Flora

X IS FOR ?



X FACTOR !

We were delighted to see a familiar face at a garden festival this weekend. This is the most aptly named Flora who is one of Liverpool's famous and fabulous superlambananas. I am sure that you would agree that she undoubtedly has the X factor !

X marks the spot this week at ABC Wednesday hosted by Denise Nesbitt.

In celebration…

… of my favorite Mom’s 80th birthday this Sunday…

okay, okay ONLY Mom...but still favorite

My brother completely surprised us by flying down from NYC, and we all

headed further south to the Sundy house and Taru Gardens

in Delray Beach.

We had an amazing brunch among the tropical flora and fauna

Cool Mimosas and bloody Mary's flowed freely

Never left to get below half of a glass

After several courses of lovely delectables like smoked salmon and curried pasta...

florentine eggs benedict and Crepes bananas foster…

Mahi mahi and wood smoked pork

Oh....it just went on and on and on...

We took a break to stroll through the secret gardens

Where we stopped at the natural rock bottomed pool,

and dipped our toes in amongst the colorful small fish

dancing in the crisp water…

With Mimosas in hand we continued to wander through the acre garden…

...Back at our table for another round of tropical smogasboard...

Oy...I’m still full.

The food was spread out through many different parts of the historic Inn

Can’t think of a better place to celebrate 80 amazing years…

To many, many more….

and we’ll keep the mimosas flying!

okey dokey?

"Summer In The City"

When thinking of my June post for VP's 'Out On The Streets' topic my initial thoughts drifted in the direction of the nearest roundabout. However the fact that it's a veritable sea of red hot pokers just now, prompted me to venture slightly further away, so I took myself off to Liverpool ,camera in hand last Monday.

Venturing into Liverpool city centre during the last few years has involved living dangerously. The city skyscape has been filled with a plethora of cranes and its streets with a myriad of construction plant. My shopping excursions have been nightmares with JCBs hurtling towards me from all angles. The noise of banging and pneumatic drills have been a constant irritation and my nerves have been on edge. Instead of lingering I have been beetling back to Lime Street Station as quickly as my short and stubbies allow. Slowly though the building of the new city centre retail/leisure area known as Liverpool ONE has taken shape and the development opened its doors to the public last autumn. Despite the recession customers have flocked in and now Liverpool has moved to fifth in the nationwide league of retail destinations.

Linking the newly development to Liverpool's waterfront is an area known as Chavasse Park. Chavasse Park in the city centre was originally set aside as a park in the 1980s and covered an area of between 2-3 acres. It is named in commemoration of Noel Godfrey Chavasse - a doctor and one of only three men to have been awarded the Victoria Cross twice. The park was excavated in 2004 prior to the start of the Liverpool ONE project. The park was reinstated on top of a new 2000-space underground car park.

Although I have been shopping in Liverpool ONE before this was my first excursion into the new park. It was a damp and murky Monday morning so there were not many people about. The planting certainly appealed to me - a variety of hardy perennials, grasses and shrubs which already looked well established. I found it difficult though to imagine what it will look like in the colder months of the year. Was there enough of an evergreen background ? Are there any winter flowering plants and bulbs? The entire area was immaculate - not a drop of litter to be seen. Whether this was because it was a Monday morning remains to be seen. I thought that it would be a most pleasant spot to eat my lunch during the summer if I was working nearby or a tourist looking for somewhere to picnic. However when I think of parks children come straight to my mind but I did not see any evidence of their needs being catered for. I did not come across a designated playground area or any particular child orientated feature. This could be an oversight on my part - after all it being term time there were no children about for me to notice what they were up to. I will need to return to investigate this and also hopefully to see the fountains in action as they were sadly not working.

So I will be returning to Chavasse Park later this year on a mission and will post a follow up report. Watch this space ! Meanwhile I will keep my eye on that roundabout - perhaps by September 'Out On The Streets' it might be less of a horror show.

Feeling Rosy - The Sequel

Back in January I wrote about the arrival of a parcel from Peter Beales Roses - it contained a couple of bare - root plants. They did not fill me with great confidence at the time but from those twiggy sticks I now have roses ! Here is 'Blush Noisette' - now in flower. The other occupant of the parcel
'Felicite - Parmentier' is tantalisingly near to opening, so a photo will follow in due course.

