The Swelle Life

Erdem's Spring Stunner

Just when I thought I was leaning toward more minimal designs in fashion (because my interior/decor tastes are definitely less fussy these days), I get a blast of sunshine in the face at first glimpse of this dress. I guess I will always get an adrenaline rush from layers of transparency, cheery colours, and the special details like embroidery (why would I fight that?!). This is Erdem's latest masterpriece which jumped out at me in an email newsletter from Matches and I had to investigate. It's a very pricey one, so this is just for daydreaming, though I have no idea where I'd wear it should the dress fairy grant me a wish. And those shoes!! I've always loved a t-bar, and I'm a slave to pretty blues. They're Nicholas Kirkwood for Erdem which is given away by the floral lace upper. The metallic platform, heel and trim give the shoe a bit of an edge and offset the delicateness of the dress, if the excessive chunkiness and cut-out in the heel didn't already do the job. 

 

Florals + Men at 7th Man Magazine

It's been ages since I've featured anything on men's fashion, then this editorial from 7th Man Magazine caught my eye. The floral and shell neckpieces from Pebbles jumped out, as did the soft and vivid spring colours. I love the styling which is by In-Fashion Editor Dan Blake. It may not be what you'd see on men walking down the street, but that's the beauty of editorial, it's inspirational - and largely aspirational - fantasy that you can take a cue or two from for yourself. As a side note, I was so taken by the Wooyoungmi knitwear in this editorial that I had to know more, and just watched the Korean designer's show for her AW13 collection which is the first time I've actually enjoyed watching a men's fashion show; to be genuinely excited about clothes I can not actually wear is a first! More on her to come, I'm intrigued. (I also tried to find more on Pebbles but can't find them - it's tough when a brand name is also a generic word, but no amount of clever searching has turned anything up - if you know where to find them, please tell!) 

Floral Friday: The Simple Beauty of Tulips

The best £6 I've ever spent was these three small bunches of tulips - one white, one violet and one lilac which is probably the prettiest combination I've seen yet. Just a little spring cheer for those in the UK who are wondering when winter is finally going to leave us - it's windy and freezing out there! And I think I hear freezing rain pinging the windows. Most unusual for the UK so I hope this means a blazing spring and summer. It could happen!!

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday: The Flowers of Spring Haute Couture

Raf Simons takes Dior back to the garden for Haute Couture SS 2013

With Haute Couture, we get to see florals rise up from the 2-D of print and pattern and 'pop' as embroidered and appliquéd blossoms so delicate you need to whisper, or so lush you want to run around in them. Flowers figured heavily at Dior (my favourite collection of the 22 houses, I think, who showed) and Chanel (of course they did, you don't waste the hands of Lemarié) while they texturised a selection of looks at Giambattista Valli and Valentino. The haute couture flower is so exquisite in its craftsmanship that it transcends trend and exists as simply a thing of beauty to admire, forever. 

Giambattista Valli appliquéd swelled-bellied and cinched-waist dresses, and accessorised with bronzed bouquets

Valentino Haute Couture SS 2013

Since we're talking about the specialness of haute couture, I can't not mention Valentino without also drawing attention to the dresses detailed in piping. This kind of handwork has featured in many Valentino collections when the man himself was at the helm, and now Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have taken the technique to extraordinary lengths. According to Tim Blanks as per the notes received at the show, the tulle cage-like cape below - over a dress of layers of organza embroidered with birds and butterflies - is scrolled with crepe piping that took 500 hours of hand-rolling to produce. And that was just one of several piped creations that took the catwalk. Blanks added that one roller apparently developed carpel-tunnel syndrome during the production of the collection. That's not suprising, but what is, is the fact that it was only one person! I'd say it was well worth it, but then it's not my gnarled hand we're talking about, is it? 

You can faintly see the embroidered birds and butterflies peaking out from the 500-hours-of-handpiping 'cage' cape

 The hand-piping in Valentino red. It's like fancy iron work but in crepe.

Chanel Haute Couture SS13

Chanel is generous with giving us glimpses into how their haute couture is made. Below we see the skilled hands at work at Lemarié, Lesage and Atelier Haute Couture Chanel as they create the collection 'Le Savoir Faire' for the spring-summer season. It's a three-minute video, but I think I could easily watch three hours of tulle ribbon being pulled through metallic threads:

Photos: Style.com

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How to Turn your Garden into a Social Space

A dreamy and vibrant social garden by Harold Leidner Landscape Architects via Houzz

There may be a layer of snow currently covering your garden, but spring is just around the corner - really! - and these tips will help you to create a superb social space, whether you have a cosy country style garden or a spacious urban garden. Your garden is an extension of your home and so it should be just as visually appealing as your interior décor. Easier said than done I know, but the following may help make it feel a less daunting project. 

