Fog & Rain Dreary?

A local garden center posted on their Facebook page today about the weather (fog, wet, gray) being dreary and we should come in to buy a houseplant.  Really?  Puppet Barbuda knows good Landscape Design has no dreary days.  Returned moments ago from her garden Puppet Barbuda saw:

 Laura, above, following from inside.  Not so cute when she hangs from the chandeliers.  (Notice the terra cotta sun?  It's a wall sundial hiding a faucet.)

 With Ivy 'Gold Heart', at the front door.  Puppet Barbuda is in earnest about no dreary days.  Fell in love with this Ivy while studying Landscape Design in England.

 Sasanqua's, above, still in heavy bloom.  Native honey bees gather pollen all year in my landscape.

 Hellebores, above, opening.

 Apples & peaking gold dwarf conifer.

Crazily, with a warm January, fall leaves still falling.
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Dreary?
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Plenty of color.
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Garden & Be Well,       XO Tara
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Was in my robe/slippers getting these pics a few minutes ago.  Laura followed me, from inside, around the entire house while photographing.  Wish I had time for more pics....

Spool Bed In Garden Light

Spool bed, rough-hewn historic cabin, and

 natural light.

Flowing from the garden.
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Do you do this too, design your landscape for interior lighting effects?
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Amazingly this light, above,  is only minutes before the gloaming.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara
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Pics taken at a project last Thursday.

Martha Washington Table In The Garden

Martha Washington never knew how many would appear at her dinner table.  Extra tables, boards placed on sawhorses, were often set-up in the garden.  With a cloth of course.

 Yesterday, working in the Ancient Orchard we needed a table.

 Quickly, the guys had our Martha Washington table set-up.  It had been nearby in the potager.

 We were siting fruit trees.

We did use the hammer, keeping invoice sheets from blowing away.
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Obvious, more than 1 Martha Washington table is needed in her garden.
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G*d is smiling, these are FUN needs.
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Garden & Be Well,     XO Tara
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Pics taken yesterday.  Notice my basket in the top pics?  34 years old.  English white willow.  Came from Neiman-Marcus in Dallas, Texas during their Christmas Fortnight event.  Sales lady didn't want to sell it, it was holding ornaments.  La-ti-da, acquired my target.  Yes, the lady got huffy.  Very huffy.    

Historic Southern: Flying Buttress

Downtown Atlanta, below, a former cotton warehouse.  Swoon yet?  The Flying Buttress !!

 Copy.  It's the 1st rule of Landscape Design.

MY flying buttress, above.  Though it's on a client's property, and she did pay for the lovely bricks, ca. 1899, from Milledgeville, Ga, capitol of Georgia during the Civil War, and she did pay for the labor, and, and, and, honestly, I am in love with this Landscape Jewelry !
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Garden & Be Well,         XO Tara
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Orchard not complete yet.  Fruit trees start going in tomorrow.  Gates this year.  

How To Open A Front Porch

Gravel to the walls, evergreens (few), no rails on the porch, & a fabulous light, below.

 Exactly how I described The Cottage project, below, to my contractor.  Before I ever saw the pic, above, via Greige Design.

 Porch rails will be removed, below, and stone steps added to all sides.  Foundation meatballs removed,

gravel spread, light fixture installed.  Bricks painted, shutters added to all sides (new color chosen) storm door removed and a potager nearby, it was requested and there is very little good light elsewhere.
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Love this type of work.  Tight budget, big impact, little input.  Ironically, the biggest improvement will be removing the foundation meatballs.  The gravel?  Huge impact, and laughably one of the cheapest ingredients.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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No use at present for the iron rail.  Cannot wait to discover which project NEEDS it !

Cottage Inspiration: Dining Room Walls

The Cottage, ca. 1940, has wallpapered dining room walls, painted red, with little light.

