Pressed Foliage Craft at Clapps Nursing Center

Jennifer Nichols of Clapps Nursing Center in Pleasant Garden was looking for volunteers to head up a few activities for the residents. So we made a date and it was one of the best dates I’ve had in a long time.

The prior month I collected some of my favorite foliage from maple, sassafras, and fig trees, rose and euonymous leaves.The autumn colors were in their prime with gorgeous red, green and yellow autumn striations. I  pressed the foliage between wax paper and placed 30 pounds of books on top for a few weeks. Then packed up my leaves and card making supplies and headed to the nursing home.

Holiday Card Making is a wonderful craft for everyone. There is no right way, it’s created from the heart and to me, a great stress reliever. The residents seemed as excited as I was to be there.

Fortunately, I had the help of two staff members to assist with cutting, printing, glueing and glittering. The artwork was all very unique and just beautiful.

They selected their favorite pressed leaves, paper and glitter color. Also suggesting  the words for the inside of the cards.

Janie loved the glitter.

Fabulous.

There was one fellow named Gene, who took an interest in the craft and created a masterpiece.

All so different.

A pretty blue.

I love the tiny euonymous leaves.

 Their family and friends will receive an extra special card this holiday season. Thank you for having me:)

Happy Planting!  www.dianadigsdirt.com

Diana Gardner-Williams

Landscape Design and Installation

Breast Cancer-Photography-Landscaping Ideas

Divine Weddings and Beyond™ are looking for people in the Piedmont Triad Area interested in beautiful landscapes, magical photography, fine wine, wedding vendors, and brides.  Families touched by breast cancer are also encouraged to attend and pink will be one of the dominant colors of the event.

October 8th from 3-8pm Divine Weddings and Beyond™ are hosting a free event recognizing Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Donations will be collected at the door and the workshop, fashion show, cake and wine tasting will be well worth the drive to the Emerald Event Center, 2000 East Wendover Ave.

Landscaping is not something a bride typically thinks about the minute her boyfriend proposes. Just think, most brides get ready for the ceremony at the home of the parents, her home or another residence. The landscape outside this home can reflect the style, color or theme of the wedding.

This photogenic backdrop or vignette is the perfect complement to a wedding reception held in an old world structure with wedding bouquets filled with ivory colored roses or hydrangeas.

I will demonstrate  how to use affordable tricks to enhance your backdrop so the photographer will not have to search high and low for the perfect ambiance. you will be surprised at all the things mother nature has to offer brides.

Garden wedding swags are incredibly easy to assemble and add such charm to trees, pergolas, lamp posts or columns.

The season of your wedding  has a large influence on decorations, flowers or themes. An autumn wedding could definitely utilize rusty colored toule, rich earthy flowers or foliage and berries of deep crimson.

I look forward to the Divine Weddings and Beyond™ Workshop and hope you will join us by wearing something pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. More information.

Happy Planting from Divine Weddings and Beyond™

Diana Gardner-Williams  www.dianadigsdirt.com

Landscape Design and Installation

Getting Married in Spring-Flower Colors

Where do most brides get ready before the wedding ceremony? Usually it is in the comfort of a home. If you plan ahead, the spring-blooming flowers within the landscape can compliment your wedding photographs.

If your bridesmaid gowns are a pale pink, try planting bulbs, shrubs, trees or perennials to compliment your bridesmaid dresses or wedding bouquets.

 

  

Pink azaleas come in so many different shades, you are bound to find a variety to match your bridesmaid dresses.

The Eastern Redbud Tree is fabulous in bloom. The flowers emerge before the foliage. What a delicate backdrop for your wedding photography.

Another great tree for spring blooms is the Yoshino Cherry Tree. This specimen tree has those fairy tale qualities many brides look for.

If the gowns are pale pink, purple landscape flowers are next to each other on the color wheel called harmonious or analogous colors. Creeping phlox below explode with color in the spring. Try laying on this perennial for a smashing wedding picture.

Ajuga is another beautiful spring-blooming perennial with purple spikes.

A soft salmon-colored gown is great for a spring bridesmaid dress.

 

Did you know that Daffodils come in colors other than white, yellow and orange? Daffodil bulbs to harmonize with salmon dresses are Vie en Rose, Elizabeth Ann, Fidelity, Salome, and Palmares.

 

Please consult with a professional landscape designer to determine exactly when the flowering plants bloom. Some are earlier than others and some have a longer bloom period.

Divine Weddings and Beyond will be hosting a Wedding Fashion Show and Workshop on October 8th 2009 at the Emerald Event Center from 3-8. This is a free event and donations will be accepted at the door for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

I will be giving a workshop of how to spruce up your landscape to provide a gorgeous backdrop for wedding photography.

 Diana Gardner-Williams

Divine Weddings and Beyond™

Landscape Design and Installation

Piedmont Triad Wedding Fashion Show

Piedmont Triad brides, bridesmaids and mothers of these beautiful brides  are invited to an event 1st of its kind, right here in Greensboro. Please review the invitation below. Yes, the grand prize is $1000 worth of products and services you will eventually need. The facility will be set up like an actual wedding to create the perfect ambiance for a wedding fashion show.