Seating

If you want your garden to be the hub of every social gathering this spring/summer, seating is crucial. When you are planning your design, the first step is to plan the location of your wooden garden furniture. There are many things to consider when choosing the location; for example, which areas receive the most sun and shade. Once you have pinpointed a place for your seating you can then begin to plan the points of interest around this area, such as flower beds and plants. This adds to the ambience and appearance of your seating area and gives guests something pretty to look at. When choosing the type of furniture you require, be practical. You will need a dining set that is functional but one that also provides comfort while adding a touch of style to your garden.

Lighting

If you want to socialise after dark, you will need high quality outdoor lighting to keep the party going once the sun sets. Lights are not only a functional aspect of your garden, they create a mood and are also a great way to highlight any special features. If you have a water feature, strategically placed lights can draw attention to the things you want to show off (and maybe keep some areas that could use improvement in the dark). And you can use lighting to illuminate pathways and doorways to keep your guests safe.

Heating

Nothing will cut a party short like the cold. If you want your guests to be comfortable, it is going to take more than comfy seats when the temperatures drop. Strategically placed heat lamps will provide enough heat to ensure your garden is usable all year round. Or for an impressive centrepiece that will also keep you and your guests warm, a chiminea is a great choice that will also add a splash of colour. 

Privacy

When designing your garden to create a social space, you will need to consider ways to make your garden private. Fences are one way to create privacy but there are a lot of creative ways in which you can make your space more intimate. Plants and shrubbery provide barriers that will enhance your garden without making your guests feel claustrophobic. Or you can do what my neighbours did and put up straw walls (I'm not sure what they're called) that tower above the fence, thus extending it and making your garden feel a bit more secluded.

Happy Blooming New Year!

This orbiting flowers GIF against a starry black sky, from Showstudio's Flora series, is an alternative to the fireworks welcome into the new year that I usually do. Nothing is better than beautiful, vibrant flowers for conveying renewal and fresh starts, don't you think? 

"...Flora series is a movement focused collaboration between stylist Anna Trevelyan and photography duo Meinke Klein that challenges the perception of GIFs as retro low-budget stop-motions. The initiative draws direct inspiration from Nick Knight's most recent body of work, and offers a vision of the GIF as a dynamic, refined fluid animation." 

(If it's not moving, see it as it's meant to appear by clicking the photo or going over to Showstudio)

I've been taking it easy for the last few weeks since I've been in Canada for the holidays with family, but I've got a series coming up that I'm really excited to get into: Paper. People doing things with this most tactile of media that you won't believe. 

In the meantime, Happy New Year!

Lavender Fields For-e-ver

A few weeks ago when my parents were visiting from Canada, we took advantage of the great summer weather that finally arrived and took them to my favourite places in Northumberland, some of the most gorgeous country you'll ever see. I'd been to Cragside before and we hiked the incredible rhododendron forests that lead to their formal gardens, which we saw here and here, but we didn't really have the energy to give Lord Armstrong's spectacular Victorian mansion the attention it deserved, so this time we made a point of it. That post is yet to come, there is just so much to show and tell and research further (the house is a feat of engineering brilliance), so this one is more about the scenery. After making our way to the other side of the estate's miles of gorgeous forest, I looked to my right and saw lavender fields as far as I could see. What I'm showing you is like a spit in the ocean, pretty but no indication of the grand landscape it is a part of with its rolling hills upon rolling hills, all spiked with lavender. I have to go back.

 

The historic Victorian mansion at Cragside which literally sits in the crag. You can see that better here

The suspension bridge that takes you across the estate's forest (see the lavender in the foreground)

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! Alnwick's Ornamental Garden Pt. 1

We've taken a little stroll around Alnwick Castle, and now we go into the gorgeous Ornamental Gardens atop the Grand Cascade, a glorious fountain that features four different, spectacular water displays that take place at random every half hour:

The walk up to the Ornamental Gardens begins under a canopy of leaves:

 

The Venetian gates of the entrance can be seen  in the background

  

These last two are actually on the grounds outside of the gardens but too lovely not to show!

Photos © The Swelle Life, except the Grand Cascade from Alnwick Garden

Floral Friday! Fabulous Florals for Your Home

I chose florals as the focus of my July Ideabook for Houzz.com, and being so fervent for anything that blooms, I can't believe I got to 14 of them before doing this theme! It's a collection of 20 products offering ideas for bringing florals to your space in small, non-commital ways as well as through serious investment furniture. There's even something lovely for our dog friends (although we know it's really for the doggie mum).

You can view the entire Fabulous Florals Ideabook at Houzz or click the link in the sidebar widget on the right.

