Designing a Winter Garden

I have always cut my echinacea down to the ground in the fall but now I see the beauty of leaving them untouched for the winter.

Piet Oudolf on Designing a Winter Garden Gardens in winter are typically deemed dormant, but Piet Oudolf believes that they shouldn’t be. Mr. Oudolf, who is Dutch, is the leading exemplar of the new Perennials Landscape Movement, which holds that plants should be chosen for shape and texture more than for color. See his SlideShow via NYTimes

One of Mr. Oudolf’s ideas is that a garden should be designed to have a life throughout the year, not just in the spring and summer. “The garden in winter is an emotional experience,” he said. “You think in terms of decay and disappearing and coming back. You feel the life cycle of nature."

"If you make a four-season garden you have to learn to accept decay and see the beauty of it. It’s about the texture and shape, the seed heads and the skeletons. So instead of using the scissors you use your eyes," said Mr. Oudolf.

Happy Friday

There is still plenty of time left in the day to try and get everything done all by yourself so you can have a great weekend.

Antique Milk Glass Hen on a Nest

This is a miniature Hen on a Nest that sits on my windowsill over the sink. Did you know that genuine milk glass has an orange peel color when you hold it up to the light? The sun was shining through this piece when I took the photograph. 

I am a good war chicken

I eat little and produce a lot

Je suis une brave poule de guerre

Je mange peu et produis beaucoup

Artist: G. Douanne, 1917 or 1918

Paris: Union Française; Comité National de Prévoyance et d'Economies. I saved this poster from World War I to go with my own little chicken.

Phoebe Howard - East Hampton Interior Design

Take a little break and view 50 photos featuring Phoebe Howard's lovely interiors in an East Hampton house.

Great Food Themed Posters of the Great War

I copied a few posters from The U.S. Food Administration to illustrate some of the "Great Posters of the Great War" Click on the link if you are interested in the title, artist, date, etc. I think they are still very timely even though they are almost 100 years old, don't you?

Greetings from Webster

Can you tell that the Wonder Dog is feeling better by his expression of total contentment while lounging on my bed this morning? I love the way he arranges the pillows just the way he wants them before settling in. He has one more week of pills to make sure whatever he had is gone forever. The fur is starting to grow back on the top of his paw and he really is acting like his old self again. I'm thrilled as you can well imagine. He send his best regards to his fan club.

Button Hearts

Button Hearts This is a pretty hanging Valentine heart beautifully crafted using mother of pearl buttons strung with wire. Why not go to your button drawer and see if you have enough of your own to make one of these yourself. Let me know if you do. Sometimes I buy garments at rummage and garage sales just for the buttons. 

Two Perfect Swans

This is one of the most beautiful photos of swans I have ever seen. ©Anna Frimodig via Flickr