For wedding vendors and wedding publications-please RSVP ASAP. We ask that you arrive between 2:30 and 3 and bring businesses cards for your tables. Since many of you have products, feel free to carry a basket to distribute items to the brides. Please remember to bring a donation for Breast Cancer Awareness. Looking forward to a great event and meeting all of you!

More information located here. 

Diana Gardner-Williams  www.dianadigsdirt.com

Divine Weddings and Beyond™

Landscape Design and Installation

September Landscaping Ideas for Greensboro

September is here and so are the cooler temperatures. So there are no excuses why a few hours cannot be dedicated to your lovely landscape.

Your grass may be looking a little on the brown side. It is OK if you did not waste the Greensboro water supply to keep your lawn lush and green. Grass is the most affordable sacrifice. The shrubs and trees are where the water needs to be applied. Aerating the lawn will break up the soil surface allowing oxygen and water to enter the compacted soil. Once aerated, the fertilizer will be able to reach the grass roots with ease.

If you are struggling with the same patch of lawn that refuses to grow grass, turn it into a plant bed. Why fight it.

While you are fertilizing, purchase a fertilizer high in Phosphorus (middle number on the bag) for your garden mums and Helleborus.

Mums are blooming now and Helleborus will bloom in winter when little is happening in the landscape.

Helleborus are the cream colored flowers pictured in the front. They bloom from February to April.

September is also the perfect time to plant perennials because the temperatures are cooler and there is plenty of time for roots to establish.

Keep harvesting your basil. this herb will produce leaves until the first frost.

This is the time to select your spring blooming bulbs for planting next month. Have a plan first because these are definitely show stoppers and a breath of sweetness after a long winter.

Apply compost or another organic fertilizer (bonemeal, bloodmeal, fish emulsion) along with the bulbs for a grandiose flower display come spring.

September is a great month to play in the garden.

Happy Planting!!  www.dianadigsdirt.com

Diana Gardner-Williams

Landscape Design and Installation

Loving Romantic Shabby Chic Cottage Office

Part 4 of the office transformation. I will really stress that I am one who truly recycles and love every moment of it. Below is an eyelet bed skirt from a second hand store. This is perfect for the romantic shabby chic cottage style room I am trying to achieve.

Another treasure I found was a piece of furniture for $15 at another second hand store.

It just had to be cleaned up and a light coat of white spray paint was applied.

This piece was sitting on the side of the road with broken glass everywhere. I saw the legs and had to have it.

My interior designer, Kasey Stamey selected the primary floral fabric for the room pictured below.

I found a secondary fabric, again at a second hand store. This smaller print of the same color palette will offer variety without overpower the main fabric.

I will probably drape this fabric across the piece of furniture from the side of the road to dress up a bit.

Since we are on the subject of roadside trash, I found several windows screaming for me to pick up.

I cleaned them right up and no extra paint was needed. I did apply paint to one side of the windows. On the opposite side, the primary fabric was applied.

There are 2 functions of the window hanging where it is. First, to divide the room in 2 distinct sections, guest room and office. The second function would be to hide the catch all desk behind it. We all need a spot for our junk to be dealt with at another time.

On to part 5

Happy Planting!!  www.dianadigsdirt.com

Diana Gardner-Williams

Landscape Design and Installation

Angelversary Garden Flags for Pregnancy Loss

What is an Angelversary? The term sounds so sweet, yet it is a word no parent ever wants to use. The loss of a much wanted pregnancy or infant is an earth shattering tragedy where a permanent hole is pierced within hearts.

Even if you do not have a memory garden for your baby, pregnancy loss flags can be displayed beside a walkway, driveway, or front door within your landscape honoring your child.

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, with October 15th as the actual day. Display your garden flag during this month and also on their angelversary.

Our awareness ribbons contain two colors, light blue and pink. Many early pregnancy losses from miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancies are unaware of the child’s gender. I was fortunate to know my stillborn baby was a sweet little boy.

Tanner’s angelversary is coming this month, September 28th.

My angel will be 6 years old.

Parents of angels will never forget their babies.

If you know bereaved parents of pregnancy and infant loss, please forward this blog along with the blog of Just a Cloud Away at http://shivere.wordpress.com.

There is a high demand for the Angelversary Garden Flags. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. A $20.00 check can be sent to:

Just a Cloud Away, Inc. Po Box 327, Julian, NC 27283,

The costs include shipping, handling and taxes. If you live out of the Continental United States, an additional fee may apply. If this is a sympathy gift, please include the mailing address of bereaved family.

Angelvesary garden flags are another way to remember, honor, love and create awareness that our children were real and will never be forgotten.

