Open House at the Brick House

The Brick House in Shelburne, Vermont was the home of Electra Havermeyer Webb, the founder of the Shelburne Museum. It is open to visitors for tours just a few times a year. Today was one of those days.

The original country home dates back to 1840. Additions and renovations were made over the years. Today it is restored to appear as it did when the family lived there. Each room is like a microcosm of the Shelburne Museum itself, containing parts of the collections. It's a fun place to take photos.

We had toured before, and I've taken many pictures. Today I focused on the archways of this beautiful home.

The first two photos were taken near the front entrance.

This one is of a hallway on the second floor.

Out of each window there is a spectacular view.

Here's Geo taking in the view from an upstairs porch.

Location, location, location!

Flowers in the Garden

We've had rain, rain, rain, and more rain! And now it's been hot, hot, hot! It's just been too wet, then too hot to enjoy working in the garden. The vegetables are not doing well, and the weeds are thriving.

I did get photos of some of the flowers that have been blooming. Here are my favorites. The season is short, so I want to remember how pretty they are.

 The daffodils are among the first to come up.

 

 I love the lavender color of this iris.

The yellow irises show off well against the blue house.

One more common, but lovely iris. What I'd like to add to my collection are a few that are 

champagne-colored .

 

I was totally surprised to see TWO tulip blossoms on one stem!!

 

I think this is called a parrot tulip.

These are blossoms on the tree in front of our home.

This is an annual I tried for the first time this year. I hope it blooms all during the summer season.

Here's a common daylily. Some Vermonters say this should be the state flower because it is so common here. They grow along many of the roadsides.

 For some reason the bunnies really like to chew on the Asiatic lilies. Here's one they missed. (Maybe it was because of all that chili powder I sprinkled around it while it was growing!)

I have lavender, white and pink astilbe. The plants keep increasing and multiplying every year. What I like about them is that they look so feathery.

Monarda is another favorite. I'm always watching for the hummingbirds it attracts.

The geranium is a sturdy-looking plant. My Dad liked them on our porch when I was growing up. Each year I try to "winter" as many as I can in the house, then set them outside in the spring.

The daisy is another plant that multiplies each year. I got down on the grass to get a photo looking up toward the sky. I like how it turned out!

And here's the daisy, about as close as I could get. 

This year I also planted about 50 gladiola (Aunt Clara's favorite flower). The bunnies like to chew on these, too, so I planted many of them behind chicken wire. Look for another post from me in mid to late August for photos of glads!

Update: Re-reading this post, I am newly inspired to care for a flower garden this year so our home is surrounded with colorful beauty.

To read my newest blog, please go to Resolutions. 

Happy Gardening!