Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for garden

Green & White

May 18, 2019 at 10:33 am by Claudia

It blows my mind that the violets that have self-seeded in this flower bed are all white, when, not 3 feet away, there are scads of purple violets. As you can see, I have sweet woodruff growing in this bed and those flowers are white as well. The Solomon’s Seal has little white flowers. Everything else is green with no flowers yet. It’s as if the violets knew that there was an unofficial green and white color scheme here and purple violets were barred from the garden bed.

Ain’t nature grand?

More of the ferns that have also self-seeded here in the bed. One of my readers told me the name of this fern last year and darned if I can remember! That’s Solomon’s Seal next to them.

Love the quilted leaves of this Abiqua Drinking Gourd Hosta that I planted last year in the shade bed. I just now noticed that green bug. I didn’t see it when I took the picture.

Gosh, you just can’t beat hostas. We have so many of them here – a couple of them were here when we moved in, but the rest have been added over the past 13 years. So many varieties. I may have to buy a couple more – but they’ll have to go here in this shade bed. The big garden bed is now too exposed to the sun. I made the mistake of planting one there last year and I quickly realized it was a mistake and moved it over to this bed.

Today is gloriously sunny and we’re finally going to see temps in the 70s. Don refused to let me mow today so he was out there mowing rather early this morning. He’s going to shoot portraits for the rest of the day. I guess I’ll read and sit on the porch. I cleaned the bathroom yesterday and did lots of  laundry. Each day I can tackle more, but I still have to be careful with my back.

At least I’m no longer sleeping in my chair, which I had to do for a couple of nights!

Enjoy your day.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: flowers, garden 23 Comments

Doves, Violets & A Gift

May 17, 2019 at 9:51 am by Claudia

I finally remembered to bring the doves, who were living in the office, outside to their seasonal home on the porch. I love these beauties.

And I carefully walked around the gardens and took some photos yesterday, which I’ll share soon. Here, you see the white violets that have self-seeded their way into my garden bed.

It’s amazing how much is revealed via the camera lens. You barely see the purple marks with the naked eye.

The other day, I got a package in the mail from my friend Barbara, who lives in Alberta, Canada. That’s two packages from Alberta this week! Barbara is a miniature lover and she sent me a package with a Paris theme. Sigh of happiness.

Charming canisters.

Some window boxes.

Some Eiffel Tower charms which can be transformed into a decorative element in one or more of the dollhouses, a black and white print of the Eiffel Tower, and a Paris pillow.

And this gorgeous console table. Isn’t it lovely?

Oh, I forgot – there’s a little charm that can be made into a mirror, as well! Forgot to take a picture.

Thank you so much, Barbara. I love every little thing. The package arrived on a day when my back was quite painful and the reveal of its contents put a big old smile on my face!

I am blessed with friends that I have met via this blog. I never take it for granted.

I’ve not seen many rabbits this year – only one. And I’m not sure if the groundhog I saw long ago was Henry, which makes me worry that he’s no longer with us. I guess I’ll have to wait and watch. We see a guy who travels here from the shed next door. We’ve named him Joe, but he could be Nigel from last year. Who knows? But Henry? Henry, if you’re here, reveal yourself, please. Don and Claudia are worried about you.

Still being careful in my movements, which is getting tiresome. But better safe than sorry!

Happy Friday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden, gifts, miniatures 18 Comments

Rain, Reading & Rest

May 14, 2019 at 9:37 am by Claudia

And so it continues. Yesterday afternoon, I stood up from my chair, thrust the phone between the slats of the blinds, and took this picture.

Rain, rain, go away. You won. Most days this spring have been rainy. Our well is full. Please move on.

Now.

It’s actually not raining at the moment, but it will start up again this afternoon.

One comfort: our cold temperatures will move on tomorrow. This is the last day of this nonsense. Our neighbors who live at higher elevations have woken up to snow for the past two days. So, I’ll only complain a little bit. I’ll be quite happy to see somewhat higher temperatures and I’ll be even happier when I can move around enough to brave the outside and check in on the gardens.

As Don said this morning, “Well, if you have to be resting your back, it might as well be on a rainy day.” He’s right.

More forget-me-nots appearing hither and yon. This time, between the pavers on the funky patio. One of my favorite things about gardening is the magic of self-seeders. Coneflowers are that way – for years, they have appeared in unexpected places on the property. The same with yarrow, which self-seeded from the big garden bed (and subsequently disappeared from that bed) to the little patch where I plant my seeds. For the past two years, they have self-seeded in the corral. Big patches of them! I love that. So, now I mow around them, letting them grow and flower.

This year, the forget-me-nots have moved to surprising places; the above-mentioned pavers, the gravel, the little hill that leads to the corral, and there are several in the memorial garden – fitting, I think. It’s as if they know where to go.

I’m reading several books at the moment; continuing with Paris in Winter,  adding in some Beverley Nichols books that I had waiting for me on the shelf. Have you ever read Beverley Nichols? He wrote the most delightful books about gardening in England. They were written in the thirties and forties. Nichols was a prolific author; writing fiction, non-fiction, children’s stories, plays – he counted Noel Coward among his friends – and had a flat in London along with a country house. The first country house was a thatched cottage. He eventually wrote about three different country cottages.  The first in the Allways (the fictional name for his cottage) trilogy is Down the Garden Path. The next – which I’ve just started – is A Thatched Roof.  

I should be living in England, you know. I’ve always thought that. If not England, then Paris, please. Both Don and I are about as British (ancestry-wise) as you can get and both of us started our careers acting in British plays. Don excels at British farces, especially the plays of Alan Ayckbourn; I was very good at Noel Coward. Both of use just knew in our bones how to do those pieces. I could do a cracker-jack of a British accent when I was in junior high school.

Let’s face it, we’re both Anglophiles.

Anyway, another day of back rest and rain. So books to read and some hot chocolate should come in handy.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: books, flowers, garden, rain, reading 39 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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