Some work...all play!

Dreaming someone will commission a vintage wedding this year.....just finished a wedding consult this afternoon....

A short post today....off to Chicago for the weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday.

Some work always deserves a little play!

Have a wonderful weekend!

N.xo

Credit for above photo, Victoria magazine.

Pinks, carnations and such....

When I'm stitching or tinkering, I'm usually dreaming....lost in some reverie my mind has stored and then conjured up from some other time.. prompted by an image or article I have read...

Yesterday, while going through some old files that had to be sorted, I found some garden notes I had made a long time ago. It was information about the Chelsea Garden Show and the Hampton Court Flower Show in England.  I thought how timely, since we will be visiting England this October....unfortunately when all the shows are over!
It is something I have always longed to attend and every spring I think this might be the year!

But what especially made my heart ache, was the information I found, again, about Malmaison carnations, the heady fragranced Belle Epoque blooms of over a century ago...

They originated in France, where else...as a chance seedling from the tree carnations, which were very popular winter flowers in the mid 19th century. It smelled like cloves, looked more like a rose, and so, was named Souvenir de la Malmaison, after the rose grown in Empress Josephine's garden. Is there anything more romantic or intriguing?

 Not for me!

In Britain, the outsize carnations, sometimes as large as a dinner plate, quickly became fashionable and were the darlings of the aristocracy, because of their rarity and incredible scent. They were only grown by wealthy gardeners who had glass houses.
Worn as a corsage, tucked into a button hole or gracing a dinner table, Malmaison carnations were never diluted with competing blooms. It was the carnation of Oscar Wilde.

They are a challenge to grow and need extreme coddling.  Today, Jim Marshall, a garden advisor to the National Trust is one of a few who grow and champion these long forgotten beauties. His little greenhouses, along with Crathes Castle near Aberdeen, house the National Collection of Malmaisons.  Can you imagine!!
This year the adventurous gardener will be able to grow these plants, as Mr.Marshall has made them far easier to grow through micro-propagation.He will be presenting them at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

Heaven!!

Perhaps, some seeds....

So here I sit, stitching, dreaming of perhaps dropping in to see Mr. Marshall and his collection this fall !!

Cleaning and sorting and editing has its benefits it seems!!

I purchased some carnations for Valentine's Day at the supermarket.  I have always thought they were exptremely underrated in the floral hierarchy of things...
This lovely, deep pink colour looked beautiful with some of my china...
They are gorgeous grouped en masse, and great for spherical floral creations, which I have used for wedding arrangements....

So, I continue to stitch and putter and think garden dreams....

I dream of Souvenirs of Malmaison and England.... and the possibilities....

Spring is not that far away....

Projects begin and end....

....and I may have to be content with some lovely pink tulips.....

Jim Marshall may be reached at...

4 The Damsells
Tetbury, Glos
England
GL8 8JA
Tel...0666-502589

The heady fragrance of Malmaison carnations is still used today by Floris for making soaps and bath oils.

N.xo

Gathering rosebuds.....

We get a very limited amount of sunlight through our windows because of the woods, but in the winter, when the trees are bare of their leaves, the sunlight streams in...

Much like this morning....it cast shadows over the lower terrace, and the iron garden set filtered its rays to create a lace pattern on the snow...

I had a million things I could be doing, but decided to stop and savour the moment...
One of those...stop and smell the roses kind of moment....

One of the things that will be a top priority in the renovation will be larger windows, so that we can experience more sunlight indoors and views of the garden and the surrounding woods will be maximized...

The sunlight filtering through the milk glass gave it a translucent quality...

Even the stopper on my olive oil bottle adopted an alabaster look....

Every little detail and relief was at an advantage...

Everything looks so much prettier with the sun shining on it...

Even this vintage bark cloth slipper chair in the kitchen looked softer....

It gave a gossamer quality to the organdy curtains in this window....
Sunlight in the winter is so different, I think it is the reflection from the snow that adds to its
particular beauty this time of year....

This whimsical vintage funnel was painted some time ago, but it's message is timeless...

....Gather ye rosebuds....

On a day like today, with the sun shining through the windows.....
moments to savour and record for another time....

Wishing everyone a most Happy Valentine's Day.....


N.xo

More romantic notions....

I think, without actually counting, I have watched Sophia Coppola's film, Marie Antoinette a few times, perhaps three, maybe four!
The romantic and tragic poignancy of Coppola's depiction of this legendary heroine keeps me going back for more.  I think it is my love of detail, that I devour every bit of it here, which she does not spare in any way in her film....

This precious little figurine, beckoned me to take it home, from the thrift store..

I am not supposed to be doing that, I'm editing...

The need to get going on a few mock ups for events this Spring, in the midst of packing boxes and editing??? I made a few items for contemplation....
these will be presented for approval or tweeking...

I have been attempting to recreate vintage boite livres a l'ancienne, book boxes,
cache pots, tresor keepers... for a bit now....
a sample I made this week....

....not so perfect stitches....

...a bit French, a bit primitive, a bit Victorian.....

The shoes in the movie, were made by Manalo Blahnik and Pompei,
and the exquisite costumes by Milena Canonero, who won the Oscar for Costume Design as you may remember...

My attempt at making a centerpiece design for an upcoming ladies event, I cannot mention right now, it is still in the works, but promise to share at a later time....

....moss, sneaking in there again....and birds....

Hope you enjoyed me sharing some work related brain storming this morning...
The sun is shining today, and the sky is that beautiful French blue...

Nature gets it right every time...

....very romantic....

N.xo

Still plagued by blogging issues, yukkk....

Romancing the Garden

I'm such a romantic soul, it is no wonder that this month, my thoughts turn to romance in any vein, but of course, mainly through the garden. This image from a gardening book I have had forever, comes from The Romantic English Garden.  What I have always wanted mine to look like, but alas, as I have said before, my garden has a mind of its own!!

It is difficult to stop a gardener with a vision, I grew roses in the shade of a hardwood forest....and then abandoned them when time became too precious, and I had to attend to more pressing matters of life....

...attending to my dear Mom, who throughs love and wisdom I grew a garden in the first place....a story for another time....

Even in its icy beauty and dormant, it inspires me every day.

I am so fortunate to be able to buy flowers from local growers. The Niagara area is rich in resources for green house grown flowers and produce. Recently these beautiful anemones were made available to me, and I cannot get my fill of them!
I grow Japanese anemones in my garden, but of a different variety.
The flowers are pale pink on long, wavy stalks....

These beauties were remnants from the nests I made for a baby shower last week, and because we were having dinner guests Saturday, I was still able to use them,  just beginning to open and in gorgeous jewel tones. I prefer a softer colour way normally, but these are lovely....

You can see garden inspiration here, everywhere....the turnip candles are from France,

Pointe a la Ligne, one of my favourite....

Cabbage leaf plates, and tiny clay pot napking rings, and of course always, the colour green....

A romantic image....on an English water jug, the blue colour way looking lovely against the jewel toned flowers.... 

The green, branch inspired candles, reminscent of the woods and gardens....

Garden images can translate into many forms, whether in a grand or simple way.
Each one of us interprets them in a personal way, from which we can learn and explore and appreciate one anothers thoughts and ideas....

The above image is from the most adorable book, In and Out of the Garden, by Sara Mida. Her watercolour illustrations are exqusite, whimsical and so telling of ones love of the garden...so romantic.....

N.xo

I have been struggling with blogging issues like the rest....my posts do not seem to be updating on everyone's side bars. I have taken all the prerequisite steps, and nothing is helping....but, please visit, as I am posting!

Thank you Carole!