Summer project…Operation curb appeal…

So…You have had a peek at parts of our back yard

Here you can see the little casita (guesthouse) in the background…

…Just threw these in ‘cause they are blooming now…and knock my socks off!

Anyways... I am pretty darn positive you have not seen the front of our humble Casa

For good reason…mind you.

It is not lovely in the least.

Oh…it has potential, and yes I have planted a lot of donated and traded plants in it.

But

curb appeal particularly at the door… it lacks.

See the walkway…it was chatahootchie…that son #3 spent a summer scraping off... to get to the concrete.

I'm told it wasn't fun. I'm told some wouldn't come off.

Now we plan on covering it with homemade concrete pavers.

Yep.

Let me just say, it is GRUELING work to make these pavers. Sift the cement, add the sand, add cobinations of tint…mix with trowel…pour into molds…

Lather. Rinse.Repeat.

A friend who is truly an artisan is doing it…and I helped…well, with eight of the pavers

we need over 40.

gulp.

I was ready to pack it in, man. I was filthy, hot, stained in shades of umber and rust brown…Both skin and clothes...

But Ole’ artisan man kept on truckin’.

The plan started innocently enough

with my love of Rio De Janeiro’s sidewalks…

But...knew that may be too much of a stretch.

I think I saw the husband wipe a brow on that one!

So then I moved to this idea…ish

Then to here…cause I loved the use of the small rocks on the risers…and the color

Then I got realistic… and said to self~

“self... if we even get close to a color like this I don’t need much else”

But….I kept seeing this

…Probably because I am using it as a screen saver…

So…half of the infamous back killing pavers are made Thank you Dale! and we need to make some steps, and add rock to the risers...

and mud in the pavers….and ...

That…among 100 other things…is the summer project.

phew.

What are you dreaming about/working on/ planning and scheming?

hmmmmm?

Lettuce Eat Let Us !

“Never pride yourself on knowledge. Remember; even a head of iceberg lettuce knows more than you do. It knows whether or not that light really does go out when the refrigerator door shuts.” ~ Anonymous.


No prizes for guessing what is on the menu this weekend - yes it's LETTUCE ! Lettuces 'Yugoslavian Red','Lobjoit's Green Cos' and 'Delicato' all photographed at the allotment this week.

Ok...so big deal...It's hot here...

I'm really not complaining...

Because there are some truly benevolent souls

on the other side of the world...Alaska... who are running
a marathon
to support leukemia research....
where it is really, really, really cold.
did I say really enough?

Check out my guest post on DECOROLOGY....
warm your soul with her work...
Cool your heels at an amazing South American piece of paradise.

I dare ya!

and leave her a note of thanks if you would...for me.
We need more Ashley's in our world...

Run, girl, Run!

Mersey Morning

W IS FOR?



WALL,WATER AND WINDOWS !

~ on a damp and murky June morning near the river Mersey in Liverpool. Why don't do you wander over to ABC Wednesday and wonder at some wonderful posts all featuring the letter W.

A Tiny Place

Have you ever wanted to live in a tiny place? I don't know why but a tiny house or a tiny space has always appealed to me. Yes, I know you have to clean out, throw away and minimize but it seems so cozy to find that perfect tiny spot. Do any of you subscribe to the WikiHow? Today's WikiHow is how to live in a tiny house and I just couldn't believe it! It means that I am not the only person imagining a perfect life in a tiny place. In fact I discovered companies specializing in tiny home plans!! Take a look at some of the tiny places one could call home.
The Katrina Cottages were a beautiful response to a tragedy.




It made me laugh to just thinking about the Tiny Texas Cottages....I thought everything was BIG in Texas!



Guess I will just keep dreaming of more tiny places . . . .

It’s hot….

Nothing more.

Nothing less. Just dripping hot.

Enjoy some inside outside living

and imagine an oasis from the hot sun…

I am.

Towel, please.

These doors slide open…

…From here.

cool to the touch

stone floor.

Source: Florida Design