The garden sign was unplanned and a great example of being in the "flow".

First of all, I had not even thought about a sign, but that all changed when Anthony came home one day, raving about the work of Todd Spalti, a local metal sculptor. His studio had state of the art computerized equipment which allowed him to make unusual designs...and then Anthony asked "what kind of sign would you like for him to make for the garden?"

When Todd came over the next day, I talked with him in front of the garden gate and told him that I would like it to be flowing and have an alive, organic feeling, and certainly some dragonflies. He suggested using copper patina which changes with the weather. Sometimes it would be light green and other times more of a rust color.

I liked that and from there he started drawing some sketches based on my ideas. In a matter of a half hour, he had come up with the design for the sign. The spontaneous energy around our sign felt so natural and easy—the type of experience that is referred to as "flow".

The day that Todd arrived with the sign was emotional for me, particularly because the sign had been so unplanned and because it was so beautiful when I first saw it.

The design had come together to be much more than I had ever imagined. The copper patina had so much texture and elegance. The curves and nuances of the leaves were delicate and 3 dimensional.

Tears came to my eyes as it was assembled on top of the main entrance to the garden.The metal rods on either end of the sign were perfectly placed into 2 newly drilled holes on the wooden bar across the top. As I watched, it felt like the garden was being crowned and in a way, typical of this garden, it seemed to be letting us know that it was—a true "garden extraordinary!"

Here's a beautiful view of the sign in the morning sunlight. It's beautiful when moonlight shines through it, too. It is truly an organic, ever changing sign.