Hall-Reppens in Singapore: "Gardenology" in Geneva, IL

In mid-May, Geneva hosts an event called "Gardenology". They bring in vendors and educators from around the area, who teach and sell things related to the garden. In addition, local retailers have raffles for beautiful gardening items, just for entering their stores. The last time I attended, I won 2 beautiful watering cans!!

It was a gorgeous spring day, when my friend, Sue Hamill, arrived at my house. Our other partners in crime, Jane Martin and Kathy Wengronowitz, were unable to attend, because they were at a funeral. (A wonderful member of our parish had fallen off the ladder in his garage and died a week after he took retirement. It was very sad...) Members of the Geneva Garden Club were out in full force. Annette Barnes and Ginny Dushney were there with many beautiful garden items that they create and sell. Patty Thorsen and Helen Hogan were selling tickets for our upcoming Garden Walk. And Debbie Notaro, one of the brains behind the event, was ensuring that everything was running smoothly. I also saw many other members out shopping and supporting the event.

Sue and I had a lovely time, as we wandered around watching displays about creating terrariums, creating fairy houses, and making flower fairies. (Sue does crafts at her mom's retirement home, and is always interested in crafts for young children, because they translate well to many of the seniors in the home.) We ate lunch in the Conservatory at the Little Traveler. They had recently changed their menu, to include many Weight Watcher menu items, along with the point equivalents. It was tasty food in a lovely setting.

The only disappointment of the day was a vendor outside the Little Traveler selling glass sculptures for the garden with fairies or birds featured in her sculptures. Last year, I had become enamored with these colorful sculptures, and had collected glass pieces at Goodwill and St. Peter's Barn Sale. I told Sue that we could make these sculptures ourselves, with my glass and her fairies. The vendor yelled at us for taking pictures of her sculptures, which made us decide not buy any of her items. I am also going to include pictures for your perusal, as she doesn't "own" the rights to this craft idea. Have fun making these glass sculptures. E-6000 glue works well to hold the glass pieces together - even in the elements!