4-Stop tour in beautiful Ohio

“What a day I have had with my friends,” says, Jeanie Merritt…”and Ohhhh, the beautiful gardens we toured!  There isn’t anything better than four fun garden tours, all from Flea Market Gardeners, all in ONE DAY….”

Stop #1 Jeanie’s garden

“Here’s a picture of the three gals who met at my home first thing this morning for breakfast …then we headed out to Sunbury, Ohio to Diana Daily’s…then to on to Prospect, Ohio to visit Myra Glandon’s then back to London, where I live to see Dick and Joni Wickline’s Flea Market garden…”

Sandy Bridenbaugh from here in Ohio and Lisa Collier, from Kentucky, and Tonya Fennig, from Indiana

These gals all met first at the home of Jeanie Merritt one Saturday in July to spend the day together touring gardens in Ohio. “We, friends, all met online through Flea Market Gardening,” Jeanie says, “and have actually gotten together twice before at each others homes, stayed the night and built a bonding relationship over the past four years!

This time would be a little different. After I served the girls  breakfast, we were off on an adventure touring two more “Flea Market Gardens” over an hour’s drive away at the homes of Diana Daily in Sunbury, Ohio and Myra Glandon, in Prospect, Ohio.

In Jeanie’s Garden….

In Jeanie Merritt’s garden, it’s Tea Thyme

Ever feel you’re being watched? Jeanie does!

Jeanie’s Fairy gardens

Jeanie says, “I like bright, bold colors in my small garden. I don’t have a lot of space, but I utilize every inch of it.”

In this picture,op right…An enamel pan of deliciously scented chocolate mint ( which I rub between my fingers everytime I pass)..Middle picture… A fairy resting a bit in the bistro.. and Bottom…. Portulaca ( Rose Moss) partially hiding the secret bridge entrance to the fairy garden.

Stop #2 Diana Daily’s

Diana Daily’s garden

Cone flowers stood tall like soldiers in Diana Daily’s bed full of lushness with wild grasses, daisies, and a tree that was mysteriously growing blue bottles… The whimsy of a rooster sitting high on ceramic dishes was a focal point shared with the bottle tree… Check out Diana’s clever handmade Fairy Houses.

A beautiful pond and waterfall, refreshed your eyes along the trail..

Every type of flower imaginable was blooming and the bottle tree took it’s place among them proudly..

Around every corner one came upon a new and inventive flower display, like this old fashioned push mower filled with lantana..

Stop #3 Myra Glandon’s

We’ve all been to Myra Glandon’s before…

This little out building was just the cutest. I just wanted to go up and knock on the door…

Flowers are growing out of the mailbox, so it might have been a long time since anyone’s been home.

Myra made the long horned steer, AND the greeting message, which made all of us laugh..

A creative use of an old fashioned wash day scene…

Both Myra and Diana have corn crib gazebos….Cornzebos!  (The one above Myra’s…Below…Diana’s)

Stop #4 Dick and Joni Wickline

The Wickline’s are neighbors of Jeanie’s so she’s close enough to keep an eye on what their latest garden projects are.

Me at the big iron gate that welcomes you into the Wickline’s gardens…

Dick chisels out little holes in stone to plant sedums and displays them abundantly throughout his gardens.

The painted sunflowers hover over the border of perennials..

A nice little resting place along the path and Dick and Joni love to entertain and this is their patio area with lots of chandeliers and lights…

Another interesting piece was this ‘ divider” made from 3 doors hinged together. Directly behind these doors is a place with wooden tables, dirt, supplies, etc. where Dick works on his potting, creating, and storing plants yet to find homes in the gardens… In the open before,…now, somewhat what Dick wants to hide is sheltered from view in a definite lovely manner..

Wickline’s tile planters

“These flue tiles might look out of place in a small garden bed, or in the middle of a lawn, but tucked gently back among some trees and filled with beautiful plants, Dick Wickline has once again used his creative talents to go that ” extra mile” and bring the gardening art together in a lovely way!!!!! One of the many delightful sights at The Wickline’s garden tour yesterday…”

Inspiration….

Hanging on Jeanie Merritt‘s fence right outside her door….

“That’s what we got a whole lot of when my FMG friends and I visited each of our Ohio gardens, Jeanie tell us. “All of us were excitedly talking about the ideas we were going to duplicate in our own home gardens… What a day today has been…such a treat…we must have laughed all day!”

Flea Market Gardening,…on the road!