Color Inspiration - Nature Inspired Palettes

I hope everyone is loving their holiday! I'm going to be random today and share some not so holiday photos, just because they're relaxing and we could all use a little bit less pressure this time of year!

So, my weakness when it comes to design is color. I'm a bit afraid of it and always lean towards white or soft neutrals. I know, however, that I have to take baby steps to walk the path to using rich, bold colors - so here's a baby step.

These palettes were sent to me by Olympic, who introduced a line partnered with the Audubon Society to raise awareness of the natural world, and to emphasize the importance of environmentally-conscious painting.

Here are the palettes. I've lettered them and would really like to hear which one is your favorite!

A. Tranquil


B. Splendor

C. Mysterious

D. Majestic

E. Harmony

F. Grandeur

G. Glorious

H. Brilliance

If I had to choose I'd pick E. Harmony. How about you?

2009: A Year In The Garden

January

Southerners exhibited their normal snow behavior. But, there were many days in the garden when the light was warm and fabulous.

February

I gave into the temptation and ordered more annual seeds. Fortunately, I was rewarded with spring, summer and fall blooming annuals.

March

The weather warmed up and I was back out in the garden. With help from The Musician, we cleaned up the gardens and refreshed the grit path in the cottage garden.

April

The happy hummingbirds returned. By April 12, I saw the first one and captured it on camera the next day.

May

While the Musician and I went to Paris and Monet's Garden in Giverny, the garden here at home burst into bloom with the poppies growing over four feet high!

June

Fall plantings of echinacea and monarda did not disappoint in a mass planting in the cottage garden.


July

Mid-summer brought drought, but agastache stayed alive and bloomed so well that I continued adding more varieties in the heat of the summer.

August

The Monarch butterfly migration brought these beauties to my garden where they laid eggs on the asclepias and sipped nectar from blooms throughout the garden.

September

Common hardy mums created a big display in the cottage garden. I have also been testing one out in the deer resistant garden and have had great success with no munching of the foliage so far this fall and winter.

October

Annuals sown from seeds continued to reward me with autumn blooms throughout October. By then, I declared both marigolds and zinnias (Benary Giant) to be deer resistant - at least for 2008! I did a lot of rearranging to combine perennials into better companion color schemes.

November

My Encore® Azaleas bloomed again and continued blooming into December, brightening up the cottage garden when little else was still in bloom. I sowed annuals seeds and planted allium bulbs for the 2010 growing season; added edging to the outer gardens and cleared out old spaces for new gardens.

December

Torrential rains washed away seeds as well as compost and gravel that we added in the fall. I continued to collect seeds from gaillardia and echinacea. The year is ending with many days of 20°F low temperatures, hard freezes and more torrential rains and wind. Already, winter is taking a toll on the garden. I was finally able to venture out today for a stroll to check on the conditions as I've been under the weather for several weeks. There will definitely be casualties from the weather, but the majority of perennials look well and I can see tiny green sprouts of poppies, larkspur, cornflowers, nigella, echinacea and gaillardia. All-in-all, it was a good year.

2010 is a few days away and I look forward to seeing all the garden surprises next year.



Words and photos by Freda Cameron; 2009

Have a wonderful Holiday and holiday inspiration

I want to wish you all a really wonderful holiday and I hope you get to spend time and laughs with you loved ones! On Monday I'll be leaving for Spain to see my boyfriend, Chris, where I'll be staying for a month, a week of which I'll be in Morocco. I will do my best to update you with photos! Thank you all so much for your ongoing support and again, have a great holiday!

Love all the reds!
via Room Envy

What do you think of the post-it note Christmas tree? You could write sweet messages on them!



via Living Etc.

This mantle is GORGEOUS!


What a great room to curl up with your honey on Christmas Eve!
via BHG


via BHG via Decorpad

And the winner of the All Modern carafe is...

Siobhán! Congrats to you!

Thanks to all for entering. Siobhán, please email me at ashley@decorologyblog.com with your shipping address and a telephone number for the shipping company.

The Myth About Winter Daphne Is True

A year ago, I was so proud of my success in growing winter daphne. She started blooming in December and kept on going through February. She was gorgeous. She was fragrant. Her elegant limbs were overloaded with beautiful, pink blooms. She was only three years old.

There is a gardener's myth that says that if your winter daphne is blooming beautifully, do not tell other gardeners. Whatever you do, don't invite another gardener over to see your daphne. She will succumb to what is known as "Daphne Death."

On a beautiful day this summer, I noticed that my Daphne was her beautiful evergreen self, gently nestled beside her shady companion, sweet bay magnolia. Perfection! She was so happy. I started thinking about planting another daphne to keep her company this winter. Daphne is such an easy keeper. She doesn't want extra water or food. Daphne is evergreen and deer resistant, important attributes for my fragrance garden.

That same summer day, I got an email from an expert on gardening. It was The Grumpy Gardener (Southern Living Magazine) asking if he could come visit my deer resistant flower garden.

A few days later, I was on the phone with Grumpy as I walked around the garden telling him what would be in bloom for his upcoming visit. Then, I saw HER. I told Grumpy what was happening.

I tried to stifle my dismay, disappointment and outright pain. I didn't want to cry on the phone. Daphne was literally shriveling up before my eyes.

By the time Grumpy arrived in mid-July, poor little daphne was brown. She was dead. The myth is true.

If you decide to grow a beautiful, sweet daphne odora, please don't tell another gardener. Skip past her when you have visitors. Don't blog about her and don't post pictures of her. She wants to be ignored!

Words and photo by Freda Cameron

Favorite images from my favorite blogs

A little eye candy for you. Hang in there - the holiday is almost here!

via Grey Likes Weddings

The above image=heaven
via Souvenirs of a Girl

via My Romantic Home

This bed is soooo pretty.

via Homebug

This actually really makes me yearn for summer evenings.
via A Fanciful Twist

A tour of my Brownstone studio apartment

I was really flattered when Marcela of Deco and Design asked me for a little house tour. Unfortunately since I am currently "without house," I had to send her photos from a very cute studio apartment I lived in a couple of years ago. It was on the ground floor of a brownstone in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. I was even lucky enough to have my own little backyard. When I signed the lease on this apartment is when I really started to get interested in interior design. I had no idea how to decorate a studio and finally didn't have any roommates and could decorate how I wanted. Most of my furnishings are hand-me-down or cheap finds, as my entire budget went to rent on the place. So, really, this apartment was my first stab at decorating.

You can read her post on my apartment here.
MOSTRÁ TU CASA - LA CASA DE ASHLEY


The apartment had a lot of charming little built-ins, like the pantry above - and the desk and shelves below


The apartment did have a separate eat-in kitchen, which was really nice.


I was always changing things around as you can tell

This is the cooking area. The counter had been covered in a hideous, old, stained yellow laminate, so I went and bought some cheap textured drawer liner and resurfaced the counter for less than $14. It help up surprisingly well. No air bubbles or leaking into the seams or anything.


A non-working fireplace in my living room/bedroom.

I loved the shutters, hardwood floors, and tin ceiling.

Sorry another blurry shot - this cupboard was also built-in.

So, I know it's not much, but I love looking back to it!