A Rosebud is born

Juliet:"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

William Shakespeare

Yes, it has been a long time since we took walks through our garden. But we were called to meet our latest rosebud, the youngest girl in our daughter Claudia’s family. Her name is Brooklyn Rayne, and she is as sweet as they come.

Here she is, as we first met her, one day after her birth.

And here she is with the proud sisters, Gabrielle, Alexandra and Logan. We took pictures of all three sisters holding Brooklyn outside, on Claudia's verandah, but this is the only picture in which Brooklys was facing the camera, and therefore our choice of picture.

Our absence from the Blog scene was, as you can see, very necessary. As well as the new baby, Claudia also moved from Shreveport, LA to her old house in Wexford, PA, and as it turned out, all the boxes arrived at the same time as the baby.

Nothing daunts neither Claudia nor Chloe, and of course the two got right to work. Soon they created a new home. And then Chloe collected paints and brushes and started gardening on the walls of the girl’s rooms. Here is Alexandra's room, which also, by the way, has one of Chloe's paintings showing a rose. The two falling petals say: "He loves me... he loves me not."



And since Logan wanted a tree to be painted on the walls of her room, Chloe gave her as well as a funky tree, the added bonus of a bluebird.

Here is another picture of Logan's room, after Chloe and Claudia finished decorating it. The tree is next to her bed, which Logan, being an artist herself, collaborated with her Maman in painting some of the branches and leaves.

Gabrielle, on the other hand got her full suite painted with more modern colours. More suited for a teenager.

Finally she was ready for the nursery. She left it for last because being no Michelangelo , she was not looking forward to painting that huge ceiling with fluffy clouds. It took her two full days so the strain on her neck was considerable, but it was well worth it since we were all very pleased with the result.

And here is a close up of the very atmospheric ceiling.

Grasshoppers were kind of a novelty for her to paint, but she did it on the walls surrounding the crib to echo the baby’s bedding.

In the past, when the other grandchildren had been born, Chloe had painted three nursery panels depicting fairy tales and nursery rhyme characters frolicking among wild flowers. Brooklyn will grow to appreciate them, as they now also hang in her nursery.

All the girls have also been lucky enough to receive one of Chloe’s original hand painted desks for their rooms. They always show scenes of our garden here in Campobello, SC. And Logan was kind enough to give Brooklyn her desk so that is now also in Brooklyn’s nursery.

Here are details of seat and back of chair, showing scenes from her garden here in Campobello. This is the seat.

And this is the backrest:

The back of the chair is graced by this poem, as depicted here:

The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in the garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

Dorothy Gurney
1858 - 1932

It has been awfully hot all over the country, particularly here in the almost deep south. So we did not miss that much our walks through the garden. But now we are looking forward to cooler mornings and evenings which should be around the corner. Our walks should resume then, and therefore soon we will give you more glimpses of our garden as it changes through the seasons.

Even in the blistering South Carolina heat, still Chloe’s rosebuds keep coming. Here is a picture of one.

Garden accents

“Every man’s work is always a portrait of himself.” (Samuel Butler)

Yes, “A garden is the mirror of a mind.” (Henry Beston)

That is why every garden is unique. Gardens are a reflection of their owner’s sensibilities. And that is why people put accents in their gardens. It’s their mark, what fits their fancy. A piece of garden art here, a simple whimsical sign there…

Accents in a garden can be formal – usually statuary in bronze like our horse here next to this Magnolia tree, with the vineyard in the background.

It fits perfectly on the front lawn adjacent to our own pasture land where our horses Paris and Gracie (not visible here,) graze at leisure.

But stone, particularly marble and granite are also used, and look beautiful amongst the flowers and trees. Here we have a small marble fountain.

…and here one of our great cherubims flanking the front door steps, inviting…

More simple ones, certainly less expensive and commonly used are some concrete pieces. Our St. Francis is a good example.

This pot, a woman’s head, sits on the edge of the pond making it easy to remember to add water.

As is this garden book

whimsical in its sayings:

“Gossip in the Garden”

Good Morning Glory, What’s the Four O’Clock news?
Johnny Jump Up, lost his shoes.
Black eyed Susan has her eye on you.
And the Tulip wants a kiss or two.
Iris just wants Rose to know
Sweet William is her favorite beau.
etc. etc.

And it ends:

Tomorrow who knows what gossip

there will be,
The Flowers are from such a large Family.
Let’s talk again soon.
Good Day Lilly!

Bird baths are also found in gardens. They invite the birds and the butterflies, the dragonflies and even bees.

Fountains do the same, and offer also the sound of dripping water, so pleasant to all. Chloe loves fountains. Here is our large fountain on a misty morning.

And the one at the head of the upper pond.

And let’s not forget that everybody loves whimsical pieces, for they bring a smile to all. Here a simple garden stake says “Mind your Carrots and Peas,” while holding up the Black eyed Susans.

And this simple fairy takes all of us to our childhood and a world of make believe.

As do the bunnies.

Or the playhouse, with Chloe, all sweaty, waiting for the grandkids to give it life. With the grandchildren now all grown up, this little house is now gone from Chloe's garden. It's making a neighbor's kid happy instead. The memories however will be with us for ever.

