Garden visitor

Sprng is such a pretty time in our garden. This year, all three of our wisteria are doing well. One was badly frost damaged 4 years ago but even it is perking up with 4 blooms on the vine. One for each year I had to wait and see if it would survive.

Jos was very busy starting back in February. He relaid all the paths here in the city garden. We decided to use the stones we had at Cranberry Cottage so he had to remove them there and relay paths there too. There are three wider paths now with give order between the cottage garden planting. 

We put out our fountains again. I always have them on when I am in the garden and love the sound of water. I also discovered that there are 2 frogs and a toad living in that tiny pond on the right of the photo. 

Decorating in the garden is a must for me and now I have a new table to decorate with. Our older table is still on the back terrace but we had a robust table specially made for the terrace closer to the house. 

It is a monk's table made with very chunky douglas pine. We both love it! Jos aged the wood with vinager and steel wool so that it would match the chairs and bench we have owned for years. 

This special visitor to our city garden is such a treat! For the third year running, this great spotted woodpecker has been visiting us each spring. I was so pleased to get some good photos while he was at our peanut butter feeder. It is a crowning glory to me that he feels safe in our garden. We have achieved what we set out to do when we bought this house 5 years ago...that is to create a little piece of the countryside in the city. 

Heidi

Amaryllis.....

Again this year, my amaryllis bulb was planted in October to have it ready to bloom in December but it did not show itself until January. Too late for the holidays but standing tall in all its glory for the start of the new year. It brought some beauty to the month which normally feels dull due to the Christmas decorations having come down. 

This week the blooms faded as February began. I see a tiny spot coming up again so have to wait to see if a second stem will come up into flower yet. 

The language of flowers...amaryllis is the symbol of pride and splendid beauty

We tallied up our decluttering results for the entire month of January...

10 items thrown out

1 suit donated to clothes bank

8 items taken to thrift shop

5 items taken to chemical drop (old paint and glue)

21 items sold for a total of 363,50 euros 

We are thrilled with the start of our year's goal to clean up our home and life. I hope we can keep up the momentum as the year progresses. Each month, I will tally up what we have achieved. I am so excited to get rid of unused items in order to make room for things we want to do in the house. More about those plans will come this year. 

Heidi

A little well kept secret in France.....

In December, I went to an art exhibit of the paintings of an (to me) unknown painter. It was close by at the Singer Museum. I felt like I was able to slip away to France on a late spring afternoon in the dead of winter. Roses and wine around me.....I loved it so much that I made my husband go back with me another time before the exhibit ended. 

In december 2013 heb ik een tentoonstelling in het Singer Museum in Laren bezocht  om het werk van een (voor mij) onbekende schilder te kunnen zie. Ik voelde alsof ik in Frankrijk was op een late lente middag , terwijl het hier winter was. Met Rozen en wijn om me heen in Frankrijk...... Ik vond het zo leuk dat ik samen met mijn man nog een keer deze tentoonstelling heb bezocht.

All this because of this man...Henri Le Sidaner. He was noted for his intimate style and capturing atmospheric light in his paintings. I was so entranced by his work! Part of the exhibit was reading about his life and listening to the story as you went along. There I heard about his house and garden. 

Dit alles vanwege deze man ... Henri Le Sidaner. Hij staat bekend om zijn intieme stijl en het vastleggen van licht in zijn sfeervolle schilderijen. Ik was helemaal in de ban van zijn werk! Een deel van de tentoonstelling ging over zijn leven waarbij ik ook hoorde over zijn huis en tuin.

There is a tiny village in the Picardie region of France. This tiny village is Gerberoy and was where Henri Le Sidaner first rented and then bought a house in 1910. When researching the painter, I discovered that the village still contained this house and his gardens which were also open to the public. We just had to visit and see it all ourselves! 

