Hot summer days and French inspirations ~

It has gotten hot. Up until now the early summer months have been rather temperate, but the heat has arrived and will be with us for quite a while. Working in the garden has become more of a chore than a pleasure and requires some planning. I am taking my morning walk earlier so I can get something accomplished outside before the heat of the day sets in.

This leaves a lot of time spent inside of the house and the need to find creative ways to spend the hot indoor afternoons. One of the most fun ways to do this is to change up things, especially in the kitchen, a room I spend so much time in. 

I ordered this tiered stand online a couple of years ago, when it came it was much, much larger than I had expected, it takes quite a bit of space and a lot to fill it so I don't use it very often. The good thing is that it comes apart for storage. 

This time I decided to fill it with all of the various oils and vinegars I have accumulated for making salad dressings. There is something about the beauty of the ordinary that almost makes it artful.

Dressed up with a couple of old doily's, a few vintage white plates, some potted herbs, fresh lemons from my trees, tea towels and my Mother's cruet.

My inspiration for this was something I read about gift suggestions for a traveler to bring home from Paris, all purchased from Monoprix (click to read the article). ordinary french things, all very reasonably priced, but when thoughtfully put together made quit charming.

Although these items are not from Paris the various packaging makes them visually appealing, and fits one of the prime requirement for displaying collections - together. Perhaps Billy Baldwin would be pleased, but even more important I am.

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The flowers you see to the side are the last of my Oakleaf hydrangeas, slowly they are turning color on the bush and now are a lovely chartreuse and red. I almost prefer this to the white color of them when they first bloom.

Thank you for visiting have a happy day.

Adrienne

Miss Twiggley ~

Miss Twiggley on the mantle

Cats have a real talent for appearing in a spot that seems to highlight their beauty.

Miss Twiggley has done just this when she allowed me to take a picture of her beautifully posed in a setting that she seems made for. Of course there are the other times when she is flopped over on her back, tummy exposed, looking like a furry dust mop...but she really seems to prefer elegance.

Have a happy day.

Adrienne

Oak Leaf Hydrangeas ~

When I first started gardening here at Rose Arbors I had great success with hydrangeas, but in recent years with the drastic change in weather and our increasingly hot climate that has changed. Oh yes, they still bloom but not with the lushness of prior times. There is however one wonderful exception, this Oak Leaf Hydrangea that takes pride of place under an avocado tree in the front garden

The flowers are creamy white, elongated and sweetly fragrant, like all hydrangeas they persist on the bush to enjoy for several weeks. 

It does not repeat bloom but it does put on a nice show in the fall when the foliage turns red. I will prune it back severely in late winter.

For some reason until last year I made no attempt to cut the flowers, what a shame, because once I did so I found that they made wonderful long-lasting fragrant fresh bouquets and like all hydrangeas, make great dried flowers, retaining most of their creamy white color.

I have enjoyed these so much and I hope that by sharing them with you you might want to give Oak Leaf Hydrangeas a try in your garden, I don't think they will disappoint you.

Thank you for visiting.

Adrienne