Huntington Library: Children's Garden

A few weeks ago we visited The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens located in San Marino, CA. I'm pretty sure I took enough pictures here for AT LEAST five blog posts, but I'll start with the Helen and Peter Bing Children's Garden.
First let me say that this place is amazing regardless of your age. So amazing, in fact, that I think I'm the only person in my entire family that noticed the little fairy gardens they had hidden within the garden.

How cute is this structure? I took pictures of every detail, imagining how I could recreate something like this in my own garden. It was so beautiful, yet seemed so simple in design.

Since it was a hot day, most of the kids(including my own husband) spent their time in the Vortex and Water Bells area, splashing water everywhere.

The entry way to the children's garden is adorable! The bright turquoise paint screams fun, and lets you know that there's something magical behind that gate!

And when I say fun- I'm referring to this cute volcano structure in the topiary garden that "erupts" every few minutes in a fine water mist.

And there's also this fabulous magnetic sand pool that confuses the heck out of the kids!

Peek-a-boo!

And my favorite area of the children's garden is Fog Grotto, where you can sneak up on your family members to scare them (like pictured above)....

.....or channel your inner rock star....

Add this to your must-see list if you've got kids aged 2-7, but I must admit I had just as much fun as them (if not more).

2nd Annual Sacramento Tomatofest July 30th

This has been a HORRIBLE year for tomatoes for the Sacramento area- but it's time to come together and celebrate our favorite fruit! They don't call us SacraTomato for nothing! July 30th is the 2nd Annual Sacramento Tomatofest at Town & Country Village (located at Marconi and Fulton Avenue). From 9am-4pm they'll be hosting a chefs challenge, a Tomato Trot for kids, and awesome performances by the Sacramento Theatre Company.

Also on the menu: Bloody Marys! I'm pretty sure they aren't as good as mine, served up with homegrown\homemade spicy Dilly beans and pickled okra, but then again I've never had a bloody mary that I didn't like :)

And...if you're one of the few people who have had an awesome tomato year....there's a contest! With HUGE prizes!!!! $500 prize money for the winner's who can produce the largest, smallest or the ugliest tomato! If you'd like to register your prize tomato in one of these categories, you can head to The Terrace's website here to download the entry form (By the way, if you haven't been to The Terrace yet, they are my new favorite place for breakfast).

For those of you who don't like tomatoes, Town & Country is also having a huge sidewalk sale from Friday, July 29- Sunday, July 31. Go buy me something pretty, I'm not picky :)

For more info, you can call (916) 933-4056 or go to www.shoptownandcountry.com

Have a great weekend!

Pretty, Pretty Sunflowers

A couple weeks ago I complained when we came home from vacation to find that sunflowers had taken over our front yard. You see, a few months ago I handed my daughter four packages of sunflower seeds to hold on to for a few minutes while I put a plant in ground. Five minutes later I hear her say "I need more seeds!" More seeds? I asked where the sunflower seeds went. Her reply was "Over here, over there, and over here, and some over there, and I think there's one right here."
I admit, I really didn't think they'd grow. None of them have drip lines running directly to them. Some of them are growing right in the middle of our heavily mulched walkways. Something interesting that I just learned (thanks to the Internet) is that sunflowers remove toxins like arsenic, lead and uranium from the soil. Over 10,000 sunflowers seeds were recently planted near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in order to try and remove cesium from the soil. This same process was used to clean up waste at Chernobyl, and the plants were buried afterward with other nuclear waste.

Planted with love by my four year old, they grew with very little care. They continued to be neglected by her, until they bloomed of course. This one is called "Royal Flush" and is a new offering from Renee's Garden.

Once they started blooming, the bugs took an interest in them too, like this praying mantis above who is hoping to grab a snack on the next unsuspecting pollinator that lands.

Speaking of pollinators, the bee's are in pollen heaven right now.

Every bee we see is full of pollen. The fine little hairs on her legs collect this pollen for their hive. Somewhere within a 2 mile radius of our home is a happy hive.

Normally I grow sunflowers that grow just one sunflower per plant. This year we grew a few different kinds of multi-branching sunflowers, like this Arikara sunflower who's seeds I purchased from Cherry Gal.

I think the multi-branching ones might be my new favorite.

The largest sunflowers we have this year are the Mammoth Grey's from Baker Creek .

The seeds from this flower are HUGE, and I hope we get them before the birds and squirrels do!

This sunflower wins the award for being the tallest, it must be at least 10 feet tall.

This one must have been the yummiest, as it was quickly devoured by the birds.

It's just a matter of time before the birds get this one too. Or will a squirrel swipe it first?

Some sunflowers may not be grown for their beautiful flowers, but rather for their beautiful seeds. Varieties like the one above were used by Hopi Indians to make dye. To make the dye you boil the seeds in water, and add fabric or yarn to the colored water.

Or, you can just enjoy the beauty of the seeds!

And if you manage to get one that has a double head- it looks a lot like a fly, according to my daughter. Bzzzzzzzzzz!