Peace

Diana Gardner-Williams  www.dianadigsdirt.com

Landscape Design and Installation

$1000 Prize for a Bride-October 8th 2009

Brides of the Piedmont Triad Area have a chance at winning $1000.00. Please forward this news to any bride interested.

-PRESS RELEASE- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Triad Welcomes First Wedding Specialist Team-Divine Weddings and Beyond™

7 independent wedding professionals have partnered together forming Divine Weddings and Beyond™. This unique team from various locations of the Piedmont Triad offers high quality products and services recommended by those who are now happily married. Assisting brides and wedding parties through the process of marriage in an organized and non-stress fashion are their main objectives. “Staying healthy and grounded proves to be a better beginning with your spouse than the alternative,” says one member of Divine Weddings and Beyond™.

 Divine Weddings and Beyond™ have joined as a team, however, act independently. “When wedding parties utilize one stop shop businesses, they often pay a fee for the middle man. They have removed this cost by joining together, supporting each other and holding each member accountable for exceptional products and services.

 The wedding team consists of: Your Friendly Neighborhood DJ, Create a Cake Catering, Sabika Jewelry, Diana Gardner-Williams/Landscape Design and Installation, Jo Proia/Cosmetic Artistry, GoForth Travel, and Fitness Together/Weight Loss. Brides and wedding parties can be comforted with over 70 years of combined experience in the wedding industry.

 Brochures on Divine Weddings and Beyond™ can be found at; Cardinal Bridal And Formal Wear, Aesthetic Images Photography, Central Floral Gardens, Scruggs Florist Inc, and Botanica Flowers And Gifts. Divine Weddings and Beyond™ are offering brides $105 gift certificate for a monthly drawing at any of these locations. The team is also looking for additional retail shops to carry brochures.

 A welcome reception will be held on October 8^th at the Emerald Event Center from 3-8PM at 2000 East Wendover Avenue. The event will include a fashion show modeling wedding and bridesmaid  gowns and mother of the bride dresses. Cake and wine tasting will be accompanied with live music and $1000.00 prize for one lucky bride. Throughout the event, mini prizes will be raffled. RSVP by September 30^th, 336.691.2000. Admission is free and donations for Breast Cancer Awareness Month will be collected at the door. Guests are encouraged to wear pink in their support.

 Divine Weddings and Beyond™ encourages brides and wedding parties to begin planning 12 to18 months prior to the wedding date.

 For more information, please contact Diana Gardner-Williams at 336.392.4031 or email, Diana@justacloudaway.com.

 

Photo Taken by Divine Weddings and Beyond™

 xxx

Happy Planting!!  www.dianadigsdirt.com

Diana Gardner-Williams-Divine Weddings and Beyond™

Landscape Design and Installation

Romantic Shabby Chic Style Office

I recycled a medicine chest my girlfriend was ditching. There was a great opportunity to decoupage and create a one of a kind shelf. It did not have to be repainted and I was able to apply leftover wallpaper from the wall behind, to the underside of the shelves.

I decoupaged old piano music and book pages from 1898. My father happened to find them in a wall when remodeling an old house.

How I love to create non conventional pieces which are recycled, old and rusty.

The look is exactly what I am striving for…shabby chic, romantic, cottage.

the same girlfriend disposing of the medicine chest was also getting rid of this wonderful piece of office furniture, a particle board desk. Hideous, I know. However, we can work with this. I have started by gluing cork board squares to the front and sides.

Across the top is also cut cork board. To add shabby chic detail, door hanger scrapbook embellishments were adhered.

Any piece of furniture can be transformed, don’t let anyone tell you differently.

Happy Planting!!  www.dianadigsdirt.com

Diana Gardner-Williams

Landscape Design and Installation

Lifespan Birdhouse/Windchime Pottery

One of a kind garden art sold at an unbelievable price. Lifespan is a non-profit with locations across North Carolina. The individuals who craft these amazing works of art have developmental disabilities. 1500 people benefit from the programs at Lifespan and with your support, the waiting list can be reduced.

Michelle Davis of Lifespan took me on a tour of the facility and I was amazed at the level of detail in the garden art, pottery and paintings. There are several different day programs set up to enrich a diverse range of skills. Of course I was very interested in the pottery art. The birdhouses would spruce up any landscape.

A gentlemen who is one of the favorites, took the time to pose for the camera. He was busy creating another masterpiece to be sold.

Aren’t these snowmen pottery pieces just adorable. A perfect gift and for a great cause.

The wind chimes have such detail.

The pottery rooms are pretty high tech.

Many items to be sold.

The craft room, where are the creativity happens.

Lifespan is looking for additional retail shops to sell the art pieces.

If you own a restaurant and need artwork for your walls, think about purchasing from Lifespan. The individuals are obviously very talented.

For further information on how you can help Lifespan and the developmentally disabled community, contact Michelle Davis. These are truly a wonderful programs and services and needs to thrive.

Happy Planting!!  www.dianadigsdirt.com

Diana Gardner-Williams

Landscape Design and Installation