French Impressionist Landscape

When we travel, we are always on the look out for a piece of local art we can bring back home.  It could be pottery, a hand carved wood bowl or a painting.

When we were in France we spent some time in Art Galleries and looking at street artists in all of the cities we visited.  From Paris to Avignon, we were looking for that certain oil painting that captured the feel of French Country.

We found a charming art gallery on a side street in Avignon that dealt in local artists.  We purchased this beautiful painting called Chemin de Provence, which when loosely translated means "way of Provence".

The painting is by artist, Jean Lescure.  I love the way it looks in our bedroom.

I love impressionism....what type of art do you like?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Sparkling Star of Persia

In the shadows before nightfall, the amethyst orbs of Star of Persia twinkle like planets against the purple foliage sky of loropetalum and the constellation of blue scabiosa stars.

Everything looks different in the sunshine as Star of Persia (allium christophii) and the companions revert to their daytime colors. Not a focal point, but an accent—the softball-sized flowers add a hint of sparkle to the garden.

These are first year bulbs, planted in the autumn of 2009. Tucked in tightly among the foliage of daylilies, scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue', a burgundy loropetalum and perennial creeping heliotrope—the alliums were easy to squeeze into my existing gardens. The short stature makes it easy to obscure the stems and foliage of the alliums.

Star of Persia is suitable for zones 4a-8b in full sun, well-drained locations. This allium is deer and rabbit resistant.

For over a week now, I've been watching the allium blooms start out compact and slowly expand to the full size orbs. The color is difficult to describe and even more difficult to photograph as the light changes the bloom to cool amethyst, silver, lavender or burgundy.

I'm not even sure if I like my companion color choices with the shades of blue and lavender. I planted the alliums with the scabiosa and heliotrope for a similar bloom time and was going for a monochromatic color scheme.

In hindsight, I believe shades of pink blooms will be better color companions. A bit of tweaking to do for color when I move the bulbs this fall—but I do like the sparkling Star of Persia.

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.

Happy Friday - pretty bedrooms perfect for sleeping in!

I am not an early bird, and for me guilt free Saturday mornings sleeping in never, ever gets old. These bedrooms would only encourage me to spend more time in them!


Adore this white and airy bedroom


What do you think of the branch?








via Country Living

Notice Something Different?

Here is a picture of my powder room, that I have shown you before.....

Here is a picture taken today.  Do you notice anything different?

I found this wonderful porcelain night light in a black toile that almost disappears into the wallpaper!

Here it is with the light turned on....

When we had company over, I felt I needed to leave the light on while they were here.  Now the night light is just the perfect amount of light, so my company can find the light switch when they walk into the powder room.  It is the perfect ambiant light.

I found it on EBAY, simply type in the words toile night light when searching.

It is the little things that make a house a home...don't you think?

Welcome Home

Penny

Geraniums

I love geraniums.  They remind me of window boxes in France.

I filled some of my planters on our front porch with red geraniums and small white and blue trailing flowers.

Some good news about the Potager.  It stopped raining and I have filled two of the raised beds with the top soil.  Mr. Comforts of Home is finishing building the other two raised beds even as I type this!

What is your favorite garden flower?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Just Hanging Around

I am just hanging around waiting for the rain to stop so I can start working in my garden.

(picture of some of my roses hanging to dry)

What are you doing today?  Is it raining?  Is the sun shining?

Welcome Home,

Penny

Agastache 'Golden Jubilee' for Foliage and Flowers

Before the lavender blooms steal the show, the fresh gold leaves of Agastache 'Golden Jubliee' shine in the garden. Plant it beside burgundy foliage, such as crepe myrtle 'White Chocolate' and the display is stellar. The intensity of foliage color for both plants is more intense in spring.

The agastache foliage also provides a great backdrop for the spring-blooming salvias—'May Night', 'Marcus', 'Rose Queen' or 'Caradonna'—as well as with allium 'Purple Sensation'.

In summer, the bottlebrush blooms of 'Golden Jubilee' complement other shapes, such as the blue globe thistle (echinops 'Ritro') or the annual spider flower (cleome). I like to mix Jubilee with different agastache varieties, including 'Salmon and Pink', 'Summer Sky' and 'Heather Queen'.

Jubilee is an agastache for cooler climates, rated for zones 5 through 9 and is not as sensitive to wet winters as other varieties. The narrow size of 18-24 inches wide can fit into tight spaces in the garden. The height varies between 24-36 inches. Agastache 'Golden Jubilee' can be grown from seeds, but I haven't noticed any seedlings and I didn't collect seeds last fall.

I count on agastache for deer and rabbit resistance as well as low water and low maintenance requirements. In my garden, agastache ranks high as a reliable perennial with a long bloom season.

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.

Out of this world gorgeous photography from Gemma Comas

Not much needs to be said here - Gemma's eye is a gift to us all.







I love her flower shots

Check out more on her site, gemmacomas.com

Favorite images from my favorite blogs

Just another installment of "Favorite Images from my Favorite Blogs," and, as usual, chock full of gorgeous eye candy.

In no particular order -

Blu Label Bungalow
My favorite part of this image - the closet. One day - one day.


Organized shelves like these make me swoon.

Check out more at Blu Label Bungalow.

These dreamy images are from Mochatini.
What a great way to dine.




Last but not least, Katy Elliot's blog

I can't wait until I have a living room big enough that I can actually but a table behind my couch.


See more at Katy Elliott.

Create your own candles

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity by Lumnique to test out their "build your own candle" site and report my results to you guys. It was easy and fun, and I took screenshots of the process. You can click on each image for a large, easier to read view.

First, you choose your "intention" for your candle or gift candle. I chose "Courage" since I've been needing some with starting my own web design company and I've been without the security of a corporate paycheck. Other intentions include, "A Harmonious Home," "Passion," "Love," "Healing," "Good Luck," etc.

Then, you pick out of several colors - I was torn between gray and dove, but Dove matches my decor a bit better.

Lastly, you chose the fragrance. They have many fragrances categorized by three scent families - "citrus/fruit," "floral/aromatherapy," and "Nature/SpiceCuisine." Since I like florals and soft, clean scents, I chose "Almond Blossom."

The candle comes with a small booklet explaining your selections in a little more detail, or you can write a personalized gift message.

I was excited when it arrived. It comes in a lovely box which I'll be repurposing to organize some craft supplies.



It is pretty much as I expected. The color is accurate; the candle is actually larger than I thought, and has two wicks. The smell is perfect for me as it's light and delicate. All in all, I think this is a nice "personalized" touch for the home. The scent I chose is best for a bedroom or bathroom, as it's very calming. I'd be interested in trying out one of the spice/cuisine scents to test out in the kitchen.

If you're interested in buying a candle or checking out the customization process, go to lumnique.com. The site is very user friendly. I'd be interested to hear what scent/color combinations you guys pick and how they turn out!