Door County Garden Tour Part 2

The next stop on our garden tour was to a wonderful garden and nursery in Door County,  Meissner Landscape, Inc.  The old silo was so neat, I've never seen one with this type of roof construction.  I love silos, they're right up there with old windmills and barns in my book.  On our farm we had two 40' tall silos (tiny by today's standards) and the day they were torn down was a sad one for me.  I was at work, so I missed the actual demolition, but I remember driving down our road that night and not seeing the 'twins' standing any longer was much harder than I thought it would be.  They were a landmark and then.........they weren't.

The barn was in very good condition, which is wonderful.  I can only imagine what the cost of putting a new roof on a barn must be, much less the inevitable foundation issues and general maintenance.  That is why so many barns in Wisconsin are long-gone; farming as a family way of life is becoming more and more rare and the old barns are decaying.  There are few people who have enough money to maintain a barn if it's not earning it's keep being part of a working farm.  Our barn here on the farm was destroyed by a tornado in 1981 and not a day goes by I don't think of it.  This barn is very similar in size and layout to our long-ago barn.  It did my heart good just to gaze at it.  And look at that sky, only in Door County do they have skies like that.  (Ok, I'm sure that's a fib, but still!)

Since this is a nursery and landscaping business, they had hostas lined out under shade cloth for as far as the eye could see.  And their hostas were huge!

I loved the gate that was just kind of 'there'.....it didn't go through a wall or anything, it was just part of the pathway and yet it gave the feeling of anticipation.

Dwarf conifers and daylilies were abounding all over this garden, there were so many places to explore.  I think the garden covered at least three acres.

The fence was weathered and very pretty and helped to separate the garden rooms.

Carl liked this hose hanger as it was very sturdy and something he could build.  (Hurry up, Carl, we need a hose hanger.)

Here is an idea I just love, adding height and color interest to a hosta garden by putting the pots on pedestals.  (Carl, are you seeing this?  We need more pedestals.)

Long sweeping borders of hostas along their driveway, what a view to drive past every day.

Carl liked this light, not sure if it is solar or electric, but I bet it adds drama to the hosta gardens at night.

Cute little water garden.

The farmhouse dates back to the 1800's, isn't she a beauty?  The dwarf conifers added such a nice foundation accent.

The stairs leading up to the house were limestone.

Add a greenhouse and a walk-out upstairs porch.  How nice!

These huge limestone outcroppings caught both of our attention, they look so very natural placed right off their driveway. 

Their picnic area was right off of a large pond.

What a lovely place for campfires.

The sales area was so neatly arranged, it looks like a garden even though everything here is in pots.

We had box lunches at this garden.  It was so much fun to sit and relax and enjoy the surroundings as these ladies are doing. I  really liked their garage, it matched the barn and just had that old-timey feel.

Talk about a collection of watering cans, Wow!

More random conifers and hostas.  They sure work well together.

Parting look at the barn from the parking lot as we leave. 

Our next stop was to the home of daylily hybridizer.  Literally thousands of daylilies abound in this garden.

The owner was digging his own new crosses for anyone interested in purchasing.  (And of course, I was interested.  But I only bought one, I had to restrain myself!  Carl gave me the 'look' and I hung my head.)

I'd never seen a birdbath like this one.  It's a cute idea.

All too soon, back to the buses.

Our last stop was very interesting, too.  I loved the rain chain.

They hadn't had rain in awhile, though. The rainfall has been very hit and miss, and very disheartening for these gardeners, they said they watch the rain approach and then it just dissipates before it reaches them. 

I have never seen a rain chain in operation....I was so tempted to take my water bottle and fill up one cup just to see it work.  But I behaved myself.

Loved the painted screen on the trellis along with the framed sedum art and the orchids....wow.

Their entire backyard was a garden paradise.

Even their mushrooms were fancy and the little sedum in a rock was cute.

More work for Carl, I really liked this garden trellis.

Hard to see from this picture, but there are fused glass flowers on this trellis.  The homeowners are so talented.

All too soon, we had to bid farewell to Door County.  Our buses headed off into the sunset but not before stopping at a local dairy for ice cream which is a tradition with our bus trips.

I enjoyed my treat while sitting on a bench overlooking this view:

An old McCormick Deering tractor used as a sandbox toy.

Oh, be still my heart!

Next up: Karen goes back to work in her own garden.

It's about time.