Category Flowers/Gardening
Window boxes!
From some very young age (maybe 8 or 9?) when I first saw my mother’s photo albums from her time as a student in Germany, I have wanted to (1) live in Europe, and (2) have flower boxes in my windows. This has been an elusive goal. I’ve done parts of it — this is […]
Exploring Dublin
The weather could not have been more perfect for exploring Dublin today. Sunny, warm, a light breeze. Completely unlike the chilly rain so typical for this part of the world. Trinity College is just around the corner from my hotel, so I started there. I joined a student-led tour and learned, among other things, that […]
Who needs a place to stay in Seattle?
It’s official: Seattle’s hottest AirBnB property has just gone live and is open for business. I mean, if I’m not going to stay there, why shouldn’t you? You just have to promise you’ll let me back in when I move back from London. Here’s the listing. It’s perfect for weekend get-aways, longer-term corporate arrangements, and […]
The shamrock goes to London
I probably have the world’s best-traveled shamrock plant. In the 38+ years of its life (its older than I am!), this plant has lived in Utah, Texas, Iowa, Arizona, Oregon, New York, Virginia, and Washington–and has traveled through most of the states in between. This weekend it ventured into international territory. I couldn’t move it […]
Kew Gardens
Inspired by my run through Kensington Gardens, I decided to take the train out to Kew Gardens. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Kew Gardens are considered one of the best gardens in the world. They cover hundreds of acres, and I could have spent all day there — as it was, I only had time […]
Kensington Gardens
I went for a run this morning through Hyde Park and took a detour to visit the gardens of Kensington Palace. I may have spent more time looking at plants than I spent actually running… My favorite, the sunken garden. Kensington Palace. Not super impressive from the outside. The Italian Fountains. Built by Prince Albert […]
Perfect weekend
There will be a special place in hell reserved for people who schedule moves away from DC during the springtime. [Er . . . hold on . . . I’m the one who scheduled this move. Let’s start again.] Whoever invented DC in the springtime deserves an award. Like, an Oscar for “best pairing of city and […]
Water Lilly
Little miracles daily in the garden. I awoke early this morning with the intention of going for a long bike ride before the heat of the day set in. As I ate breakfast on the balcony, something new caught my eye. Something that hadn’t been there before. Delighted, I put cycling plans on hold and […]
As if it knew I was missing Vietnam
My jasmine plant bloomed! Two blossoms this morning and a slew of buds getting ready to open. This makes me all sorts of happy. (And I give all credit to James and Chip, whose excellent watering skills kept my plants alive while I was galavanting through Southeast Asia.) With the possible exception of gardenias, there […]
Container Gardens, Year 3 – Focus on color and texture
Spring and summer are my favorite seasons. The days are long and bright and warm, and I get to plant my balcony gardens. I finished all my planting about a month ago and have enjoyed watching them grow. Every morning I sit on the balcony to eat a piece of fruit and soak in the colors and […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 