We had the pleasure of meeting artist, floral designer and master gardener Carol Duke a few weeks ago. We stayed at her Flower Hill Farm retreat during our Brimfield escapades. Her gardens are wild and stunning - at the time brimming with cone flowers (which now grace the header of this blog) yarrow, bee balm, lillies, astilbe, goosenecks, blueberries and hydrangea. Our room (the studio) had a clawfoot tub in the middle of it. After a day at Brimfield we'd wash off all the dust and sunblock in it while listening to the sounds of the evening garden through the open doors that looked out to the hillside of gardens. It was a beautiful 3 days.

Carol snapped this portrait of Eric and I on our way out. I hope to visit again at a different time of year to see the gardens in a different phase...in the meantime when I crave a shot of nature I visit her incredible blog where she documents the flowers and birds of her little paradise.