The medieval village celebrates the rose each year and like walking in a museum. It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France. In this picturesque place there is one bed and breakfast. Above is a photo of Le Logis de Gerberoy which is every bit as enchanting as it looks in the photo. We were so warmly welcomed by Cécile when we rang the bell to her home. 

Er is heel een klein stadje in de Picardië (Noord Frankrijk.) Deze kleine stad is Gerberoy en was de plaats waar Henri Sidaner eerst gehuurd en daarna het huis gekocht heeft in 1910. Ik ontdekte dat het  huis en zijn tuinen opengesteld zijnvoor het publiek. We besloten toen om zelf te gaan kijken in Gerberoy.  

De middeleeuwse stad viert elk jaar een mooi rozenfeest  en lijkt  een openlucht museum. Het wordt beschouwd als een van de mooiste dorpen van Frankrijk. In deze schilderachtige plek is er ook een bed and breakfast. Boven is een foto van Le Logis de Gerberoy te vinden, in het echt net zo betoverend als het eruit ziet in de foto. We werden hartelijk ontvangen door Cecile  nadat we onderstaande bel gebruikt hadden:.

She and her husband having been lovingly restoring their old home. They have created a warm and relaxing atmosphere to spend your time in Gerberoy. We loved it so much that we asked Cécile if we could stay an extra night. We were so glad she was able to give us the room for a third night. The rooms are comfortable and we slept like on a bed of roses only to be awakened to a delicious breakfast and walks in the lovely village. 

Zij en haar man hebben deze oude herberg weer gerestaureerd.. Ze hebben een warme en ontspannen sfeer gecreëerd om je tijd door te brengen in Gerberoy. We vonden het zo leuk dat we Cecile vroegen of we een extra nacht konden blijven. We waren blij dat er ruimte voor een derde nacht was. De kamers zijn comfortabel en we sliepen als op een bed van rozen , om wakker te worden met een heerlijk ontbijt en wandelingen in het mooie dorp.

I enjoyed taking some detailed photos of things around the bed and breakfast to give you an impression of this magical house. Thank you Cécile for a memorable stay in your home. 

We did however go to Gerberoy for a specific reason...to visit les jardin des Henri le Sidaner. Come back for my next blog post to visit the gardens with me.....

Ik heb genoten van het nemen van detailfoto's  rond de bed and breakfast. Deze foto's geven een goede indruk van dit magische huis. Dank je Cecilia voor een onvergetelijk verblijf in jouw huis. 

We zijn  echter wel gaan naar Gerberoy voor een reden: specifiek om de tuin van Henry le Sidaner te bezoeken. Kom s.v.p. terug voor mijn volgende blog post zodat je ook de tuinen met mij kunt bezoeken .....

Note: Thank you so much for the comforting thoughts sent our way over the tragic loss of Elwin in my previous blog post. Your thoughts and concerns have really picked me up and helped soften the hurt I felt over his sad passing. 

Opmerking: Dank je wel voor de troostende gedachten over het tragische verlies van Elwin in mijn vorige blog post. Jullie gedachten hielpen de pijn te verzachten die ik voelde over zijn trieste heengaan.

Heidi

More old things.....

Back in this post, I mentioned that I found another old gate at a brocante shop. I had wanted them both to use between the planting in our back garden. Neither made it there in the end. The bigger of the two was just right for this wall. I used to have a round metal piece hanging here but this gate was so perfect in size that we moved it to here instead. Jos created a planting area for me which has already grown nicely in just a couple of months. We planted a passion flower which is growing wildly but not blooming yet and two kinds of clematis which both bloomed. I did not take the photo while they were in bloom unfortunately.

We have three old oleanders planted in a large terracotta pot in the front area too. Last year, I decided to try pruning them as they were getting leggy. Suddenly this summer, we have a pink double flower among the white blossoms. I have no idea how it has happened. It is very delicate looking.

Last week while driving through the countryside back to Cranberry Cottage, we came across these storks in a field. Not so unusual in the north of Holland. They are often in pairs hunting for food. But this time there were ten of them in the same small field at once. What a pretty sight to see these beautiful birds. It is still summer here as they have not started their migration yet...

