Door Knocker Story

Look thoroughly, below.

Can you figure out the door knocker at bottom?
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Their cat was destroying the door trying to get their attention.  Now, when he wants inside, he pulls on the door knocker.
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Yes, true story.
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Would you have been this intuitive, putting the door knocker down low?
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Garden & Be Well,            XO Tara
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Pic taken last month.
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Choosing Swing Open Garage Doors

I'm hunting garage doors that swing open.  The garage is a charming 1945 cinder block with low sloped roof.  Privacy is an issue, and money.

 These are the doors I'll send to Magic Man, below.  A potting shed near the garage needs one of the doors above, alas, that money issue.  But dreams are free.

Will use a frosted glass.
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Magic Man will say all sorts of wonderful embellishments to simplicity, above.  Alas, again, that money issue. 
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Hardware isn't much of an issue with these doors either.  A huge savings.
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Garden & Be Well,            XO Tara
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Top pic via Velvet & Linen.  Bottom pic via Rachel Ashwell.

You Need This Garden House

Enough gardens (historically) have these garden houses, below, I realized your garden needs one too. 

Why did this epiphany take so long to arrive?  No matter.  Get you one of the garden houses.
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What will you do in your new garden house?
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Me?  I will watercolor or play the dulcimer perhaps write letters maybe read Beverley Nichols, Sir Roy Strong, Cecil Beaton.
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Seriously, these garden houses are going into most of my Garden Designs.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara
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Lost source for the pic.  This epiphany is so new I don't know the best dimensions to tell you to use.  There seems to be 2-3 'best'.  Loving the scope for the imagination on placing these Garden Houses.

Camp Boxwood

Boxwoods is a delightful garden, gift, & design shop in Atlanta, GA.  Their private getaway was recently in Traditional Home magazine.

Sold in their shop, below, is a porcelain hydrangea.  Furnishings, antiques, plants, art & more too.

 I like everything Boxwoods does.  Alas, haven't been inside their shop in more than 5 years.  Bittersweet, driving by but no time to go inside because I'm working at client gardens.  Of course it is saving me a lot of money, not going inside. 
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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Top pic via Traditional Home magazine & bottom pic via Boxwood's. 

Lunch in the Conservatory

Lunch in the Conservatory.

 Pears, yogurt, cottage cheese, pistachios.  There's something about multiple little bowls,

mismatched silver spoons, plate, linen napkin, making the choices.
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Walking across the garden & choosing where to sit in the Conservatory.  These are the great dramas I want.
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Amid hectic days my Conservatory never fails to enrich my spirit.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Wish lunch in the Conservatory were more often but you know I'm happy to be at jobsites too.
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Deer In The Laundry With Arbor

We were so busy in the garden I never had time to ask about the deer in her laundry.

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Didn't realize the pic was getting the awning outside.  She has several, this one is over the gas grill.

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A style quite common ca. 1910.

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Garden & Be Well,      XO Tara

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Pic taken last month.

Decorate With Multiple Collections

She drinks alot of Perrier perfect bottles for rooting cuttings, below.

 She inherited boxes of shells, it took about a year of spare time to sort them, below.

 Old, broken, water salts & moss make her terra cotta better.  Of course the arrangement is fabuloso, below. Have you noticed how people that arrange flowers seem to be able to arrange anything?

Clustered & themed, she uses collections to decorate. 
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This trinity of collections are close to each other in her Conservatory.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Pics taken last month in Susanne Hudson's Conservatory.

Garden View From Her Desk

Her desk, below, in the kitchen.

 With its

garden view.

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Inside & outside she's created her own world, it's not of this time.  It's timeless.

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Have you done this for yourself.  Created your world?

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Pics taken last month in Susanne Hudson's garden.

Pruning Leyland Cypress

Leyland cypress used well, below.

They call their creation, Big Ben.

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Garden & Be Well,  XO Tara

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Taken in the same garden as yesterday's post.

Columns

Their home is Craftsman bungalow, almost a century old.  Along the fence & at the arbor are these columns.

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A post card of history alive and well today.

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Except I was totally had.  Every column was made by the current owners.

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Cinder block with stained stucco capped with a concrete square.  Concrete & rebar filling the bottom layers.

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Faux is rarely this good.

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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara

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This garden belongs to friends, their home is at the gate of Stone Mountain Park.

Architect Meeting At Jobsite

Ironic scene, below, in the chaos of construction at the pool, garden,

 and now, below, the house itself.  Two rooms will be added overlooking the pool.

 Met with the architect early this month, above, for the rooms to be added here, below.

 The pool is humongous, below, built in the 70's for the house next door.  Don't ask. 

 I have a real problem with the architect.  He's smart, witty, intuitive, hardworking, cute, and

 wears white socks.

 Doesn't he know white socks are total birth control?

He, nor his wife, got the memo.  They have lovely children.
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Now you have all the important points from my meeting with: homeowners, my contractors, architect.
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Unless we should talk about the orange breakfast poundcake & other delicious etc. she served.  Remnants are on the drawing in 2nd pic.
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Garden & Be Well,     XO Tara
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OMG, lots of awkward choices with this project, hence full arsenal teamwork.  The best part?  It doesn't feel like work.  Homeowner is one of Atlanta's quietly successful interior decorators.  You only get her by word-of-mouth.

Small Moments 2 Bathrooms

 Not large her bathroom, nonetheless, creates

 its own world, above/below.

 Classically designed new home, below, had a

 surprise.

 Rounded, soft pebbles for a son's bathroom.

The rest of the home is straight from an English novel. 
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I should have taken bathroom pics for the past 30 years. 
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Bathrooms & Gardens.  Yes.  A new magazine.  Of course Garage & Garden would be fabulous too.
Dogs & Gardens.....
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Garden & Be Well,        XO Tara