THOSE THAT INSPIRE.......Nashville

 

The Nashville Garden and Antique Show 

Part two..........'The People of Nashville.'

Sorry for the silence, have been away on business, a landscape conference in California

(wait until you see those pictures)

As promised I wanted to share with you the individuals that made the trip so worthwhile. Those that inspire both creativity and generosity. 

First presentation;

ALNWICK CASTLE. (pronounced ANN-ICK)
Construction began in 1096, was purchased by the current family, the Percy's in 1309 and later honored as the Duke and Duchesses' of Northumberland, it's region.
Many films including the Harry Potter series have filmed here.
                     

Her Grace, the Duchess of Northumberland and family moved to the castle upon the unexpected death of her husband's brother. The once proud gardens were long since abandoned and derelict. This one-woman force possessed a dream; revive and re-create the gardens beyond all expectations.  Within 13 years the Duchess has displayed a steel reserve, rebounded a suffering local economy, her design collaborations included unimaginable forethought for children, the elderly, handicapped and the "down-trodden".............all typically excluded from garden visiting, a national past time in England.

Notice children and the elderly interacting.
All funding was from private and public fund raising efforts plus a nice stipend from her reluctant but supportive husband. The Duchess does not earn a penny from this legacy.

Visual beauty is an equal component

Her "safely dangerous" poison garden. A collection of plants that kill and cure. Carefully monitored and guarded, children in particular learn about the dangers of drug abuse and the miracle of drugs.

This extraordinary woman could merit several posts, her story is amazing. for additional information go here.



Presenter number 2

Renown Interior Designer Michael S. Smith. of Southern California

You may recall his recent commission, The White House and found your interest peaked.

An approachable demeanor with a self-deprecating sense of humor brought him down to earth despite being the designer "to the stars".

Bedroom with hand painted mural in the tradition of Msr. Zuber.
I was stunned to learn that his first commission was from the first female head of a film studio and he was twenty three years old!
How does that happen?!

Some of his shared thoughts;

-Prefers his rooms to develop a "layered" look; mirrors on tapestry, sea grass over orientals...
-Disdains wall to wall carpeting
-Bigger is NOT better in regards to home building (YES!!)
-Major influence is Albert Hadley
-Define the architecture and spirit of the house, let that be your guideline


Presenter number 3

 

Slightly eccentric garden designer extraordinare  Ryan Gainey of Atlanta

Designs landscapes with great depth and in the English tradition of "rooms" versus expansive lawns. His mentor was the late Rosemary Verey.

Structure is a key design component; stone, wood and boxwood are his primary components.

A glimpse of his rear garden in Decatur, Georgia. Notice the neatly clipped climbing ivy framing the greenhouse windows. Seemingly strong willed he admits that his clients must..........
"understand the force of HIS nature."  Visit him here.

The lovely Lizzy, a friend and amazing jewelry craftswoman. Displaying at the venue, Lizzy's jewelry transports me to a time of elegance but with a contemporary edge. Visit her here.

All pieces are utilizing "found" objects but it's the assemblage that takes her art to an inspiring level.

The favorites in my personal collection are from Lizzy and they are the bits that spark liveliest conversation

 

Joyce Scruggs, one of my blog subscribers, former home builder......over 60 homes! (I happen to think more homes should be designed and built by women), hostess extraordinaire, tremendously fun and energetic.

 

Joyce, originally hailing from Illinois read that we were coming to Nashville for the show. This darling woman called her sister Shirley, one of our clients, in Illinois, Joan a sister from Colorado and Trish, a local friend of Joyce's in Nashville to gather and welcome us.

They wanted to invite my group to her home and demonstrate true southern hospitality.I am still amazed!

 

Never have I been more welcomed into someone's home. Check this out....a pastry covered baked brie. See what I mean about welcoming....my company's initials in puff pastry! 

 

 

The perfectly set desert table with individual banana puddings in the handled basket.

 

 

                                             Our hostesses and tour attendees

Having lost 6 camera's in 2009, yes...6....i was down to a low level point n' shoot which is a shame as the details of this gorgeous home are lost...and half were too blurry for use.