Heidi

Peony

A peony is almost perfect beauty. What a shame their beauty is fleeting but for that short time, we can admire them in a vase...

I bought some peony stems and mixed them with some Lady's Mantle and white harebells from my own garden. When I looked up the language of these flowers, I found the combination not only pleased the eye but also worked together in meaning...

Language of flowers:
Peony - Bashfulness or happy marriage
White harebells - submission or gratitude
Lady's mantle - comfort of protection

"The bee emerging from deep within the peony departs reluctantly."

- Basho, Matsuo

Heidi

Gates, blossoms and a husband's sense of humor.....

This is our little haven of rest...Cranberry Cottage.

We enjoy spending time in the garden and listening/watching the birds. But I had a little problem that the gates Jos had made back in 2009 were too heavy for me to move. So when I was in the garden, I was stuck in the garden not being able to open the gates. *grins*

We had some hinges we removed from a gate in our city garden that was not being used. We decided to drive to a wood yard we know and buy some heavy wood posts to hinge the gate to and make it easier to open.

On the way back to the cottage, Jos wanted to stop at a snackbar in a village near us and get a "broodje kroket" which is a deep fried, breaded ragout in a bun, a Dutch specialty. This snackbar is literally built on side of a little stretch of canal so you feel like it is floating. We sat down to eat our treat and Jos said I can say he took me on a dinner cruise. That is his sense of humor in a nut shell.

And speaking of nuts...*wink*...look how pretty chestnut blossoms are up close. There were some beautiful huge chestnut trees across from the snackbar and we parked next to this one.

You can see the new posts on the gate which really came out nice. No more ropes to tangle with and a gate that simply swings open for me.

Here is a link to the post on my old blog when Jos made the new gates.

Heidi

Pure.....

Nothing more pure than a single tulip...beauty in its purest form...

"I hide myself within my flower,

That wearing on your breast,

You, unsuspecting, wear me too --

And angels know the rest.

I hide myself within my flower,

That, fading from your vase,

You, upsuspecting, feel for me

Almost a loneliness."

- Emily Dickinson

Heidi

The humble bumble.....

What a pleasure to sit in the garden and watch the humble bumble bee buzzing around happily drinking the nectar of our patch of Great Globe thistles (Echinops sphaerocephalus). They can sometimes gather with as many as 5 on one bloom. Never bothered by the presence of the others, they continue on their mission to collect the means of making delicious honey.

So I stop and pause daily to watch them. Lately, it seems the fashion to say you are very busy. Many are too busy for each other. Perhaps we can take a lesson from these humble creatures who live in harmony with their surroundings gathering the making of something sweet in life.....

"To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,

One clover, and a bee.

And revery.

The revery alone will do,

If bees are few."

~ Emily Dickinson, 1755

Of Teddy and flowers.....

I have been playing around with things in my home. Moving one thing here and another there is fun and can give you a new feel in your home. I have moved my butler tray from my hall into my living room. I create a seasonal vignette on this table. Right now, I have a stitched piece that I made which looks like Dutch tiles sitting on an easel. I thought that Teddy looked just right with it since he is the same color as the gold in the stitching. My olive pot has a seasonal display of flowers.

But there was a good reason for making this change. I do not like this small wall as you just come into the living room. I wanted to do something to hide two eyesores. First, the plugs are now not as visible. I have a wooden dough bowl at the bottom of the butler tray. It too changes with the seasons but I keep a small set of white lights in it which looks pretty in the evenings.

Second is our heating thermostat. It is a large computer controlled plastic box which has yellowed with age. I have two hooks I am going to hang on each side to hang a quilt and disguise the thermostat. I have to have Jos help out as I need the hooks I have mounted on a piece of wood to bring them far enough from the wall so a quilt hangs in front of this ugly but needed control in house. Once this is done, I will not be so bothered by this wall.