You could also layer the fruit salad, some cubed angel food cake pieces and some vanilla Greek yogurt for a yummy and low fat dessert.


It'd be great served over Belgian waffles (or in my house, Eggo waffles--who are we kidding here?)


You could even add some to some sparkling white wine for a summer take on sangria.

Take even more photos of said berries.






[Computer Status Update: I was able to revive it for the time being, but it is soon to be pushing up daisies, as it needs a new motherboard and hard drive ASAP. I've been computer shopping, but its not in my budget, so I will keep up with everyone as best as I can for the time being! If you'd like to help, you can find out how here. In the mean time, I will be searching the THOUSANDS of photos I have stored online to find the rest of my photos from Maymont to share!]

I'm sharing a favorite photo of my deck from last summer, as I wanted to post something this week! I'm also working on another picnic for the choir at church. Hopefully I can fix my computer soon! I'll be very quiet in Blogland until then! If you would, I'd love if you could help me repair or replace my computer.

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[Update:]

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~Mikey @ Shabby French Cottage

Because of the similar climates of Japan and Virginia, lots of native Japanese plants were imported by the Dooleys during the construction of this garden.



Kids and adults alike love to hop from stepping stone to stepping stone. The koi also love to swim close to the stones, as many times people feed them.


I think these are a Japanese iris that grows in water and marsh. I'm not sure the varity, but if you know, please fill me in!



Here is the waterfall on the property. This is fed from storm water runoff on the property. There is an elaborate sytem of cisterns and small man-made streams that run through the entire property for irragation. This water fall and the Lion fountain feed the entire system. Only the waterfall or the fountain can run at one time. There is a controll room that has a switch to divert the water to one or the other. While the waterfall is entirely man-made, during the Victorian Era, mind you, the rock is from the property. Maymont is located on the Fall Line, seperating the Coastal Plain from the Piedmont regions along the East coast of the USA. Because of this there are some steep inclines and dropoffs, allowing the bedrock to be exposed throughout the property. There are also many springs on the property because of this that help feed the irrigation system.



This is one of those streams.


Here are more of those iris.




The lake is so beautiful!

These koi are over a foot long! They are some of the biggest I've seen! These are from the Japanese Garden. Expect more photos from the Japanese Garden to post sometime tomorrow.


Again, I'm loving the macro and zoom features on my new camera! I was standing on a small stone bridge and saw some dragonflies. It was hard choosing what photo to post, as they all came out great!


Some more of the pond at the Japanese Garden. This pond, and all the little streams are fed by the water fall and lion fountain. The water comes from storm runoff and natural springs on the property.


Here are some photos of the bees and butterflies in the Herb Garden. I didn't want to crop them, as the flowers and herbs were pretty, too! Click on any photo for a larger version! More photos from the Herb Garden will post later this week (maybe this week-end).



Beautiful butterfly! (or is it a moth? I'm not sure...if you know, please tell me!)






I highly recommend this as a fantastic upgrade to a regular digital camera. The wide-angle lens helps you capture more of life's special moments. The features, including sketch, soften, and smile detect, among many others are incredible and prevent many re-takes, and much of the post processing and photo editing necessary with many other digital cameras. You can also manually adjust the focus area of the photo. The image stabilization is wonderful--no more blurry photos! The camera body is made of stainless steel, too! You get a professional camera body with a fantastic lens for a budget friendly price!
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. This opinion is 100% my own. I am in no way affiliated with Samsung or any of its parent companies or subsidiaries. This link is set up through Amazon Associates, information and policies available at .

A small, formal fountain greets you as you enter the Italian Garden. Due to a recent storm, they're aren't too many roses. They change out the annuals seasonally, so it is always slightly different. Many of the roses are original to the Estate and bloom as early as March and continue blooming through December, depending on how mild it is! I went a few years ago in January and there were a few stragglers! Heirloom roses are the way to go!








Here are some of the levels looking up at them.


At the lowest terrace, you come to this amazing fountain. More photos are coming when I do a separate post on just fountains and Statuary!


After you walk down the serpentine stairway, you seem to dead end, but there is another narrow path that leads to the Japanese Garden. Photos coming later this week!


Here are some more shots of the beautiful stone terrace! All of the stone is local. Most came from the Estate when they blasted away the bedrock to terrace the garden.


Here is another angle of the beautiful arbor.