Little White Jug

Here I am, almost one year to the day since my last post. How could so much time have passed? A longer break than I anticipated, but here I am feeling inspired once again and raring to go.

I thought I would mark the occasion with a blog about my little white Lord Nelson Pottery jug from England.  This jug is very special to me because it was a gift from my lovely friend S.  She and I were on an antiquing trip in Almonte, Ontario and S. found this jug at one of the shops, fell in love with it, bought it and took it home. Some time later, she surprised me by giving it to me, not because she did not love it anymore, but because she knew how much I loved it.  Now that, is a special friend.

I picked the flowers this morning from my garden. Alliums from the bulbs that I planted last fall.

 
Siberian irises, which I just love. These are a dark blue purple and the clumps that they form are full of spiky thin green leaves. They don't last long but their slender elegance makes them a favourite of mine.

And last, but not least, in this lovely trio is a perennial bachelor button, more larger and showier than the annual variety.  This year, mine are much larger than I have ever seen them grow in my garden. Their spiky spheres are remarkable.

Put all three together and they are even more beautiful.  Have a look and see what you think...

I think they work so well in contrast with the simplicity of my little white jug.  I also think that I will continue to make other flower arrangements in this jug and share them here so you can see just how versatile this wonderful receptacle is. I am willing to bet that the mood of the arrangement will change with the flowers. Time will tell.

Springtime Tea

 

Who could have known that the day I chose to have a clothes swap and tea would be the day we woke up to a snowstorm with blustery winds to create whiteout conditions?

 

 

But with all the baking ready to be consumed, there was nothing for it but to forge ahead. It was rather ironic that I had picked a yellow and green "spring" theme!

 

With vanilla cake Lemon Queens filled with freshly made lemon curd, as well as

 

 

lemon tarts, amond crescents and two types of shortbread: the soft kind with piped yellow icing flowers and traditional Scottish shortbread.

 

 

We ignored the snowy conditions outside, making pot after pot of tea. After all, there's nothing like a treat-filled tea to raise the spirits!   

Spring Comes for Tea

February's over, which means it's time to create the March window display for my favourite tea shop.

 

So with the theme of spring arriving, and nature showing signs of coming back to life, I chose teapots, cups and bowls in shades of brown, like the earth, and robin egg blue.

With twig and moss balls, tree bark, and branches to add a touch of woodland...

and speckled eggs dotted about here and there.

I can't wait for nature, the real one outside, to catch up!

It's Official!

My gardening clogs are out. You know what that means... gardening season is officially here!

Spring Arrangement

After visiting the Ikebana exhibition on the weekend, I thought I would create an arrangement of my own. I cut magnolia branches from the garden. Hopefully, the buds will open indoors for pretty pink blooms.

Welcome Spring!

When it is the first day of spring, and there is still lots of snow on the ground, what else can you do than go with the flow... and make the best of it!

Sambucus in Spring

The beautiful buds of the sambucus, otherwise known as elder or elderberry.


In Europe, the flowers that this plant produces are used to make elderflower cordial. Right now the flowers are still tight buds, but in time they will open to create a cluster of small white flowers not unlike Queen Anne's lace.


The beautiful lacey leaves of this plant make it a Japanese maple look-alike, especially the Blace Lace variety, shown here.

Narcissi

Ah narcissi, my favorite in the Amaryllis family, and otherwise known by its common English name: daffodil.


In the West, the flower is said to symolize vanity, after the youth in Greek mythology who gazed at his reflection in a pool of water, resulting in a most unfortunate outcome. And maybe a little vanity is understandable for a flower as lovely as a narcissus. In the east, the flower is associated with wealth and good fortune.


For me, the narcissi is synonymous with spring, and Easter and the return of warmth in our days. Narcissi has so many different varities, some with lovely apricot centres and others with lots of ruffles... all of them beautiful.

Pussy Willows

What says spring earlier than pussy willows cut from the garden and brought indoors? Apart from the snowdrops, these welcome buds are among the first visitors to my garden each spring.