 

L to R;  Shirley (sister), Sally, Joyce (our hostess), Susan (Sally's sister), Ardie and Carole

 

At the door upon saying our "good-bye's" was a platter with these parting gifts!

 

Back home with a better camera...........glassine containers filled with three mini muffins. Friend Trish, made the charming wrapping with a die-cutting craft machine.

Walking in Town

First, last week wasn't all that great...on Thursday the husband called me to tell me the car had broke down on the side of the highway. I swear I could write a comedy on broken down cars, I mean just look back through the archive to see how many we've had. Keep in mind we got this car (yes used) after our van broke down on the highway. Well on Friday he got the car towed to the house, they

le coq

le cog

Rooster

I love roosters.  They are soooo country French.  Here are some of the roosters I have in my home.

First, a rooster finial on top of a table lamp.

Next, an embroidered rooster pillow on a living room chair.

 This rooster fabric covers my kitchen chairs.

A rooster lamp.

My favorite rooster sitting on my dining room hutch.

A rooster, hen and chicks sitting on a vintage French wine barrel lid turned into a lazy susan, in my kitchen.

A white rooster teapot on my cookbook shelf.

Some rooster paintings, by Donna, on a wall in my kitchen.

A pair of rooster on my kitchen table.

An outdoor rooster, waiting for spring. 

I have purchased some of my roosters, and some were gifts.  I haven't showed all of them to you.  Do you think I have a problem? :-)

Do you have roosters?

p.s.  don't forget to take part in the poll on the top right side of the blog.  Only a couple more days left to participate!

Welcome Home,

Penny

Finally We Have Snow

Tundra SwanFebruary 22, 2010We have had such a mild, precipitation winter this year that I have been extremely concerned as to what this will mean to our local farmers and home gardeners. Despite getting little more than a light flurry with no accumulation between November 2009 and January 2010, February gave a bit of home with now the second of two snow storms consisting of good accumulation.

Bold Brushes of Color in Monet's Garden

Which came first — the art or the garden? Impressionist artist, Claude Monet was first an artist. When he moved to Giverny, he became an obsessed gardener. His garden was designed not only for his enjoyment as a gardener, but as a subject for his paintings.

Monet's Gardens at Giverny have been reconstructed from his paintings, over 500 of which were based on his gardens. Pastel colors are abundant, but there are also swaths of bright yellow, orange and red. The photos shown here were taken in the May, but the garden colors and flowers change with every season.

Tulips, wallflowers and pansies provide much of the bold color in the spring gardens inside the walled gardens, named the Clos Normand, at Giverny.



One of my favorite books is The Impressionist Garden by Derek Fell. Given to me so many years ago, this well-worn book served as inspiration for my gardens as I dreamed of someday visiting the gardens in France.

After visiting Giverny in May 2009, I found the courage to try the bolder colors in my garden. I set about rearranging plants last fall and eagerly await the first results this summer. Mind you, I'll never have a Giverny, but in small vignettes through my borders, I have planted little pockets of orange, red, yellow and gold.

Not having the same space, place or climate, I look for substituting plants of the same colors, but not necessarily of the same variety or used in the same season. My spring colors are still based upon the pastel colors of purple, blue and pink. But, my summer and fall color scheme in 2010 will include colors inspired by Giverny.



I have planted a swath of bright orange and gold gaillardia at the feet of red monarda 'Jacob Kline' that is set among salvia greggii 'Bright Navajo Red' and crocosmia 'Lucifer'. Marigolds in orange and zinnias in soft golden yellow will be sown as seeds when the soil warms up in the spring. The deep green foliage of osmanthus fragrans and white oleander serve as a buffer between this vignette and another.

The deep red tulips planted at the edge of Monet's Water Garden are stunning paired with green foliage of irises, planted beneath a weeping tree. This is a color combination that I'd also like to replicate using red geum. I planted my first geum in summer 2009 and will see how well it overwintered and if it continues to be deer and rabbit resistant.

