Horse Chestnuts: Collecting Nature's Gifts

Have you ever collected horse chestnuts? This is a fall activity that my mom loves. She scouts out horse chestnut trees in the spring and mentions how we need to get to them at exactly the right time. This year we were a little late, the spiny seed pods had fallen away from the mahogany-colored chestnuts. 

My mom like to collect them in a variety of stages (a pod just opening, an open pod with the seed showing and loose chestnuts) and display them as art. Once we have some arranged at home, I'll come back here and update this post with a picture. She will also want me to tell you that she planted one in Michigan years ago and it is now a thriving 40 foot tall tree. 

Our favorite place for gathering horse chestnuts is in Volunteer Park in Seattle. It is a great open space with a long row of very old horse chestnut trees. We had a beautiful day on Saturday and we drove out to this park with my mom to find horse chestnuts and celebrate her return to health. It was a great afternoon.

#horsechestnuts #notthatkindofchestnut #volunteerpark #seattle #nature #gardenlover #treelover #fallfun

Holly for the Holidays

Can you believe that this is a Holly Tree? What a beautiful specimen! I have been travelling in Michigan for a few weeks and I will return to Seattle for the holidays to put down roots.

I am planning on buying large sprigs of holly this year (perhaps at the Garden Center/Holiday Wonderland - Molbak's) to decorate a tin-pocketed advent calendar that I have. When I saw this beautiful tree in Volunteer Park in Seattle, WA, I realized that I am moving to a zone that could support a healthy holly bush. What a bonus! When I finally buy a house, I am going to plant holly bushes and grow my own festive touch.

Do I have Christmas music playing in the house already? Oh, yes!

Seattle: Dahlias in Volunteer Park

Next September, when your garden has faded and you can't believe summer is over, find yourself a dahlia garden and rejoice in the bounty of colorful blooms.

A friend told me that I had "visit Volunteer Park in September to see the dahlias" and I kept the reminder in my travel notes for months. Finally, on my third trip to Seattle, it was dahlia season.

The Puget Sound Dahlia Association maintains the large dahlia garden in Seattle's Volunteer Park. It is spectacular. The garden is very tidy and the large well-staked plants tower over the enthusiastic visitors to the park. Every person has a camera or phone in hand capturing the various colors, shapes and sizes. Once you give in and start taking pictures, it's hard to stop. Each one is prettier than the next. And when the sunlight hits them just so...

If you fall in love with a particular shape, order some for your garden! Read about my wonderful visit to The Dahlia Barn, an online source for dahlia tubers.

The joy of gardening is far from over this time of year. You just need to switch gears and invest in some delightful dahlias.

Seattle: Volunteer Park Cafe and Cold Brew Coffee by Slate Coffee Roasters

I was looking for any port in a storm. Not really, but I had been at Volunteer Park looking at the dahlia garden for ages and I was desperate for a coffee and a snack.

It was later I realized that I was at the Volunteer Park Cafe - a little restaurant in Capitol Hill that several people had recommended I visit. Win-win. I was checking things off my list and I didn't even know it.  

The Volunteer Park Cafe was closing to regroup between their lunch and dinner hours but I arrived just in time to order a fresh pear cake and a bottle of cold brew coffee (who knew you could buy bottled unsweetened cold brew coffee?) by Slate Coffee Roasters at a table out front. I am the latest big fan of cold brew coffee. It is strong, but not bitter and has even more kick than a regular iced coffee. Where do I sign?

I would love to go back to the Volunteer Park Cafe and have a meal and really get to know the place. I'm putting it on the running list I have called "Seattle."

Seattle: Cute Meets Beautiful in Volunteer Park: Baby Ducklings Are the Star

Can you stand it?  I stopped by Volunteer Park to see what I could see, but I didn't expect this. Eight baby ducklings, no bigger than the water lilies they were swimming among! They were little puffs of delight.

There is a wood plank arranged between the lip of the pond and the water, to help the little guys get back to their mother, who was resting on the bank. Every once in a while she looked up and said "Don't splash your brother."