Tiny budget too.  A few days ago, inspiration via Greige Design, a bead board wall with plates, above.
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The ANTICIPATION of creating the walls is palpable.  Using Benjamin-Moore HC Lancaster Whitewash with white plates and silver plated platters.
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Soon, The Cottage will have a neo-butler's pantry belonging to a much larger estate.  It's dining room where the 'help' dines.  (Rather obvious I watched Downton Abbey last nite on PBS.)
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Along with mission statement, narrative & back story inhabit this sweet project.
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Garden & Be Well,      XO Tara

Cats & Camellias

Low 30's, in only my gown, I went into the garden last week to shoot the current crop of Sasanqua's, (I have 5 cultivars.)

 Had bit of a surprise, above, garden cat Torte De Shelle had the correct expression at my attire.

But when the Sasanqua are this fabulous, come as you are.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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With smugness, let me add, Torte De Shelle is atop the fence and framed with the Camellia japonica.  They won't start blooming till Christmas day.

Captain Kirk Chair

I pay attention to the Captain Kirk chair inside every home where I'm designing the landscape.  Views throughout the year will be savored & used as backdrop to all the excitement and muddles life provides.  

 Where is your Captain Kirk chair?  What are the garden views?

New floors installed, sanding/staining late this week.  Back came my Captain Kirk chair. House in chaos yet I couldn't resist this spot.
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How could I, the sasanquas are blooming, the Christmas tree lites are on in the Conservatory, and the garden cats about their lives.  As Anne Of Green Gables said, there is so much "scope for the imagination."
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 I travel farthest in my garden, perhaps honestly, it's farther still in this chair.
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Garden & Be Well,        XO Tara

Collections During Renovation

A few days ago, at The Old Post Office, in Stone Mountain, Ga Village, I found this painting.  

It has a few issues, easily overcome by the $15 tag.

On the back, interesting scrawl,  "Dec. 26, 1930, Friday Nite, JGB"
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A story I would like to know.
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Now, it's leaning on a table with lamps, bowls, flotsam-jetsom, awaiting it's debut.  A bit of construction in my house this Christmas.  Men, machines, materials, saw dust.  Cats safely tucked into their new room upstairs, unamused.
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Excited about the new year, construction complete, things placed properly, and a decrease in quantity.  Editing. 
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Framing garden views from every interior window.  Looking into every window, from the garden, making sure it's worthy of being a backdrop for my garden.  Double axis.  Vanishing Threshold.
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Garden & Be Well,  XO Tara

Cotton In The Conservatory

In the garden, below, 2 days ago, looking into my Conservatory thru the century old French door.

 It's an arcane delight, looking into windows.  Seeing cotton (or anything pretty) already 'painted', not real, in the past.

This is my first high cotton.  Literally, this year, in-high-cotton.  Inside Conservatory, above, looking into my tiny back garden.
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The old pottery jug, above, with broken handle, was a very good day at the thrift store, $2.94.
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From the house seeing this jug of cotton has been a joy.  A garden view, it's why I garden.
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Garden & Be Well,  XO Tara

Choosing Color: Small House, Northern Light, Dark Bedrooms

The Cottage, 1200 sqft,  is entirely northern light.  Benjamin Moore - York Harbor, a yellow, is already lighting the house.

Impatient for the lamps, mirrors, furniture, textiles, art, books.
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Both bedrooms will be York Harbor.
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Bunny Williams, An Affair With A House, has been no small inspiration.  She uses yellow.  It doesn't seem to be popular at the moment.  Bunny transcends 'popular'.
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Garden & Be Well,     XO Tara
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pic taken at a project last week.  Oh no, I've neglected to look into this room from the garden.

Tea & Toilets

Tea, below, at Le Jardin Blanc last week.  We toured 2 gardens & did a drive-by of another, all had been in national magazines.

 Lemon curd, Devonshire creme & scones were included, of course.

 Each place had a unique teapot.

At a project the same day, below.   Discoveries about a plaster wall were made when an old toilet was exchanged for new.  

 Bead board, all four walls, was the solution.  Plaster issues?  Poof, gone.  (Keeping, above,  the ca. 1940's wall sink with it's chrome ca. 1950's levers.)

Touring gardens in England I've appreciated signage with arrows.  Especially when Tea and Toilets are prominent.  Necessities, each.
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Garden & Be Well,           XO Tara