End Of Month View - March 2010

March has got itself into a right old muddle here coming in like a lamb and exiting roaring like a lion. In between the wind and rain that came down for most of the day, I managed to take a few photos for Patient Gardener's End Of Month View. I am not sure whether I was standing in exactly the same spot as I did last time but it was too cold to linger. The border is beginning to green up and there's definitely more colour than last month. There are also some little weed seedlings already in evidence and that lamium has started to walk already! I have planted a couple of small hellebores to add to the three that are already in there and am debating whether to slip in a couple more. I was hoping to tidy away all the debris from last year, remove a rather large stray rose seedling and to divide a couple of plants this week but the weather is conspiring against me. In the meantime a clearer idea about replanting and rejeuvenating this border is slowly emerging in my head. In the meantime some close ups of some of its occupants ~

Breezy Briny beauty

Anyone ready

for some salt therapy?

Harbour Island a 3mile long stretch of pink sand in the Bahamas…

is rife with colonial architecture.

colorful cottages at every turn...

Tropical flowers dripping off picket fences

turquoise vistas

crystalline salt-worn cottages

One of these sweet little beauties

named

“Beside the point”...

Is most certainly calling my name…

yes indeedy

This

Charming 200 year old restored cottage

once sheltered pirates…and their booty.

Previous owners found gold bullions hidden in the ceiling

and 300 year old sailing equipment in the basement

Salt air cures everything...

…so they say

Who’s up for seeing if it is true?

Anyone?

Rent this little salt encrusted delectable morsel

here

I’m already packed…

Toothbrush. Check

Bathing suit. Check

good to go.

We're Off!

Be back soon. Happy Easter.

Penciling It In

K IS FOR?



KESWICK! ~ If there is anybody in your house who draws or sketches, chances are that they may have a pencil or crayon that has been manufactured in this little Cumbrian town, home to the Cumberland Pencil Factory, founded in 1832. In the grounds of the factory is a little museum where you can find out more about this history of the firm, the manufacturing processes and the range of products. This little van is on display outside the museum - it was used as delivery van and is a 1950s Morris. Himself and I spent some time there recently and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We can also recommend Brysons of Keswick, one of those old fashioned tearooms which does a most delicious carrot cake.

More on the most challenging letter K can be found over at ABC Wednesday.

The long awaited Olympus Trip 35 photographs

Hotel in Krugersdorp, shot from the car while I was driving. (Not recommended!)

The cow worship centre, Irene Pretoria.

Sunset in Laezonia.

Locksmith sign in Silverton.

Difficult window shot, and the auto exposure did an admirably great job of keeping detail on the objects inside as well as exposing well for the exterior. A lot of modern cameras would mess this up and all you would see would be black silhouettes, not so this 41 year old automatic wonder.

Basins under fluorescent light.

All in all the Olympus Trip 35 has proved to be an easy to use fully automatic camera that is capable of capturing very impressive photos! The lens is as sharp as I had heard and the exposure was spot on throughout. My only gripe was the focus, which is part guess work and part luck, but I suppose one could get used to it. I'm hooked!

The eBay Hellebores

This last week or so has been the week that everything seems to have gone wooooooooosh - in 2009 it happened in February! We came back from our weekend in the Lake District to find greening and leafing abound. Moreover the eBay hellebores had come into their own. Last year my friend D. who is a hellebore fanatic, mentioned that she had had ordered some hellebores via eBay and was pleased with the quality of the plants she received. Knowing how discerning she is, I was tempted and put in an order myself with the same seller initially for five anemone centred and five picotee hellebores. The plants were two year old seedlings and arrived quickly, looking healthy, happy and with good rootballs. The seller was generous and threw in extra plants. I was so impressed with their quality that I ordered another five plants - doubles this time. I must admit that I felt I was taking a bit of a risk as I would have to wait at least another year or possibly longer for the plants to flower. However price wise they were very reasonable (under £3.00 per plant) and I thought that they would be worth taking a gamble on. Well now the majority of the plants have flowered this year and I am delighted with my purchases. There are the spotty and dotty doubles ~





anemone centred ~



the picotees ~


and possibly my favourite this plain ivory double flower ~



Now to decide where to plant them. Most of them will be heading for the side of the sloping lane leading down from the main road to our garden. I have a vision of a bank of hellebores in the spring sunshine but it has some way to go. I must confess to ordering more doubles last month from the same seller ~ pink and burgundy this time so hopefully I will report back on them this time next year.

Tablescape Heaven - Les Tables Decoratives de Stef

I love tablescapes, dishes and the accoutrements. My husband has asked me to stop buying dishes for a while and I have slowed down a bit but it hasn't stopped my passion for the plate. When I first discovered blogging, my husband's cousin sent me a link that has been one of my favorite stops for tablescape eye candy. I just have to share it and my guess is that this will be one of your favorites too. Click here for tablescape heaven Les Tables Decoratives de Stef.

Here's just a tablespoon of what's on the table

P.S. Be sure to stop by SWEET AS CANDY to register for her latest giveaway!!!

Old tired beautiful soul …

“all I can be is me, whoever that is…”

~Bob Dylan

Today we visited the home of one of the larger than life historic characters woven into our town’s history…Do you have one of those families?

Creative, imaginative, Doers, thinkers, makers

…all wrapped up in a beautiful bit of odd.

In our Town it was Waldo Sexton.His home is Just up the road.

Built without an architect…or a plan…

And as old as it gets for Florida…built in 1917.

Sexton was a man who was not afraid to render an opinion… and who never hesitated to embroider a story.

He apparently loved his martinis and women,

bells and things from the sea

...he possessed a compelling urge to create

And create he did…and as his grandson said today…

“Any way he could make a buck from a dayum yankee…he would.”

By 1917 he had planted over 100,000 citrus trees in the area.

He helped to create McKee Tropical Jungle that had over

100,000 visitors a year in it’s hey day.

He had a penchant for old wood, wrought iron, spanish tile and collectibles.

...And would often salvage the works from his friend Addison Mizner’s spanish styled Palm Beach mansions.

His home did not disapoint

his eclectic nature was everywhere.

Pecky cypress ceilings…

Collected…

Homemade…

home found.

gathered.

It is currently lived in by his grandson…and was host to a local plant show…plant arranging show.

lucky us.

Ya know…

I am still so smitten with Florida's tropical's

right outside our door…

willing to be bent and stapled…

and still maintaining their tropical cool.

Waldo…being the dad that he was built a tree house...

that turned into a house house

Every bit as quirky as the main house

So full of fun and funk…

authentic.

sea swept

No pretention.

Just

timeworn…beautiful... in that old soul kinda way

Yep.

old tired soul character.

My favorite kind.

Signs of Spring

Normally we all start getting excited when the flowers start blooming and we see signs of spring such as this. It is such a thrill to walk out the front door and see the daffodils and hyacinths in full bloom.

This week I received a different sign of spring in my email box and I was so excited about it! Pictures!

It's time for baseball - well actually, softball! I never really played much but my kids did and growing up we went to lots of Braves games (even during the years when they never won and the old stadium was near empty).

It was so exciting to see my grandgirl playing and she loves it!

Happy Spring! Play ball!!