Another place to add to my growing list of places to go back and spend more time: Youngstown’s 4,400-acre Mill Creek Park. My husband and I, driving back from Pittsburgh last Saturday, stopped here for a very short time, though enough time for some inline skating and pedal boating. There are three lakes, boat rentals, fishing, 14 hiking trails, waterfalls, a formal garden, playgrounds with spray pools, a golf course, a working farm – it goes on and on. What a magnificent state we live in!
When I think of gargoyles, I think of the ones guarding Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. So I was very surprised that many of the displays in the Phipps Conservatory “Gorgeous Gargoyles” exhibit were based on Gothic-style buildings found in Pittsburgh. I never know what to expect from the Phipps’ special shows – they are always so clever the way they work art into the gardens. And although there were a few “wow” gardens this time around, overall my husband and I were a bit disappointed with the current show. The gargoyles were interesting — such unique expressions! — but in most cases the stones were just set into greenery, making it not very colorful or creative. Some rooms didn’t even have gargoyles at all, leaving my husband and I to worry if we had missed them. I’d say 20% of the show was really really good; the other 80% was average. But “average” at Phipps is still pretty good, and I look forward to their next show …
… but on a 90+ degree summer day, not so much. The good news is we got in free, thanks to our reciprocal Stan Hywet membership. And, the gardens were really big and lovely and featured a new canopy walk through the trees, an exhibit of glass sculptures of oversized fruits and vegetables scattered throughout the gardens, and fountains where the kids could cool off in the Children’s Garden (fortunately I knew about this and came prepared with their swimsuits). What a beautiful respite for Atlanta residents. Note: Walking from the Arts Center MARTA station provided a look at some gorgeous homes as well as a taste of Piedmont Park. However, this stroll would have been more enjoyable had we not been melting in the Hotlanta sun.
Artists can be as “green” as anyone else: for proof, check out the Artists Archives of the Western Reserves’ upcoming juried show, “Seeing Green: Creating Art in an Era of Sustainability.” Two of my new “FoUNd & Fresh” pieces were accepted into the show (yay!): That Girl and Missed Again, so my husband and I are planning to be at the opening reception this Friday, June 11 from 5-8 (regular gallery hours are W-F 10-4 and Saturdays 12-4, 1834 E. 123rd St.) The gallery is a stone’s throw away from the heart of University Circle, so before the opening, my husband and I are going to try to do the “A Little Afternoon Music” thing at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. Every Friday until August 27 from 2-5 you can enjoy live music, made-to-order sushi (not for me, but my husband will be thrilled!) and a cash bar on the patio (unless it rains, then they’ll move the shindig indoors). I’m looking forward to it! Those outdoor gardens are a slice of heaven!
UPDATE: Yesterday my husband and I did get to catch “A little afternoon music” at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, and it was a slice of heaven. The only problem was that we were only there a little more than an hour. My husband had never been to the outdoor gardens, and it was tough choosing between sitting on the patio listening to the fine sounds of Larry Hancock, or taking in the beauty of the gardens. We did both, not doing justice to either, but something is still better than nothing. I loved watching the people in the audience enjoy the music, the gardens, each other … and just being alive. 
Afterward, my husband and I went to the opening reception of the “Seeing Green” exhibit. The show was really good and I was very proud to be a part of it. I met some of the other artists, and quickly became a fan of Tiffany Laufer, an author and award-winning filmmaker. She wrote a wonderful children’s book called “Porch Dreams” about a dog who lives his dreams and even learns to recycle — how could you not like her? 
(bellaboobooks.com)
just simplifying your life? I’ve always loved to plant annuals in pots in the spring, but since the kids I haven’t been very diligent in taking care of them. But I can’t stand not seeing color when I look out the window either. So coming across a bunch of different flowers in my Pat Catan’s mystery bags made me think … what if I put silk flowers outside?? Will it look really stupid? Do I care? I asked the woman who works in the floral department there and learned two things. First, tons of people “plant” silk flowers. Second, the easiest way to make the silk flowers look real is to buy some sturdy hard-to-kill green plants and “plant” seasonal silk flowers in the pot. That’s easy enough. She also told me that the silk flowers only last a season or two, but that’s still at least as long as annuals do (plus, you don’t have to wait 6 weeks until they start looking good). Since the grab bag flowers were practically free, I’m spending a lot less money to get a low-maintenance burst of color. (For $20 I bought 2 medium-sized green plants, 3 small ivys and a 40lb. bag of dirt from Marc’s.) This will be an interesting experiment!
Crocuses may be the first flower of spring, and daffodils are cheery, but to me, neither compares with the sheer beauty of a tulip. When the sunlight shines through them, causing patterns of light and dark, it’s simply perfection. No wonder tulips were worth more than gold in the early 17th century.
Who remembers “Cleveland P.M” restaurant on, what was it, Granger Road? This blog is not about the restaurant, though, despite the fond memories I have of it. It’s a short recap of the four places our family went to Cleveland this afternoon. We didn’t leave home until about 1, and our first stop was the Rockefeller Greenhouse (free). We had never been inside and it was much bigger than we thought. The holiday display of poinsettias was impressive! A few minutes away was the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, where we made our annual stop to see the gingerbread houses. Last year’s offering was very small; this year’s is huge — 60+ I think. It is so fun to see the creativity of people (kids, adults, families and professionals) — from Godzilla to Who-ville to Under the Sea. (Free to us thanks to our Stan Hywet Membership, we only had to pay for parking.) Then it was time to eat so of course we headed straight for Little Italy: dinner at Presti’s, then cookies from Corbo’s (we had never stopped into Corbo’s before – the rasberry-filled cookies from the bakery were OUT OF THIS WORLD!). Our last stop was the lighting display at Nela Park in East Cleveland. It only takes a few minutes to make the short walk to check them out and that’s free too. We were home by 6:45, stuffed full of holiday cheer and Corbo’s cookies with only minimal damage to the wallet!
If you ever get a chance in mid-late April, take a short (.6 mile) hike on the Daffodil Trail, on Brush Road in Richfield, part of the Summit County Metroparks. There are nearly 40,00 daffodils planted there and it’s a real treat! A hike there is actually part of our family’s Easter Day tradition. Depending on when Easter falls and the Northeast Ohio weather, we can have a foot of snow and spot only a few dead daffodils or, like this year, we can have perfect weather and daffodils at their peak!
The Cleveland Botanical Garden is another place I love to take out-of-towners. If you have a membership to any kind of garden place (like Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens) you can go here anytime for free, which I try to take advantage of as often as possible! Coming up is “Orchid Mania”, where for the first time orchids will be in the glasshouse (which holds exhibits simulating Madagascar and Costa Rica – complete with free-flying butterflies). We went to ”Orchid Mania” a few years ago, and if you’re starved for color and fragrance in the late winter/early spring, this is the place to go!! But you’ll want to go back again in the summer, where the outdoor gardens are just incredible! They even have a Children’s Garden which has fun things for kids to do, like using a water pump to fill up a watering can so they can water the plants around which grow in places like bathtubs (you might want to pack swimsuits and towels because there are fountains for kids to run through). 
But you might want to stop by around the holidays, too, so you can check out the Gingerbread House Exhibition. We first went to this in 2007 and we were blown away by creations. We returned in 2008 and the exhibit was markedly smaller. Maybe the country’s economic woes hit the gingerbread house industry as well. In any event, I like to pair a visit the the botanical gardens with lunch in nearby Little Italy!!