Showing posts with label southern gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label southern gardening. Show all posts

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Fairhope and Point Clear, Alabama

Hi everyone!

Life has changed over here. 
There is a cute little creature in our house that is keeping us quite busy! 


More on the little peanut later after I share some of the spring beauty we saw last week on our Gulf Coast trip to Fairhope, Alabama and New Orleans.


Fairhope is a flower filled village on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. Many streets have planting beds installed on the sides of the road! It is a very beautiful place that we fell in love with.We were happy to catch the spring bulbs at peek.


Panini Pete's is perfect for coffee and beignets.





Pretty place for trash...




We stayed at the Marriott Grand Resort in Point Clear a few minutes from downtown Fairhope and enjoyed it. 



We loved the walk along the water from the hotel to see the charming homes with docks on the bay that were nestled in oaks....









How about the cute yellow striped awnings protecting this porch of this summer home from winter winds?




We will hopefully be back to visit Fairhope again next winter for a longer visit. Some Mobile and New Orleans beauty next post...

Thanks for visiting!
Cindy

Saturday, May 3, 2014

spring amaryllis in the garden


We happened upon a red spring garden the other day! A color that Northerners do not associate with spring, we have been noticing red amaryllis (hippeastrum) popping up in gardens around town. This garden in the old Point historic neighborhood in Beaufort has an abundance of them. They accent the white house and dark shade of the oaks.




This home is on the market right now. Here is the link.


We saw some being sold at the farmer's market this morning. Go here for instructions on growing Amaryllis in zone 9-11 gardens.



Down the street from the amaryllis garden is one of the most visible courtyards in the neighborhood. So many are obscured and just provide a little glimpse. The Beaufort River is in the background to the left.


Lots of brick and boxwoods. Spring in the South brings lots of leaf drop as new oak leaves push through and force old leaves off. It adds a casual charm to garden and hard scapes.



What's blooming in your neighborhood? 

Thanks for visiting!
Cindy

Saturday, April 26, 2014

things I like this week





1. We are leaning towards a cream body paint for our new home with putty windows and trim. This is my favorite inspiration pic. The dark sconces look great with this combination.


2. Our kitchen in the new house will be a creamy white with light countertops. Similar to this but much smaller and without the pendants and double islands. It will be a galley kitchen with one island, windows instead of upper cabinetry and an attached open pantry with windows, refrigerator, cabinetry, shelving, counter space and a bar sink.


3. Blue crabs are in season here so I have been buying their meat at the seafood shop and ordering soft shells at restaurants. One of the easiest quick meals to prepare are crab cakes over greens with vinaigrette.  This watercolor is one variation but there are so many ways to make crab cakes.


4. I love this grill cover. Mary Ann featured it several years ago on her blog, Classic Casual Home. I want to have a local lady I just found who is making slipcovers for us to make one for our grill.


5. A new book about the homes of Furlow Gatewood, One Man's Folly by Julia Reed, has just been published. He is a well known but kind of under-the-radar antique collector, interior decorator and house restorer with great Southern style who lives in Americus, GA. You may recognize his homes as they have been featured in Veranda and elsewhere. He has great eclectic style. You can buy the book here.


6. I love the mirror on this porch.  The whole mix is nice. We have similar wicker. I want an eclectic look on our screened porch too.


7.  Libby of An Eye for Detail blog, featured a Euphorbia plant that is growing in her garden this week. We have never grown euphorbia. I love the form of the bloom, little mustaches over pert green double petals and want to try it in the gardens of our new home.


8.  Another eclectic patio, this one is in one of Furlow Gatewood's homes. You can find many images of his homes on Pinterest, go here to enjoy some of them.  This image was published in Veranda.


9. And finally, this been one of my go-to outfits for the last two months...white jeans and chambray. Being a wardrobe minimalist, I only have one pair of white jeans, the J Crew Matchstick Jean. I wash them often and wear them with every warm weather top, sweater and jacket I have.

source unknown

What are your favorite things this week?

Thanks for visiting!
Cindy


Wednesday, April 23, 2014

porch plants

Hi everyone! 
We are having a glorious week of weather after several days of dark skies and heavy rain last week. 


There are three porches on the home we are renting in Beaufort. We have a set of front porches and a little side entry porch from the driveway and garage.  


The front of the house has northern exposure so there is filtered light through the woods on each side of the house morning and late afternoon. We are using the classics...ferns and palms. 



Easy to find at good prices, the nurseries are full of them. They sell out quickly but new shipments arrive weekly.



 I added pansies to the base of the palms to add fullness.




We also have a bird's nest anthurium/anthurium hookeri placed in the middle of the porch so it does not receive too much light.


We have been enjoying the lower porch in the evenings with cocktails and mornings with our tea but the afternoon sun is starting to interfere as it lowers at this time of year. If this was our permanent home, we would hang outdoor drapes at the end of the porch to block the harsh afternoon sun.

The morning light is so pretty....






The upstairs porch has a delicate frilly palm.  I need to start learning the palm varieties. We are using the common ones I found at Lowe's. The top porch is our privacy porch with a full sized sofa, good breezes and nice views.


The side entry porch has a fiddle leaf fig that was difficult to find. I was looking for several months and had to finally order one. They are so popular that they sell out as soon as they arrive. 


We have a small one because the space is tight. I still have not found them at Home Depot where some other bloggers have. I just planted herbs in the tiered planter as I did on in our last home.





We thought these oleanders next to the chimney were goners after the polar vortex came to South Carolina but after painstakingly pulling all the dead foliage off, they are coming back. The landscaping on the house is simple, balanced and attractive. 


The back yard does not have a porch. A screened in porch would be perfect there because it faces the pond.


The pond has turtles that rest on the bank and take surprisingly big leaps into the water when we get close. Also wood ducks are usually here. Geese visit and spend most of their time honking at us if we are out in the yard.. The lawn is not in great shape but as renters, we are not really wanting to spend much on the lawn. I did buy weed spray and a neighbor boy is cutting the grass for us.


So what about your porches? Have you potted your porch plants this spring or are you making plans for when the weather allows? Sticking with the classic palms and ferns makes it easy.

Thanks for visiting!
Cindy