garden rooms

Nasturtium

The common name for this flower literally means nose twister. How odd, I have never heard it called by that name. There are about 80 species of annual & perennial Nasturtium. The seeds are large enough for little hands to plant and a great choice for first time gardeners. The plants form a low bush or can be trailing to as long as 3 feet. The showy colored flowers have rounded petals and the leaves are the shape of circles. The colors range from crimson, red, orange, yellow to cream. The flowers can also be used in salads and have a bit of a peppery taste, similar to watercress. I have a little red Nasturtium in my kitchen garden and it definitely makes the row it's in a little happier looking.



Info & some images from wikipedia, gardenguides and sally's place.

A little bit of Garden

I love these photographs and how creative the ideas are.
~ Bringing a little bit of the garden inside. I hope you enjoy them too, images from Cote Ouest.

Rituals

It's that time of year again, when school begins. We've been going through the process of school shopping, organizing a space to study at and getting into the swing of our individual routines. In the meantime, these photographs inspired & centered me as I flipped through the pages of Weekend magazine and my favorite French Cote magazines. I'm looking forward to the little things we do this time of year and having a routine again.

Country Gardens

The first photograph is of a 17th century Chartreuse in Perigord France. The owner first saw this when he was ten years old and loved the way the house was at home on the land. The second photograph is of a cottage in Arnhem, Netherlands. An artist occupies this 2 story wooden structure and has lovingly restored the interior & garden. I loved the striped chairs sitting in the garden. The last photograph is in Ibiza, Spain. I love the casual way this outdoor room is put together. I would design an outdoor room for my oldest daughter like this... this is a room she would love. Happy birthday Kate!


Stories & images from Country Interiors by Taschen.

Modern Natural

These photographs from Elle Decor have a lovely feel of Modern Natural to me. I love the wood decking and lines of the furniture. The photograph of the dog on the vintage campaign day bed has a timeless quality to it as well. Metal furniture from bebitalia and wood furniture from habitat.

August

The following pictures are all very different and yet they all appealed to me today. The first pic is from Domino mag this month. It's the country home of Gap's newly appointed V.P. of design, Patrick Robinson. His house is actually behind the silo and swings, I love how random the playstructure looks sitting next to the enormous silo. The second pic is from Elle Decor mag and is of London's Barbican, the stylist used scuptural furniture and exotic plants to complete this leasure garden. The last pic is from H & G. I really like the colors in this photograph, the plant palettes remind me of Autumn. Enjoy!

Le Moulin Bregeon

An acquaintance sent me a wonderful email with photographs and an article of her stay at a Elegant Inn
located in The Loire River Valley. Le Moulin Bregeon is an 18th century water mill that has been transformed into 5 fabulous rooms for guests on 20 acres of gardens, streams, trails & bike paths. They have an in-house chef that creates exquisite meals from the Inn's organic gardens, streams and fowl from Moulin's own flock. The owner, Jonathan Robinson is an American Artist from Chicago. He is involved in the preservation of traditional architecture in France. Thanks Kathleen for the introduction and photographs, I will definitely consider visiting this enchanting place.

Nature

I love how natural these photographs look. I hope you enjoy them too, images from cote quest.

A Tailored Garden

This month's Domino has photographs and an article about Oscar de al Renta in his garden. He tells Domino that he's been gardening longer that he's been designing gowns. On his property in Connecticut, he's growing an ornamental flower garden as well as a kitchen garden, the flowers compliment the vegetables. He has divided the garden into four parts with gravel paths that connect the rooms. I planted a garden with four rooms similar to de la Renta's for a client several years ago. The design I based that garden on is from a famous Portuguese garden. The rooms in the garden each represent an element. images from domino.

Western Sword Ferns

Polystichum Munitum or western sword fern is a native flora to North Amercia. You can find it growing in the wild as far north as southeast Alaska and down the Pacific coast to southern California. It also can be found as far east as British Columbia. Lately, I've seen it in every nursery, garden center and floral shop I've been too. I think it's popular again and I can understand why. It's a hardy plant with individual fronds that live for 1.5 years to 2.5 years. Sword ferns can survive occassional dry periods but prefer cool, moist weather and grow best in well drained soil. They make an excellent addition to any garden or cut flower arrangement. Images & some info from wikipedia.