Who is Orange Sink?

My photo
Rice Lake, WI, United States
My home town is Rice Lake, a small town in northern Wisconsin. I own Red House Wool Studio~ an in-home wool and rug hooking business. I enjoy collecting and decorating with antiques and primitives. Orange Sink Blog is a journal of my interests and ramblings about life. Cathy Greschner

Email Me Here

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A Magical Garden Tour....Let's Go To The Saffert's!


It's true when they say that sometimes you don't need to venture too far from home to find wonderful places to visit and things to see!  Case in point... the wondrous gardens and garden art at Paul and Marilyn Saffert's place here in Rice Lake about three miles from my home.   A couple of weeks ago I decided to take my Mom and go see what their place was all about as I have been hearing from everyone who's been there how awesome it is!
We weren't disappointed!  
The gorilla head mound of dirt ( pic above) was just too funny!
And that was only the beginning!
Paul and Marilyn work many long and hard hours to create the magical landscapes on their homestead and consider it a labor of love and joy!  
So come along and you'll see what I mean!

 How about THIS bottle tree!  Whimsical and beautiful as it refects the sunlight in the garden !
And shouldn't every home have a castle among the hosta's?!!!

I LOVE their entry way to their house! The cool bricks and stone make for a nice place to rest on a hot day!

I couldn't resist a shot of these iris blooming and admiring themselves in the glow of a gazing ball!

An awesome gazebo! One of the many sculptures made by Paul from welding horse shoes together!   I want one of these!!


Another sculpture made from horse shoes is this magnificent horse which stands proudly amongst the apple trees.
And a covered wagon and horse team made of MORE horseshoes!  I need to ask Paul where he got all those horseshoes!

 Whimsical tall and wavy birdhouses!   Even the birds here live like artists and reflect the owners talents!!
I absolutely LOVE this metal tree that stands so proudly by the barn!  Paul is an expert craftsman and handy with the welder!

Hand hammered spoons and dippers make a soothing wind chime in a shade garden.

Brick archways invite you to step through to explore!

A vine covered path leads to more gardens, the pond and so much more!

Mirrors and frames on the side of garage with a hedge of ferns.

Kids and adults alike love following the yellow brick road to explore the land of the Wizard of OZ!  Dorothy's red sparkly shoes start the adventure!
In the garage Marilyn has created a space for play and fun!  

I think I need to redo MY garage!  Move over Dave's tools and garage junk!  I want a playhouse in my garage! This is just too fun!

Meet Paul and Marilyn and their dog Max!  Wonderful friendly souls who greet and welcome you to come tour their gardens and artworks!  They are master gardeners and have a wealth of knowledge about all things garden and plant related!  I need to go back as you know gardens change through out the seasons and I bet the fall blooms will be spectacular!  
Thanks Marilyn and Paul for letting me share this on my blog!
And Marilyn..... that Eyeball plant I bought from you is growing great!  And thank-you for digging up some of your specialty Black-eyed Susans for me!  They are doing great as well!!
Hope to see you soon!
Cathy G






19 comments:

  1. That was fun! I think I need a set of those utensil windchimes! And... what's an eyeball plant?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful~ Creative~ Joyful~ thanks for sharing~
    smiles
    Teresa

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful whimsy! Love that vine-covered path!
    Robyn

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a fun visit! Love the gazing ball shot and the yellow brick road is too cool:@)

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW WOW WOW! what a great place to visit! So glad you shaed it for us!
    Going to look again.
    Hugs
    Earlene

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a wonderful and magical place!!!
    I Love the yellow brick road ~ complete with Dorthy's shoes!!!
    Thanks for sharing ~ I'll have to bookmark this one ~ just incase we go for an adventure ride!
    Prim Blessings
    Robin

    ReplyDelete
  7. WOW, what an incredible tour, I loved every minute of it. Such talented, creative people, with an eye for design. Love the horseshoe art, and Dorothy shoes on the yellow brick road. Off to have another look, oh yes, love the bottle tree too! Have a wonderful evening, hugs, Julie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! That was just amazing, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh wow! what a garden area! i would never leave! hope your are feeling better! im thinking of ya! enjoy your day cathy!

    ReplyDelete
  10. How wonderful to have such a treasure so close. I think I bought and used enough horseshoes over my riding career to make at least that first horse sculpture. Need to show those sculptures to my farrier. So nice to get a few plants from a master gardener. But what pray tell is an eyeball plant? I know about black-eyed Susans but the other has me stumped.

    ReplyDelete
  11. How wonderful to have your own enchanted forest! I kived every minute of your visit and wish I had a castle in my Hosta garden. Something to think about.
    Cathy, thank you for the kind comments youmade on my blog. I'm going to try to post more often.
    Have a wonderful summer.

    ReplyDelete
  12. so much fun and lots of creative spirit there.
    I love garden tours and this was a wonderful one.
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  13. Cathy ~
    Thank you so much for sharing. What a wonderful place!!! Love the horseshoe works of art.
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

    ReplyDelete
  14. WOW....that place is waaaay cool!! Such talent and creativity they have.
    Karen & the Hounds

    ReplyDelete
  15. art in it's own form. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  16. OMG! WONDERFUL!!! Love it all, the bottle tree is a hoot!!! I have a small one! OLM

    ReplyDelete
  17. That is absolutely, positively, AMAZING!! Oh my heck! I wanna go there!! No....I want a little of "that" in my yard! (Ok - I want it all.....) Are they open to the public?? Do they give tours? Does Paul sell any of his wonderful art? Where? Why not? What's an eyeball plant?? Oh my HECK!!! I'm mesmerized..... Thanks so much for sharing this treasure with us.....Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

    ReplyDelete

I love comments! Thank-you!