When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. ~Chinese Proverb

I think we all need a little space that is all of our own whether it is a corner in your house or apartment or a room of your own.  I feel fortunate that I have 120 square feet dedicated to what I love; flowers, books and tea.  It’s small but I have a workspace and a meeting space (no square dancing).  For storing a lot of flowers, I use a refrigerator in my garage and the garage. One of the benefits of my location is that I have a mature garden that is chock full of peonies and tree peonies, roses, clematis, lilac, hydrangea,  crocosmia, ferns, allium, lavender, astilbe, hosta, honeysuckle, mint, lemon balm, salvia and on and on…there is no color coordination and no plan really except I plant what I like.  I plan to have a plan one day.

My Garden is a Riot of Color

Lori Poliski

My philosophy of gardening is some for the bunnies, remember to water or in my case turn off the water (I have had the Woodinville Water utility call me because I left a soaker hose on for awhile) and benign neglect.  I love the calm of a zen garden or a modern garden but it would be hard to make an arrangement from bamboo and allium only. My garden is a riot of color and a bit overgrown but in spring and summer, I can cut to my bleeding heart’s content.  Of course I have to order flowers for events and weddings from wholesale markets but I love to add unique touches from my garden whether it is sedge grass, New Zealand flax or budding astilbe.  I also have a neighbor who has new growth salal that he was going to cut and it is a lovely lime green color so that makes it into arrangements too.  I love bringing nature inside whether it is a lone flower in a drinking glass or a mass of roses wet with rain.  So welcome to Flori’s Cottage and I hope you have a space of your own.