Formal and function come together in these ironwork pieces. Arches anchor many paths. They mostly support our climbing roses or Clematis.

This one, less formal, is made of Rhododendron branches. It supports climbing roses as well as a wonderfully fragrant Jasmine.

Knowing Chloe’s love for her garden, many friends have brought her gifts. This little horse made it to our house just recently.

Form and function, a touch of the whimsical, come together in this antique manure spreader, which is a great support for potted plants, sometimes even vegetables. And as a bonus in the fall it comes alive with a fragrant white clematis.

Bird houses, feeders and bird accents in general will be presented in a future blog. For now, good morning to you, and thank you for visiting again Chloe’s garden.

Sharing the garden with friends

“There is no delight in owning anything unshared.” Seneca

The creek is without doubt the favorite of Chloe’s gardens. Places like this need to be shared.

Last Friday, June 18th, Chloe was privileged to be visited by a friend from way back, Peggie Armstrong, whom we had known for 23 years since our early days in Fort Myers, Florida. She is now a retiree, living close by.

An artist herself, and an excellent gardener, Peggie had called to see if she could come with some of her artist friends to show them Chloe’s house and gardens. We were flattered to be so recognized, and immediately invited them all to tea and desert and a tour of our place.

After greeting Peggie and our new friends, Chloe made a brief introduction to her gardens around the house. After the usual “oohs” and “ahs” they headed towards our creek.

It was a group of six, including two ladies from Fort Myers that by chance happened to be visiting Peggie at the time. One of them, Paula, had been an acquaintance of Chloe’s previously. She is a wonderful folk artist, and creates beautiful furniture and abstract pieces. She had driven up from Fort Myers with Dore, a good friend of hers, that we also appreciated very much meeting.

In the pictures below, Peggie, Paula and Dore are enjoying the creek area.

Here Vivian, a collage artist and a book illustrator, pauses and appreciates. She came ready to face the summer heat, well protected under her flowery hat.

The dappled light of the creek area induces conversation, and Peggie and Jane share a moment. Jane, a soft spoken lady, lives in Landrum, South Carolina, a quaint town some 15 minutes from Chloe and me. She works for a local real estate attorney, having moved from Atlanta. She is a pastel artist, who creates beautiful portraits.

From the creek the group came to see our pond.

While the other ladies enjoy the fish, Jane took a break to meet Tux, our puppy.

The heat was becoming intense however, and it was time for iced tea, desert and more good conversation indoors. Here Maddie and Paula share a book of pictures.

Maddie is now a farmer who raises Alpacas. But before, she was an event coordinator, having previously organized two festivals in Jacksonville Beach, one of which was a Blues Festival. A lively lady, who came bearing gifts of green eggs and homemade grape jelly.

The walk at the creek had opened our appetites, and soon we were all sitting at the table, sharing lively conversation and delightful deserts without any guilt.


After all, we had been to a place where fairies live, children play and grown ups go back in time. Oh creek…. what a magical place!

Unifying the garden through whites.

White, white, white. I can't emphasize white enough. The human eye perceives it as a brilliant color.” (Beatrice Eiseman)

White is the color of purity, innocence and peace. It offers repose and rests the eye. It is not by coincidence that brides usually wear white.

“White is the light of the forest,” Chloe told me she had heard once.

White flowers are the workhorse of the summer garden, and help with the transition from color to color.

With the strong light of the summer sun, pastels (soft pinks and lavenders for example) don’t work well in the garden any longer. They go unnoticed. So we rely on oranges, yellows, reds, strong purples to bring life to the landscape. White then becomes a necessity to break up these colors. We therefore weave whites throughout the garden beds to either break up the monotony or reduce the gaudiness of those other strong colors.

The summer garden is very different from the spring one. Only certain plants can thrive in the intense summer heat. Usually Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta (Asteraceae)) , dahlias, cannas and gladioli are the general menu of the summer beds. But they need white to break the groupings up and soften up the overall look.

Here is another example:

In the garden, white does not have to be expressed through flowers alone. White can show in variegated leaves. And even in garden accents, which will be the motive for a future blog. Here is the picture of a variegated hydrangea:

As we stroll through the garden, it is a relief to see whites here and there breaking up what would otherwise either be the monotony of just one color, or the cacophony of an unruly garden.

I was walking with Chloe once, and she stooped to pick up a flower. It wasn’t much bigger than a pin head.

“Look at the detail,” she told me. I would have passed by without noticing. That brings me to the delicacy of this Queen Anne’s Lace. What grace, and what perfection! And it is just a wild flower that Chloe has introduced into her garden.
From Wiki:

Daucus carota (common names include wild carrot, (UK) bird's nest, bishop's lace, and (US) Queen Anne's lace) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe, southwest Asia and naturalised to northeast North America and Australia; domesticated carrots are cultivars of a subspecies, Daucus carota subsp. sativus.

In early spring white azaleas do the job for us throughout the garden.

As well as do peonies.

White is used for control, and even rhythm and harmony.

"White sings in the garden!" Chloe likes to say.

The light going through this pansy says it all: