Eastern infatuation Part I...

On Friday morning, as I strolled past one of my favourite local second-hand shops, Granny's Attic, something in the window display caught my eye...

It couldn't be...? Surely, it couldn't be one of those lovely - I think - traditional Vietnamese or Chinese (?) bamboo rice storage jars (or perhaps copies of) that I have been admiring in some blogs and oriental-themed shops for some time. Admired their beauty and gasped at the normal £ 60- 90 price tag, that is... 

Feeling rather pleased to have finished a large assignment in the early hours of that very morning, I thought this £ 5 (!!) bargain would be a splendid reward...!

  

And so it was that this second-hand find gave birth to a whole new blog post from our front room, where my desire to surround myself with warm, spicy colours and a more gold-shimmering palette has been given free reign...

The second photo in the quartet above is of a basket (also seen in the mirror in the very first photo in this post) on the wall above the sofa, opposite the fire place .

(The original red tassel of this ceiling lamp has been exchanged for a 

window decoration from the Scandinavian oriental-inspired store Indiska.) 

From the mantelpiece hangs a chain with, among other things, a small Buddha. The very same little Buddha featured in a display I made a few years back, from which a photo was used to decorate some candles. Yes, well spotted, there is one of them, in front of the fire place, on a cast iron candle stick I found in a reclamation yard a few months ago.

My wall paper curtain panels (will be shown in their entirety in the next blog post) next to a home-made lamp   from years ago, whose only claim to qualify for this otherwise oriental-inspired room was the colour of the apples...

The wall colour does appear a very strange shade in some of these photos... It is certainly not as screamingly yellow as it looks in the image below, or as apricot as in the one above. More of a soft, warm, matt yellow, and we sometimes call it the "winter room", as this is a room which feels warm, both in colour and, obviously, because of its wood-burning stove.

In one of the photos above is a hint of another second-hand bargain I came across the other day, and which will be the focus of my next blog post from the same room...

Wishing you all a gold-shimmering Sunday!

Helena

It's raining roses...

... or, perhaps, rather on the roses...

...by the overgrown, fluffy hedges and immaculate, tidy lawns of Corsham Court, where the other day I went for a stroll, thinking, rather naïvely, that I would have the time to get a few nice shots before the rain returned...

Now, as you may see, the rain played "you can run, but you can't hide" with me, and in the photo above, you may also spot someone playing hide and seek with the rain. Someone whose vanity made it run for cover as soon as the first rain drops threatened to spoil its spectacular feathery cape...

Corsham Court boasts my favourite combination of garden delights, i e both more formal areas, where the lawns look so perfect you immediately want to lie down and stroke them, together with straight paths and shaped topiaries, and also wilder areas, with typical English cottage garden character and a forest which tickles a desire to explore every corner and every tree, because surely there must be a fairy or two hiding in there...

On this particular day, I was almost alone in there, and could fantasize freely about this being my own garden, dream about what cushions to sew for this relaxing bench, think up the menu for a casual garden party, and admire the lovely brick wall and how well some of the green and blood red foliage stands out against the red brick...

Some of the paths were very mossy (deliberately?) and again 

looked very tactile and like a soft, inviting carpet...

I don't know if you can see it very well (click on the image if you want to enlarge it), but in the middle of the photo above is a rusty rose arbour (is that the right word?), which I would LOVE to copy in our garden. It is beautifully rounded and stands like a little house in the midst of a green jungle. Right, all I need now is to learn welding in a day or two. Or, ehm, perhaps keep dreaming rounded rusty dreams...

The old bath house tucked away in the forest... (above)

... and posing peacocks whose sense of style is unsurpassed... 

- even making sure it poses with the "right" colours in the background, 

matching its own to perfection...

Layers, layers, layers of fluffy green eye candy...

... and hello, another blue beauty coming to up for a chat...

This little green (and peacock blue) oasis is a five-minute walk from my door step, and yet I seem to come here much too seldom. Even in our own garden we can hear the tooting of the peacocks from over here, and often stumble upon one strolling down the High Street or resting in someone's front garden. 

Yes, we are truly blessed with an abundance of blue bliss and green garden glory here in Wiltshire and I am grateful to be able to enjoy it so close by!

All the best,

Helena

Ps. Claudia, I replied to you in the commentary field after my 

last post, but please get in touch via email if you want.

Roses are red...

...violets are blue...

I am overwhelmed, 

and would like to thank YOU!

OK, perhaps that is not exactly how the original poem goes. But after having asked you a general question in my last blog post about where you as readers draw the line for what is considered boasting or just considered sharing one's joy, I realised it may have sounded as if I was fishing for compliments... and I am overwhelmed with your kind and generous response! 

I have no words to describe how you filled me with both personal and "selfish" joy and moved me so much with your kind words, but also with a more general delight at how many wonderful, generous and positive ladies (and some men, yes, I know you are there too) inhabit the blog world and spread your love and light in a way that makes this world a wonderful place to be! OK, I know, some of you may feel I am going a little over the top here, but you know what... so be it. You moved me. Thank you!