Sometimes the sunflowers grow a little funky, like this one above.

Which then makes me do this to the pics, just for fun :)

Hope you enjoyed our sunflower tour!

Garden Inspiration: Legoland

Finding yourself a bit uninspired by gardening magazines these days? Looking for year-round color but don't want to limit yourself to just flowers? Got crates full of Lego's that have been passed down through generations? Then maybe building your own Legoland is what you need! Why limit your garden shed to conventional building materials when you can build your very own Lego shed?!
Yesterday's Wordless Wednesday post was our take on the new Star Wars Miniland located inside the Legoland in Carlsbad, CA. We went here a few weeks ago for our first time and I could see a scary look in my husband's eyes that made me fear for my garden's safety. Sorry, as much as I love Chewbacca and the Wookies, there will be no Battle of Kashyyyk in my garden!

Left your heart in San Francisco? Well maybe you can build this San Francisco Miniland in your own backyard. All the beauty without the traffic! Although considering how much it would cost to build this (Lego's aren't cheap), maybe you'd be better off just buying a place in San Francisco.

Perhaps you're looking for a koi pond or new bird bath that doesn't take itself too seriously?

These love birds seem to enjoy it!

Perhaps you're more into the look of a dry garden? This low water cactus garden is a great idea for those of you who like to think back to that one crazy night you had in Vegas.

Like the look of edible plants in the yard but hate eating vegetables? You're in luck! Build these monstrous radishes in your garden and you'll never have to feel guilty if they go to waste! I hear they are also pest resistant!

Hope you enjoyed our little tour of Legoland. My daughter had a great time on the rides and we left with bags full of Legos for her and my husband. Who knows, their creations may just find a permanent spot in our garden some day.

Wordless Wednesday: Lego Fun in the Garden

(can you tell we went to Legoland?)

Story Trail and Tot Land at Crocker Art Museum

Today the kiddo and I were lucky enough to attend the launch of two new programs for kids at the Crocker Art Museum. Story Trail is a journey through the art museum using a book called Birdy's Museum Adventure as your guide. Tot Land is more hands-on and designed for kids 5 and under.
We started our day off with Story Trail, following the storybook that parents can check out at the front desk called Birdy's Museum Adventure. This book is a fun story about two new friends, Birdy and Rainbow Kid. It was kind of like a scavenger hunt to find clues to help Rainbow Kid locate Birdy's friends. Our storybook lead us all throughout the museum, searching for various birds that could be in paintings or sculptures. The art pieces they chose for the book are a great introduction for kids to art. Kids are naturally attracted to pictures of animals, but this is also a great opportunity to help your child find more meaning in these paintings. Depending on the age of your child you can ask them questions about what colors or shapes they see, and for the older kids ask them how the people in the painting are feeling, or better yet how the painting makes your child feel.

Pieces we came across today included Sacramento River, painted in the 1980's by local artist Gregory Kondos, and Vision of Saint Francis painted in 1911 by Arthur Mathews.

After we finished helping Birdy find his friends, we entered a magical place called Tot Land, full of books, music, toys and art supplies that encourage creative thinking and imagination.

One of the coolest parts of Tot Land is "The Living Art Wall" that uses an interactive touch screen to help kids try and recreate some of the masterpieces they just saw in the museum, or their own special creation. I must admit it's rather amazing to see how quickly kids pick up on technology, and these kids were plastered to the screen in awe at how they could create something so beautiful with just their finger tips (Perhaps they can help me with my blog redesign?). This interactive screen would not have been possible without local company BKWLD. On behalf of this excited group of kids, I thank you.

Kiddo and I were happy to enjoy today with the number one aunt and sister-in-law today- Auntie Nani! Auntie Nani is very passionate about our local arts community, whether it's the Sacramento Ballet, Sacramento Music Circus, or the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, and these events are so much more fun when she's around! The Arts are a huge part of the education that kids should be receiving, yet they are the first to be cut when budget issues arrive. Please check out the various programs these organizations have for kids, and get involved in your local arts community!

After checking out the extensive kids library and "The Living Art Wall", Alex made her way over to the arts and crafts table to channel her inner Monet.....

The bulk of her time was spent here- creating masterpiece after masterpiece, meeting new friends, showing off her "sharing" skills, and enjoying the endless supply of art supplies that could appeal to the wildest of imaginations. This was such great fun, but I had to return to work *insert sad face here*. We will definitely be coming back to check out more of Rainbow Kids adventures!

Story Trail and Tot Land are included with entry into the Crocker Art Museum and are open during regular museum hours. For more information you can visit crockerartmuseum.org or call (916) 808-7000. Future events include "Pay What You Wish Sunday", every third Sunday of the month sponsored by Bank of America, and Little Buckaroos Day on Labor Day, sponsored by Target. Also check out their Studio Art Classes (ages depending on the art project). Thank you Crocker Art Museum for continuously inspiring kids of all ages (myself included). And, a special thank you to the First 5 Sacramento Commission for your support of this new program.