2016 - Page 4 of 9 - Andrea Whitely Garden Consultant

No doubt about it when you visit Georgia, you will experience as I did, what is known as Southern hospitality, there’s the food, of course, Ahh the food, the wonderful service is absolutely everywhere you go (even a homeless guy was friendly and gave us directions) and those accents…OHH, those wonderful accents….though to be sure I think this is may be true of most places in the USA, if the Garden Writers I have met through GWA are anything to go by but I guess it’s in the South that they are really known for it….but here’s something you might not have known, that delightful hospitality …is not just for humans!

Check out these incredible artisan birdhouses, each one tells its’ own story. These pics were taken during my recent trip to Atlanta and Athens, Georgia….and now that I’m back home, I am experiencing serious birdhouse envy…is that a thing?! I think that my husband is hoping that I find a cure quick smart! Then again…this could be his new retirement plan?! He has about 10 years to create them and build up his stocks before we start selling them.

Imagine the wonderful bird parties here!

There’s the house and then there’s the incredible pole!

Thank you to Garden Owners Candy Johnson, Robin and Mark Pollock, Carole McWilliams, Lee Dunn, Arthur Blank, Mary Wayne Dixon, Rosie Davidson, Barbara and Vince Dooley, Bonnie and Mike Dirr and Ann and Joe Frierson for providing wonderful habitat spaces for the birds who come visit your gardens and for the southern hospitality shown to people like me who came to visit in September during #GWA16

If I come back as a bird in my next life…I know exactly where I’m headed!

OK Friends, I must confess, I get very excited when I know that I’m going to see other people’s gardens. It’s no wonder really, after all I was the Co-ordinator of the Open Garden Scheme here in WA and Chairman of the Management Committee for years before that, so I guess I think of myself as a bit of an old timer when it comes to checking out other people’s spaces. I have seen the best of the best in this country that’s for sure.

I just love visiting gardens, not in a creepy sort of voyeuristic, peeping in people’s windows sort of way…. I just love seeing how other people interpret their private outdoor rooms, how they choose to connect with their land. I love to see which art pieces they buy or create, which plants they choose, which trees they plant. Breathe, Andrea, Breathe…..Hyperventilating…..So can you imagine how hard it was to contain myself at the prospect of seeing nine private gardens in three days during my recent trip to Atlanta to attend #GWA16 The Annual Garden Writers Association conference. I was just like a kid in a lolly shop on the inside (I’m not ashamed to admit) while maintaining my uber cool self on the outside -sure sure-who am I kidding? I could not wipe the smile off my face, my pointer figure had clicking fatigue from all the camera action taking place and my face was sore from smiling and making an “O” shape with my mouth, it’s a wonder one of those giant bumblebees didn’t fly right in….and yet this is my work?!

Garden communicators are a very happy lot-why wouldn’t we be? Let’s be real, getting to wander through stunning gardens surrounded by like-minded plant mad, garden crazy souls. I just loved getting back on the bus after each garden, listening to the chatter, even though on one of the days we were drenched by 2.5 inches of rain, we didn’t care one bit…the post viewing excitement was palpable, “did you see that?”, “how was the art?”, “what about those birdhouses” and “OMG did you see those pots?”

The gardens selected for this years’ conference were, well let’s just say a BIG WOW at every stop.

A hearty congratulations to the Selectors of this years’ private gardens they were really outstanding and this little Aussie did not mind one bit traveling 25 hours in a flying tube to spend precious time with my new found friends and reuniting with some dear older ones from my first conference last year.

Today, I am going to share just one of the incredibly lush beautifully presented gardens we saw…there’s more pics and more stories to follow…Thank you so much Candy Johnson for sharing this garden with us

OK so..now you want to have a look too, don’t you..you know you want too…well here you are…..just a peek mind you…