And then there was the sad tale of the paper whites, heart-breaking but whattayagonnado?
Just as they were reaching their glory with tons more blooms than you see above, my very best and dearest friend in the world who is here every single week came in asking what that horrendous smell was and I couldn’t imagine what he was talking about and he pushed his nose into the paper whites and consequently had such a horrendous allergic reaction he was sick for days and had to go to the doctor for some pretty heavy duty medicine. I felt so awful, and, as I carried all of my paper whites out onto the deck where I can at least sort of see them from my work table here, I was absolutely bereft. I had to open up all the windows in the house and air it out for a day or two before it was safe for him to come back, and I thought what a cruel twist of fate it was that for one person, whom I love dearly, but is only here once a week, I wouldn’t be able to have my beloved paper whites in my studio at all. I’ve been so depressed by it all. I know in the whole scheme of things this is peanuts, but it has been important to me for nearly 40 years. Has anyone out there experienced this or have any suggestions?
Besides all of the above (and I got a little video camera so I can do a walkabout inside and out and show you more of the cottage and garden, as soon as I figure out how to work it. I’m still confused by the remote control. I admit it, I’m a luddite living in an electronic digital world and sometimes just dog-paddling in the stream of all of this technology!), I took one look around and got “that look” in my eyes. The guys who helped me said, “Oh no, what is she thinking up now?” I looked at them and said, (My poor dear proper mother is turning over in her grave as I write this.) “I think I’d like the ceiling painted a, oh, yes, that’s it! A pistachio green!” (There are bits of green in the design in the kitchen too and it matches.) And they looked at me and said, “But it’s all one… oh you’re kidding (I nodded No…) you want the whole ceiling in both rooms painted pistachio green? I glowed from ear to ear with childlike delight, and the ceilings that were all one were painted green ANDDDD it was Christmas time so as lights were aplenty and on sale cheap it was getting so late, I got lots of lights. My Christmas tree glowed a gorgeous blue, and I had — wait for it — a mega-ton of tiny green Christmas lights strung all around the ceiling in the kitchen and cozy room. It is so gorgeous, I just cannot tell you, glowing against the soft green ceiling, and they will stay up all the time. The Christmas tree is gone but the magic is still here. I lay curled up at night with the pugs and all the lights out and the room is aglow with a beautiful sea of twinkling green and it just leaves me breathless.
So now, while I wait for the lights and the flooring to come, I am sitting here in a sea of garden catalogs and books and planning the spring seed order. Oh, what fun! There were be plenty of vegetables, lots of herbs and tons of flowers. I am primarily an heirloom, cottage garden gardener, but this one will be growing in a very unusual arty setting which is ONLY getting started! I look and scrounge around and hunt out things from junk places, sides of the road, and just about anywhere for old, worn down, and charming things to put in the garden and it will definitely be an artist’s garden. These are some of the “bones” of the garden which you won’t be able to appreciate until mid-summer when the garden is lush with things growing in wild abandon. I’ll show you a few things and then better let you be lest you nod off and fall into your computer somewhere along the line…
The pink picket fence garden which needs to be a shade garden and will be worked on in a vast planting with things like hostas, bleeding hearts in pink and white and all manner of things. Those big pots have a beautiful pink mandevilla in both, light pink, not in bloom when I took these pictures mid November. Mandevilla is perennial here so they will come back and right now there are pots of daffodil bulbs sprouting on either side…
Albert, our mascot for “Loop-de-Loop Productions.” He hangs from
a white plastic chain and flys through the air. (Well, I mean you HAVE
to have a fish in a garden with a Magic Ship towering over the whole
thing.)
The Magic Ship which I’m sure most of you have seen before. It came with the house but was in ghastly shape. Greying, rotted boards, things falling apart. Of course I had it restored by the above-mentioned fellas of mine, and once all restored and the staircase built up to it they said, (They didn’t know me well then. They soon got to!), “Do you want to paint it?” “Oh Yea.” What color?” Ahem. “Pink, purple and orange.” After they nearly fell off the ship in shock, realized I was serious, and got to painting it they started having great fun. Since they’ve gotten to know me these last 2 years nothing surprises them! And it’s a good thing because…
I had them paint the old beat up corrugated metal shed lime pink and bright cherry pink. By now nothing was going to surprise them, and they are my fellas whom I can count on to work miracles around here for me at prices I can afford and we all have such fun together!
Oh, and there’s just so much more…
Gardening goes on year round here at Dragonfly Cottage because between the planting, the growing season and tending of it all, things like putting in thirty roses grown from babies this year, I am on the hunt for the arty things to form the bones for garden interest.
Entrecard is down, so i just leave a comment to let you know that i came here.
“But i love the pink fench here. I wish we have a garden and i will also paint it pink.”
Several years ago I decided to have a ‘white Christmas’ theme, I decorated with all white and force 100 paperwhites in beautiful twig baskets. Everything was lovely and magical…until my throat started to itch, my eyes watered and I lost my voice. All of those paperwhites had to go out on the porch. Ever since then I’ve been reacting to any strongly scented flower. I feel for you…and your friend!
I always love your garden/cottage posts. Thanks for sharing.