On the 4th, I promised you a look at my "Gardening by Letter" loot but unfortunately I was so busy meeting a deadline on the 5th that I didn't have time to do a proper post. I decided to wait another day when I could do the contents of my package "justice!" It was quite a package too ~ wait till you see. You'll all wish you had signed up for Anna's project. I hardly expected anything so lavish. I always knew gardeners were generous people but you all really kicked it up some notches.
There were books on assembling scarecrows (the pressure is on for this Fall!), seeds, coffee, cookies, and even slipper socks (see that little scrap of pink at the right edge of the photo?)
Beautiful handmade cards (which you know I appreciate), a lavender sachet that smells absolutely divine, a friend ornament, napkins, and the list goes on....
Fabulous needlepoint gifts (these are a labor of love & time ~ thank you), gorgeous soap ~ too beautiful to ever use, more napkins and lovely cards with the nicest messages written inside. Still, I'm not done! What did I ever do to deserve all this?
Have I mentioned seeds? I received so many seeds there is no excuse to not have the most glorious garden come summer. It's extra special that many are collected from your own gardens and are ones I've actually drooled over in pictures from your blogs! I love the idea of turning your own photos into cards like the card on the left ~ done by Shutterfly. Cool idea! I even got a CD! Besides being generous, gardeners are multi-talented! I can't wait to take a listen.
Fancy butterfly stickers, more seeds (in my favorite, fabulous color ~ pink! Yay!) postcards and photo cards. Everything was just wonderful. Thank you to every one who participated and extra special thanks to Anna, who organized the project. Seriously, I was blown away by the contents (and large size of the package) when it arrived. I've gone thru the envelopes time and time again, marveling at all the treasures inside them. I'm trying so hard to keep everything together that came together so I can go around and personally thank you on your blogs. I hope I haven't mixed anything up.
In case you don't know about the Gardening by Letter project, it was organized early last spring by Anna, of FlowerGardenGirl blog fame (who has now most ambitiously created a new phenomenal site called Decorate a Garden). I believe there were 11 (or 12?) participants. Each participant was assigned a month. We mailed Anna cards for each month and she so graciously took on the task of mailing out the cards to that months recipient. It was a big job for her to keep us all on task and tackle the shipping. The project is finishing up now ~ Anna's turn is this month then it's officially wrapped up. I have to say, it was a most delightful experience and introduced me to some new blogs I wasn't familiar with yet. If you click on the "Gardening by Letter" category on my blog sidebar, you can see each of my contributions (except for Anna's which I haven't posted yet).
Now do you see why I couldn't post yesterday when I was pressed for time?
Kathleen,
Your photos do everyone of those gifts justice. You make each grouping a lovely photo with your special touch. That Anna is amazing... full of energy and ideas. I do remember when she started this last year. How very fun to get to know fellow bloggers in this way.
Meems @ Hoe and Shovel
Posted by: Meems | January 06, 2010 at 12:41 PM
A wonderful job done by sweet Anna! Very impressive load of loot! :-)
Frances
Posted by: Frances | January 06, 2010 at 12:58 PM
Great idea. Looks like you've hit the jackpot. It must feel doubly-great that you made your deadline. [From one writer to another.]
Posted by: Grace | January 06, 2010 at 03:39 PM
Those are very nice and personal gifts. You just have to appreciate when someone takes the time to be so thoughtful and I think the project was lovely.
Posted by: tina | January 06, 2010 at 04:42 PM
Absolutely! What a wonderful project. Very special and it must have taken a lot of organization. :-)
Posted by: Shady Gardener | January 06, 2010 at 05:31 PM
Hi Kathleen~~ Thank you for the compliments. As far as not losing plants, well.... December was a homicidal month in the garden. I have a deck with a PVC roof and this is my holding tank for my tenders. It's about five degrees or so warmer. In December the cup of water I sat next to the door to test the cold was completely frozen for several days. We usually get a cold snap or two each winter but December's was longer than normal. I still haven't assessed the damage. Winter is far from over. I hope you're keeping warm in your neck of the woods.
Posted by: Grace | January 06, 2010 at 05:37 PM
Wasn't that one of the most fun things you ever opened? Almost like Christmas all over again. I tried to send you all pink seeds and a pink card :)
Can't wait to see your garden with all your new flowers this year.
Posted by: Catherine | January 06, 2010 at 06:12 PM
What fabulous booty! And you took such wonderful pictures of it!
Posted by: Sweet Bay | January 06, 2010 at 06:58 PM
I have been blessed doing it. Seeing the heart of each gardener as the packages arrived has brought me a lot of joy. I'm glad you liked your goodies. Big Hugs my friend and thank you for participating. I'll go add your link to those who have chosen to post their goodies.
Anna Flowergardengirl™
Posted by: Flowergardengirl™ | January 06, 2010 at 07:20 PM
What a fantastic package! I can just imagine the fun you had going through it. Looks like a great bunch of gardening (and not LOL) stuff!
Posted by: RainGardener | January 07, 2010 at 08:46 AM
What beautiful cards and photos. No body knows what gardeners like better than another gardener.
Marnie
Posted by: Marnie | January 07, 2010 at 09:15 AM