A Bit of Spring in Winter at O'Toole's

The Denver area of Colorado had temperatures in the middle 70's early last week, and the unusually mild weather made me dream of Spring!  Normal winter weather returned by this weekend, however and Saturday was a chilly and damp day, with snow on the way.  Happily, my Spring fever was revived when I visited the 5th Annual Early Spring Garden Show at O'Toole's Garden Center, held at the Littleton, Colorado garden center location.  (All photos and photo collages in this collage will enlarge for easier viewing when clicked on.)

So many beautiful flowers were on display!

The Early Spring Garden Show mini-gardens will be on display for two weeks. Some of the themes this year are urban garden, English garden, fairy garden, gnome garden, Japanese garden, and tropical garden.

I really enjoyed seeing the delightful gnome garden!

 This garden had a Candyland theme, complete with a revolving Maypole

The photo collage above shows more of the garden themes I enjoyed seeing.  Even a small space could be transformed into a garden spot with a little imagination and some decorative elements.

I wish I could grow these beautiful flowers in my front and back yards, but my area is visited daily by frequent deer, and I know they would eat everything. My husband and I even had to surround our shrubs with chicken wire, as the deer were eating them down to stubs.

One plant I did purchase at the garden center was a dwarf lemon tree. I am always amazed by the Southern California garden of Kris, over at her blog called Simplify.  She has citrus and avocado trees as well as many chickens in her backyard and plants a magnificent summer vegetable garden every year. While Colorado's climate can not sustain citrus trees year-round, I can now keep this one inside by a bright window in winter and on my second-floor terrace in spring, summer, and fall. We have a fig tree that is also potted and is thriving this way. The bonus is that the deer can not reach them!

O'Toole's Garden Center was full of a good selection of shrubs, plants, seeds, and garden supplies, and my husband and I enjoyed browsing and filling up our shopping cart.  I particularly enjoyed seeing all their statuary.  The dog drinking at the fountain was part of the English garden theme.

The little fox statues were charming, as I've also seen real red fox sunning in my yard. this way  It was also fun to pose by the life-size ferocious bear statue! A worker told me that he is a particular favorite with children that visit the center.

O'Toole's also had many different types of miniature gardens on display.

They sold many supplies to make your own.  This photo shows just a small example of what was for sale.

More miniature garden themes: fairy, farm, beach, Mexican and small town.  I wanted to take them all home with me!

As I checked out our purchases I was observed by the resident cat, who sat on the counter with a very wise expression on his face. I think he approved of our visit and wanted to tell us: "Come again!"

Yes, I think we will, as we now have found our favorite local garden center, and I hope I brought a bit of Spring to your day!