved branches, vines, nests, and berries mixed with all manner of florals, fruits, even vegetables. I wanted it to look as natural as if you'd found it in the woods. That is until the Holiday Season and then I wanted natural with glitz! Acorns dusted with glitter, branches tipped with gold, nests filled with sparkly eggs! This was my work day every day--my workroom filled with all manner of wonderful supplies right at my fingertips. It was my own personal paradise. and it still is....just differently.