Busy bee in springtime.....

Where did March go??? I was really busy and kept wanting to blog but time just slipped away. I will share more about it at the end of this post. March meant two holidays to decorate for this year. I started the month with my cloches showing a tiny of St. Patrick's day cheer but then had to switch them after the 17th of the month to Easter...

All my spring and Easter quilts were pulled out and accessories added to welcome the Easter Bunny when he arrives...

These little shoes were my Easter shoes when I was a baby. I am so glad my mother kept them along with a few other items of clothes...

Jos and I have been really busy working both in the garden in the city and at Cranberry Cottage. Lots of changes have happened at the cottage but that is a post in itself for later. As for the city garden, we have added a conifer hedge right next to the house. 

We need a little privacy. See that beautiful pine on the neighbor's side? We found out they are going to cut it down when Jos saw a notice in the local newspaper. We ordered some 15+ year old Thuja Emerald conifers and the man from the nursery called to say they would be delivered. 

Once we removed the plants that were in this section, Jos had to dig a big trench. They are planted and watered in so we have our fingers crossed they root well. Jos also added a row of paving and it all looks so nice now. 

We have also been to visit a carpenter up north who is making us a robust pine monk's table with cross legs. The table is done so we have to go pick it up. I can't wait to see it and have our first meal of the season outdoors!

Heidi

Garden inspiration.....

We love to visit gardens for inspiration. Visiting the tiny city of Gerberoy in France to see the garden of the French painter Henri Le Sidaner did not disappoint us. The addition of this beautiful ornament, which if you look closely in the photo collages, you will find in the artist's garden too. When I found this ornament in at a Dutch farm that sells ornaments, I knew it was the perfect way to remember our visit to Henri's garden...

To enter the gardens, you walk around the outside of the village along the old medieval walls. There is a door in the arch of one wall that enters into the garden. The day we went there was noone else there and it helped create the magic of the world where Henri painted.....

Click to enlarge the photos and get a closer look. 

I love this photo I shot of Jos sitting in the quiet garden enjoying the morning sun.....

Ornaments and statues were everywhere throughout the garden.....

What a privilege to be able to stand in front of the little summerhouse/atelier he painted. And what a summerhouse! I loved all the details in this tiny building. During the exhibit, this was one if my favorite paintings which came to life in the garden.....

The gazebo built on the foundations of a medieval tower allows you to take in the beautiful views of the landscape in and around Gerberoy..... 

Henri Le Sidaner passed away 75 years ago today 16 July in 1939. But his spirit lives on in his timeless paintings but also in the magical gardens he created in Gerberoy, France. 

Heidi

For those interested in seeing more, here is a YouTube film of his time spent in Gerberoy. It is in Dutch but well worth watching even if you cannot understand the language. 

Persephone.....

Persephone is the goddess of spring's bounty. Fits well in her corner of our garden surrounded by rhododendrons blossoms. 

Persephone is de godin van lente pracht. Past goed in haar hoekje van de tuin tussen de rhododendron bloesem. 

Persephone is also a bookshop in London that prints beautiful grey books of neglected fiction from the 20th century. 

Persephone is ook de naam van een Londonse boekwinkel. Zij zijn gespecialiseerd in vergeten fictie van de 20e eeuw geprint in prachtige grijze kaften.

My newest addition to my little collection of these books...Diary of a Provincial Lady. 

Mijn nieuwste boek in de collectie...

Heidi

April snow-showers.....

At first, we opened the curtains on Easter Sunday and wondered if it was Christmas...

Enjoying breakfast while watching the snowflakes fall...

A light lunch taking a break...

...from painting the cottage. Jos was pretending to be a graffiti artist. We had a nice long weekend at the cottage and needed to get the room done. Next chance we get for a long weekend again will be used to paint the ceilings.

But Dagi spent his long Easter weekend doing what he does best...catnapping...

Easter dinner was light. We had carpaccio kababs with steamed broccoli and a green salad...

Back home and I was baking cookies as a surprise for Jos as it was our 26th wedding anniversary...

I tried a new recipe for these chocolate chip and walnut cookies. They are really good and I learned a few tricks to getting a more tasty cookie...

And back home.....Dagi is still catnapping but he says thanks for the sweet comments on the last post. Since he has grown old, he has started sleeping in very unusual ways. Sometimes his paws are hanging over the couch of him and sometimes he sleeps with them laying out in front of him.

Heidi