My pineapple sage, when in bloom beside the clumping bamboo, is the closest that I've come so far in achieving the red and green duo. If you don't have deer or rabbits, you can probably come up with many more possibilities!


One of the most beautiful flowering shrub displays at Giverny in May was the clustering of soft apricot-orange and bright red azaleas with a Japanese Maple. This is a combination that can be tried by studying the colors available in the rhododendron family until you get just the right colors to work with the burgundy foliage of the maple.

Native azaleas come to mind as good options for the edge of woodlands. Rhododendron austrinum (Flame Azalea) is a flashy orange-flowering native for USDA zones 6-10; part sun to shade in moist soil.

Behind this color scheme, large trees divide the bright colors from the soft, lavender panicles of wisteria growing on Monet's bridge, trellises and arbors around the pond.



Proving that not all garden color has to come from plants, this big rooster proudly holds court at the entrance to Monet's Clos Normand!


Location: Giverny, France; May 2009; Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.

Friday Giveaway List

It's Friday and what better way to celebrate than by entering (and hopefully winning) giveaways. If you are having a giveaway please sign the mr. linky and add yours. Enjoy your weekend!

To any PR people out there, I love hosting giveaways so feel free to email me at homemom3@gmail.com



I thought some of you might like a bigger list:

Softlips Review & Giveaway

How many of you have went through a day picking at your lips because they were dry? Or saw your child doing it? Chances are with the weather being as cold as it has in the past two months more and more people will be needing to reach for a stick to moisten their lips. Now, I've stated here before of my love for Softlips and how my son refuses to use them but the girls just adore those tiny

~♥ New Post ♥~

Head on over to my baking blog...

there's another new post!

Graphic by: http://www.gooseberrypatch.com/

The Pastel Palette of Monet's Garden

Look to Monet's Gardens at Giverny, France for true cottage garden inspiration. Spring-blooming bulbs, perennials, annuals and vines are used liberally in a garden that is literally stuffed so full of flowers that no ground is visible. Pebbled garden paths add to the inviting, casual style. Soft spring colors of pink, purple, white and blue are soothing and tranquil.

Elements from these famous, but unpretentious French gardens can be translated for use at home. The plantings aren't suitable for every growing zone, but the pastel color palette provides wonderful examples of how to use shapes and heights together in random beauty.

Billowing wisteria drips over Monet's water garden, a signature plant for many of his paintings. The wisteria wraps the arched Japanese bridge as well as arbors and trellises that accent the winding paths around the water's edge. Although the fragrant wisteria sinensis is truly glorious, careful control is necessary or it will take over native plants and entire woodlands.

The dainty pink tulips, planted as bulbs in autumn, are underplanted with annuals such as pansies and self-sowing myosotis sylvatica (forget-me-nots). Since tulips bloom best during the first spring, they are often regarded as annuals and replanted each year. Tulip 'Pink Impression' is a good choice for replicating this vignette.

Purple alliums are bulbs to plant at the same time as tulips. For home gardens, a good choice is allium 'Purple Sensation' randomly arranged in a mass planting among companions. Hardy geraniums such as 'Rozanne' and Dutch iris 'Rosario' work well as perennial partners. Poppy 'Angels Choir' and nigella 'Mulberry Rose', easily sown from seed, are good annual choices for the home garden, too.

Vertical displays of blooms are evident throughout the walled gardens of the Clos Normand. Bowers of pink and white clematis scramble over arbors in Monet's gardens. Clematis 'Pink Fantasy' and 'Guernsey Cream' are candidates for recreating the look. Flowering trees and shrubs at Giverny include tamarisk, pink dogwood, lilac, and apple. Meandering plantings through meadow grass provide calm expanses beneath the orchard trees.

Colors, paths, accents and plants — there is much to inspire gardeners and artists!




Bright blooms are also used in Monet's spring color scheme around the pond and within the walled gardens. Next time...

Location: Monet's Gardens at Giverny, France. May 2009. Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks/copyrights/patents owned by those respective companies or persons.