It was a dark and stormy castle… Ominously begins the sequel to “Wine, Women and Watercolors.” Week 2 of summer sojourn begins with the Principessa (aka Carolyne Roehm) and me flying from our painting workshop in porto Ercole to Paris to meet our menfolk and friends, and then to cycle around the Loire Valley…
Flowers & Gardens
Everything’s Coming Up Roses
Everything’s coming up roses… or it would if the damn sun ever stayed out. Still it is a joy to be at Bee Cottage for a bit. And as roses ramble, so does this post… Just go with it.
Hang Flowers on Your Wall – Ingenious “Epergne”
This ingenious “epergne” is something I saw several years ago and have thought of ever since. So simple and so charming. A sprig of grass, a few leaves, a blossom or two, and boom, you have a beautiful arrangement and a work of art.
Baby Birds Leave the Nest
We’ve had an abundance of birds nesting around the house at Rancho La Zaca this year, and I love it. Birds’ nests fascinate me.
Acres of Roses–A Field Trip to Rose Story Farm
Acres of roses. To sigh for. Rose Story Farm is storied indeed. What a treat, and an education, too. A little less than an hour up the road from us at Rancho La Zaca is the family owned Rose Story Farm, in Carpenteria, California. There are tours from spring to fall and luncheon is served […]
Coming Up: Rose Story Farm…and When Bloggers Collide at a Girls’ Lunch
Coming up: I’ll be posting any minute now about the most delightful day at Rose Story Farm in Carpenteria, California, just a stone’s throw from our Rancho La Zaca. Our hostess said Carpenteria was the flower capital of the world. The world. I thought it was Ecuador or somewhere.
Stunning Tablescapes From New York’s Prettiest Party
The New York Flower Show Dinner Dance is always a standout in a season of pretty parties in the city. Benefitting the Horticultural Society of New York, the designers, bless them, were inventive and over-the-top, and if you look closely there are many ideas that can be adapted at home–interesting […]
Springtime in France–A Friend Shares Her Travels
Honestly I have had the best time following my friend Sarah Gayle Carter blogging around France that I feel guilty keeping it a secret. Her photos are sublime–she is an artist after all–and her commentary is pithy, interesting and often funny. Here below is her latest. You can also click […]
Lenten Roses for the Last of Lent
Lenten roses, aka hellebores, are rather un-sung heroines of the garden–in the US anyway. In Europe they are much beloved as some of the earliest bloomers, hence their name marking mid-February as the time their their petals begin to peek out. With hundreds of species ranging in color from chartreuse […]
Quince and Lace Curtains
I love flowering quince. One of the earliest blooming shrubs, usually right behind forsythia, or “for Cynthia” as I used to call it, quince is one of those things you can just stick in a vase and it’s beautiful. Going through seven million photos the other day I ran across this […]
Girls Just Wanna have Funghi
The post title refers of course to the famous Cyndi Lauper song “Girls Just Wanna Have Funghi,” but it later changed to “Fun,” which may be the version you are more familiar with. And do you remember this one… It ne-e-ver rains in California/But girl, don’t they warn ya/It pours/Man, it […]
Art of the Heirloom – Original Designs for Seed Packets
Do you ever wonder who actually sits down and designs things like seed packets? How did they get the job? What a charming assignment it would be, and clearly is to those who do it.