BARBEQUED PEACE AND PIE ON MY PORCH

Receive a 15% discount if you enroll in a summer Creative Workshop or Studio

at this event.

Need Graduation Gift Ideas? Go Creative, Go Sculpture, Go Custom Garden Art

 Everyone celebrating a graduation – including a student, an adult who has gone back to school, someone sending a child off to college or a favorite teacher who made it all happen -- deserves a special day. Garden gift ideas are abundant at From The Summer’s Garden.  Let us tell you about a few.

Celebrate with a unique garden pot
We have so many truly unique planting containers that you really must come and see them for yourself. We have box planters, urns and pots of all sizes made from that fabulous material hypertufa.  Our hypertufa pots and planters come in all shapes and sizes and with all sorts of creative adornments.  The wonderful thing about pots and planter boxes is that they can be easily moved around to add zest to new parts of the garden. We also have a great selection of hanging containers.

Celebrate graduation with some art for the garden
Another unique graduation garden gift idea is to give a piece of garden artwork.  We have an interesting selection of garden stabilizers – sculptures with parts that sway with the breeze – and they come in a variety of sizes.  A bottle trellis is another fun way to bring visual interest to the garden.  These can be free standing or mounted to the wall.  Those who recycle will LOVE a trellis like this.

Or consider a fun garden plaque.  Our concrete garden plaques can be purchased individually, or as a set.  You can even choose the color palette that matches your mood and a design that speaks to you about this special moment.

Garden stakes are also very popular.  You need to see our angels, crosses and even holiday-themed stakes to see what fun can be had year-round in the garden.  We even have Alphastones which can spell out a graduate’s new address, an inspiring note or many other phrases to mark this milestone event.

Give the graduate the chance to create personal garden decorations

Why not give the gift of a class at From The Summer’s Garden to commemorate a new beginning. We offer classes in hypertufa to design your own pots, garden memorial stones, stakes or garden stones.  Check out our website, our blogspot or give us a call and come by in person – just don’t wait too long.  Great inspiration at the Spring Sale "Peace On My Porch" is only happening through the first week of June!

TINIS AND TUFA IN THE BRIGHT SUNSHINE!

 

 All was well with the world as we celebrated Tinis and Tufa, our special event, at Peace on My Porch.Those who put their names in the basket won artwork made by our artists every 15 minutes.

 You could get your hands dirty making your own bird sculpture from Hypertufa and a chance to see us mixing this wondrous material.  
Want to try it yourself?
Take a look at our line-up of Studios and Creative Workshops for the summer.

 Laurie got a good workout shaking the martinis.  We found an article that suggested shaking a full 2 mintues rather than the typical 30 seconds. It really does improve the overall flavor of the cocktail....but oh so cold on the hands!

 Nina featured samples of her KC Gourmet dips and her new cracker snacks.

Jane Hosey-Stern created custom jeweled martini glasses.  Here is the set of olive garnish picks she made for me.....Awesome!

There's plenty of time for you to visit From the Summer's Garden to experience Peace on My Porch.
You'll find great ideas to make your garden your own sense of place.  We're open 10:00 - 5:00, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays every weekend in May and  the first weekend in June.  

Guest Artist Feature - LEANNE from SOUTH 20 STUDIOS

WHAT'S TINIS & TUFA? MARTINIS AND HYPERTUFA, OF COURSE!

Herb Garden: Try Clever Pots of Chocolate Mint or Lemon Balm

What’s hot in herb gardens and edible plants this year? Forget mint or parsley (that’s so 2012).

A recent Wall Street Journal article says trendy gardeners are way beyond rosemary, basil and dill in the garden … and moving into potted herbs and herb beds with exotic names and unusual flavors. Some of the new herbs on the garden herb scene are lemon balm, papalo and the delicious sounding chocolate mint.


Not only are garden herbs attractive, fun and tasty, they’re cost efficient. You can mix garden herbs into attractive and clever pots, and disperse whimsical garden stakes in between.

Some of the trendy herbs this year for KC gardeners, like calendula, can be grown in pots and used for a relaxing bath. Bronze fennel has a fern-ish appearance that’s nice to gaze upon, nice in dressings and recipes and makes an appealing new home for butterflies in your garden. Invite friends to brunch or tea and tuna sandwiches, complete with fresh, crunchy sprigs from your potted lovage – a crisp, celery-like taste. If you like grilling fish, try chervil, which is said to resemble anise. A small bunch of lemon balm can be squeezed and placed into the bottom of a pitcher to infuse regular water with a light and wonderful taste.
Herbs get newbies going:  Another fun element of garden herbs to note:  you can introduce yourself, or a friend or family member, particularly children – to the glory of having a garden through a few simple herb pots. The experience of harvesting a few fresh leaves for tea or recipes is often enough to give someone the garden fever that could last a lifetime.


If you have a small space, or are looking to add some peace to your porch (our theme this year for the annual Spring Sale!), garden herbs are perfect. A small square is enough to get numerous varieties going, and you can be creative on mixing them up. You can place varieties together in creative containers according to purpose – like mint and stevia for a quick grab for tea.
Herb gardens are delicious, creative and easy – and a fabulous way to serve up inviting conversations, beverages and dishes from your own porch this summer to neighbors. Check out these clever garden stake and container ideas at From the Summer’s Garden, and come browse the selection from KC artists at the Spring Sale weekends, now through May 26! 

Guest Artist Feature - DALE HENNING

Karen Skillett, long-time From the Summer's Garden guest artist, got at least some of her design genes from her dad, Dale Henning.  We are featuring Dale's  dimensional stained glass stars and mobiles this spring at Peace on My Porch.  What is interesting is that Dale did not get started making his artwork until age 80. His love of color and repetition is evident in each hand-made piece he creates.  I think Dale's free-form mobiles are especially intriguing, an interesting counter-balance to the order and precision of his exquisite glass stars.