One of my favourite times of the year has always been Midsummer, as this is a flower-packed and joyful (for most), festive season in my native Sweden. Since my boys started school, I can no longer "nip over" to Sweden to dance the Midsummer night away with the traditional floral wreath in my hair, and I do confess to missing that a great deal! 

So what to do? Well, with the rain - oh, the never-ever-ever ending rain? - keeping us captive, I did not attempt to copy the outdoor Midsummer traditions of my heritage, but modestly make a token rose wreath with some deep cerise (they look very red here) beauties from the garden. Some bolted lettuce made a nice companion in a small cup, and my lovely old (and rusty - hooray!) iron - a lovely gift from a dear friend - lent itself to an impromptu vase.

... and from these dark photos (taken in the middle of the day, but with the skies full of gloom and rainy doom), I think we need a quick look at some other rosy photos from some recent walks nearby...

Some lovely roses in front of the folly here in Corsham. Yes, this may look like an ancient ruin, but is the result of the land owners deciding in 1797 that they fancied a "Medieval" wall in their garden ( it does actually  contain some Medieval stone work)... Well, I suppose... why not? 

At the end of a row of  Weavers' cottages here in town, there is a lanky red rose bush offering its modest few branches of petal glory to passers-by. I love the shapes and mix of materials in view here. The stunning old stone walls, both the curved one and the house itself, the small roof tiles also bearing witness of their age, the shaped, fluffy and round green topiary, the small window panes - again, indicating that this is an old, old house -, it all just works so beautifully together, I think.

With my friends here from Sweden visiting for a week, you will not be surprised to hear that I "forced" them to go for a few scenic walks with me, one of which took us past this glorious house, which rendered appropriate and expected gasps of delight and accompanying camera clicks from my walking companions.

... and I doubt you will be surprised to hear that I let out a similar gasp of joy at the sight of... 

yes, you got it, a RUSTY wheelbarrow with FLOWERS planted inside. 

After all the walking and talking (yes, no surprise there either, lots of talking was involved!)...

... this chair looked particularly appealing for a nice rest 

just by a weeping willow, one of my favourite trees...

And last, but not least, the youngest of our guests (here with his father). Three months old and with smiles that could melt the entire North Pole in one go. And yes, very kissable feet!

Thank you, once again, for all your incredibly kind words after my last post, 

and for stopping by my little corner of the blog universe. 

I wish you a rose-tinted week!

Helena

Oh, and a small PS to the anonymous reader who mentioned that I should have written "primp", not "pimp" in my last post. I was trying to be a little playful with words and use "pimp" in the informal way it has been used more and more recently, as described in Wikipedia: "The verb "pimping" came up in the early 17th century. In the first years of the 21st century, a new meaning of the word has emerged in the form of a transitive verb pimp, which means "to decorate" or "to gussy up" (compare primp, especially in Scottish usage). This new definition was made popular by Pimp My Ride, an MTV television show. Although this new definition paid homage to hip-hop culture and its connection to street culture, it has now entered common, even mainstream commercial, use."

Pimping one's patio with purple...

Schhhhh... don't tell anyone...

... but this morning, after dropping the boys off at school, instead of returning to my computer, where work is still piled up, merciless and demanding, I took a right turn and drove to our nearby garden centre... 

With days and days of endless rain and gales, prettifying the patio has not really been a priority...

... but with lovely friends and family visiting this weekend...

... a modest attempt to "pimp" the patio with some colour...

... seemed like a good excuse to "skive" from work for an hour...

So there we are. No styling overkill or flower mania, 

only a few pots of pick-me-up purple, 

some delicious lavender for my little Buddha to dip his nose in...

... and now, time to dance my special anti-rain dance to keep the rain AWAY this weekend, 

so our guests can enjoy lovely Wiltshire at its best!

***

... and speaking of purple petals...

In the July/August issue of Wedding Flowers Magazine, 

one of my old pansy photos is used as an idea for small wedding favours.

Never in a million years could I have imagined, when I started blogging two and a half years ago, that I would today see some of my photos in print. However, I do have a little conundrum. Even though this is my private blog, I know some of my clients have found me through the blog, I therefore feel it might be useful to show when and where my work is published. At the same time, in doing so I find myself worrying that it may be seen as horribly show-offy and boastful, which is not an image I feel comfortable with. What do you think, where do you draw the line between allowing a blogger to be happy about and share his or her accomplishments as opposed to thinking it is a bit too much...?  

***

Looking out the window, I see that the rain has returned. Ah well, as the old Swedish saying goes: "It is good for the potatoes"... Whether that is true or not, I do not know, but at least I do not have to water my new purple plants tonight!

Wishing you sun, sun, sun, wherever you are!

Helena