Ice Cascade

An icy waterfall cascading down a rockface in Gatineau Park is a visual representation of the effects of the warmth of sunny days and the cold of the nights. It is a creation of nature, an ever-changing sculpture of frozen water. A balance of opposites, of yin and yang...


ebb and flow...


hot and cold...


hard and soft...


and the changing states of liquid and solid.

One Month to Go

Spring, this year, is March 24th ... that means that as of today, that most welcome of seasons is only one month away!

I find that fact encouraging as I contemplate the snowbanks that line the road, and navigate the uncleared snow in my path as I walk along.

Better to let my thoughts drift to my garden, turning over the possibilities ... what new varieties should I grow, just what should be done with the backyard now that we have a tall fence, how best to resurrect my Zen garden, and just where can I squeeze in some more rose bushes?

Fall Bulbs, Spring Flowers

How incredible that these small bulbs, only an inch wide, will become 16-inch tall stems of double narcissus with beautiful ruffly petals in sunny yellow, cream and peach. An awe-inspiring miracle in each tiny bulb.

If you haven't yet planted any spring bulbs, there is still time. A half an hour spent planting now will bring weeks of beauty to enjoy in the spring.

A Room with a View

With rain in the forecast for the overseeable future, isn't it nice to look out the window at magnolias in full bloom? This photo was taken through my son's bedroom window. I wonder whether most homeowners think about what they will see when they look out their windows? Does that figure into their gardening plans as they decide what to plant where? Perhaps every window should have some sort of flowering bush, vine or tree nearby to gaze upon in inclement weather.

Now there's an angle for a gardening book that might not have already been used. Gardening from the Inside Out: Creating Views from Your Windows.

The Lightness of Spring

Sunny daffodils, in a pot the colour of a robin's egg, provide a simple display... bright and cheerful, yet with the lightness of spring.

Breathe and Grow

The crocuses are up. Time to clear away the leaves from the flower beds to let the spring bulbs breathe and grow.

Whispers of Spring

Long before the yellow stars of forsythia, the sweet scent of lilac or apple blossom clouds, pussy willows whisper of spring.

Cut and gathered into bunches tied with ribbon, they make a lovely way to proffer a taste of spring. Why not surprise someone with a bunch today?

Spring Is Coming!

Spring is coming! How do I know?

I have had my first robin sighting.
The cardinal in our backyard tree serenades us at dawn and dusk.
The pussy willows in the garden are budding.
I've changed from my winter boots into wellies.
The garden's snow islands have almost disappeared.

Blossoming Spring

Just when you're tired of winter, along comes a flower show like the one at Algonquin College to lift your spirits. Such beautiful blooms.

Is this Winter?

Does this look like winter in January in the Great White North? This was the view out our living room window today. All the snow has melted except for the odd tiny snow island in a sea of green lawn. Framed by these perky salmon-coloured geraniums, the view looks like a spring day in April. One could be forgiven for expecting the tips of tulips to be poking through the soil. Does this mean an early spring? More likely it's just a little blip and winter will be back with a venenge, but it's nice to dream...

Lavender Water

What a beautiful colour this lavender water turned out to be. Lavender has been used throughout the centuries for cleaning and purifying, as anyone who has ever smelled the fresh scent of the blooms would be able to guess. This lavender water was made from this season’s first blooms. To learn a simple way of making lavender water, you can use the same method as I described in my Rose Water post of May 30, 2010. Besides all the lovely things you can do with the water, I’d want to make it just because it's so decorative when poured into a pretty container. But just to review, you can also use it to spray on linens, sheets, curtains, clothes or anything else you'd like to be ever so-lightly scented. Put into a spray bottle you can mist your hair with it or your face to refresh on a hot summer's day. Or wash your face in it at the end of a long day to cleanse and restore your spirits. The uses of lavender are endless. Stay tuned for more ideas over the coming days!