“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees takes off his shoes; the rest sit around and pluck blackberries.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning
One of my first friends in Georgia was Jackie Gibson. At the time we met she was still single (Rich entered the picture a year or so later) and we would go on little day trips, usually at her instigation. Jackie is a gardener and, while I am not, she knew that I was always willing to go with her to visit lovely places.
She invited me to attend the Atlanta Garden Show, a tour of personal gardens mostly in the Decatur area. We enjoyed the day, but it was a lot of driving and walking to see gardens that were less than spectacular.
She was a member of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and invited me as her guest to tour. Rich assured me I would be doing him a favor to accompany her (thereby freeing him to do his own thing). Never having been to this venue I enjoyed it thoroughly with an expert guide to tell me all about the various varieties of flowers and plants.
One spring a friend from Black Mountain, NC came to visit on the weekend of our annual church gala, St. Julian’s Idol. Seated next to Jackie, my friend Geri began to describe a festive weekend “Art in Bloom” held every June in Black Mountain. Jackie immediately said “I want to go; Donette, let’s do it.” And so we did. Geri arranged for us to stay in the guest apartment at their retirement community. Our weekend included garden tours, a luncheon and a delightful theater production. My favorite event was the art show in which each painting was interpreted with a floral design by one of the local members. At a tea party/fashion show we enjoyed “delectables” and tea served from handmade pottery tea pots.
After tea was served we were treated to a style show of “wearable art.” Every garment was made from natural fibers, handwoven, knitted, silk screened by local fiber artists. One unique item was a raincoat made from recycled billboard posters. Jackie found an elegant patchwork coat, full length and woven from variegated turquoise yarn. She knew that Rich would love for her to buy this as an early Christmas present.
It was a memorable weekend and the time when I began to realize that my friend Jackie was totally spontaneous. I loved being included in her adventures.
Having told Jackie and Rich about Highlands, NC, from my years with a vacation home there, they had also grown to love that area. One day Jackie called to say, “How would you like to go with me tomorrow to look at dahlias?” “Sure,” I said. “Where are we going?” She answered “Cashiers” (in North Carolina) Surprised that she wanted to make such a trip in one day, I agreed to go. We stopped in Highlands for lunch in the courtyard at the Old Edwards Inn, then drove the next 10 miles to see the dahlias that grow in abundance at a nursery right on the main highway. While she inspected every variety of dahlia to determine which would be appropriate for her garden, I sat on the porch and sketched the flowers from that shady spot.
She has certainly inspired me to learn and experiment more with flowers than I had done in the past. Although she and Rich moved to Indiana last year, when they came back for her son’s wedding in May this year, my opportunity to see them came in the form of an invitation to visit a botanical garden. We drove to Ballground, GA and then 10 more miles through the countryside to Gibbs Gardens, an exquisitely landscaped private garden developed over the last thirty years by Jim Gibbs. From the website, the description of the gardens captures the essence of what we saw:
In northeast Cherokee County, Georgia, capturing a view of the north Georgia mountains, the gardens are composed of 16 gardens, including a Japanese Garden, a Waterlily Garden and the Manor House Garden. Flowing through the middle of the valley is a beautiful stream intersected by hundreds of springs. The springs are surrounded by millions of naturalized ferns. Native azaleas, dogwoods and mountain laurels area scattered throughout. Gibbs designed 24 ponds, 32 bridge crossings and 19 waterfalls. The numerous garden rooms are planted with hundreds of varieties of plants and flowers. The entire property is 292 acres, of which 220 make up the house and gardens. It is one of largest residential estate gardens in the nation.
The elegance and beauty of this place was truly memorable. I would have probably never heard of it or had a chance to see it, if not for my flower friend, Jackie and her charming husband, Rich. They have enhanced my love of beauty.
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