One of the Ideas is a painting by UK artist Stephanie Stow, a favourite of mine. I love her gestural, vivid approach to flowers and gardens and so I had a painting commissioned for our living room when we moved into our house. Stephanie was fantastic; she asked to see a photo of the room to get a feel for it, and also wanted the name of the paint colour on the wall it would hang on. She matched the dusty slate blue shade exactly, using it in the background elements to make the layered floral colours pop. I get compliments on it all the time, and regardless of where we're living in the future, it will have a home.

This isn't ours (I'll get a photo and add it) but I just love the aquas and peachy tones of this work called Coral Garden, and I think this was the one I asked her to base the composition of ours on:

Coral Garden, Stephanie Stow. Acrylic on canvas. 60cm x60 cm

Floral Friday! Kitchen Violets

Just a little Friday cheer for you in the form of our kitchen violets, which have sprouted quite prolifically from their tiny seeds. It seems my house is no longer the place plants go to die!

Floral Friday! Random Flowers and Animal Friends

Happy Friday! Well, it's a sunny 13°C today on the coast in the north east of England - I'm sweating just typing this, I may have to shower again! I know, there is nothing more banal than complaining about the weather, but when it's mid-July and this is considered 'glorious' (I uttered that to myself while walking on the beach this morning, yes I talk to myself), that's a sign that things are not as good as they should be. Surely there are things to be grateful for when weather can create catastrophic situations for people, and I do keep this in mind. But as humans we need sun to keep us happy and upbeat and not snarking at our husbands (just me?), and we don't ask for a lot here. I'll take the 13°C, just let the sun stay out a bit longer, please. (I don't know who I'm talking to.) 

Flowers cheer me up, so maybe you'll get a little jolt as well. These are some shots I've had around for a while, taken in my neighbourhood. A yellow tulip giving us a peak inside;  a gorgeous, fluffy blossom tree - I'm not sure what kind this is, do you know? - and a tall plant with many tiny raspberry buds that I see in every second garden. I should know the name of that one, we've got some in the back!

And more randomness:  this is one of the resident birds in Alnwick's Ornamental Garden, a pretty white dove

And some Northumberland Blackface sheep in Belsay. The countryside is dotted with all kinds of sheep, but these are particularly nice to look at. 

Photos © The Swelle Life

The Most Beautiful Garden Bench (and some other nice ones)

When I saw the Luzio azure blue bench above on Dalani.co.uk - an interiors site that has become my latest obsession for its tightly curated flash shop - all discounted! - and daydreamy magazine of gorgeous ideas and inspirations, my brain quickly scanned itself for legal ways I could immediately come up with the nearly £900 it cost, on sale. Believe it or not, I came up short. The sale ended, and now I only have this photo to remind me of just how beautiful a garden bench can be. It makes me want to become a carpenter like my grandfather, although I would be hindered by my sensitivity to wood dust. And physical labour.

I do have a bench of my own on its way, a traditional, all wood style thanks to Groupon who gave me some vouchers to spend on items to review. I've ordered some pastel stains from our local hardware store and I'm planning to paint my bench and transform it, maybe with alternating planks in coastal and beaumont blues to create a striped look. I'll share the process and results in a few weeks.

The Luzio is a tough act to follow, but here are a few more that caught my eye for being colourful and pretty:

Ingrid Jansen of Wood & Wool Stool is a fan of Fermob and had one of their peony benches displayed in her house for a few days before moving it outside - I think it looks right at home inside!

I'm not a fan of iron in silver or black, though it can be the right look depending on the garden, and the person. It's just not really me. But with a can of spray paint it can be easily transformed into something light and playful.

PATierney put the question out on her Flickr for colour ideas for this garden bench:

In the end, she went for turquoise and lime - what a transformation! It's been given a completely new look, it's so fresh. This is making me reconsider my decision to go with the all-wood option for my bench, I think I could have done something really cool with the other style which was a back in iron and wood, with ornate iron sides. Oh well, I will just have to make mine so good-looking it won't matter!

I don't feel right calling this vividly painted piece a bench, so let's call it a small, iron loveseat. It's quite exotic with its classical Greek detailing, and although the cushion surely makes it nicer to sit on, it would look much better bare:

A garden dining bench with what looks like a marble-top table set in pinks, to match the flowers - too bad the (I'm assuming) gorgeous umbrella on the left got cut out of the shot!:

From House to Home

 

The ever-popular distressed/vintage look which has likely been hand-finished in the photo above, and I think is the real deal below judging by the style of the iron work: (I've lost my links and am still trying to credit these photos!)

Gorgeously ornate in ivory, this painted cast iron and wood bench is also the real deal (and sold unfortunately!), from Antiquated.co.uk

 

 

Floral Friday! A Green Stroll Through Alnwick Castle Estate

Last spring I visited Alnwick Gardens and Castle for a story I was doing on north east English castles and gardens for an American magazine, and I think it's time to do a show and tell! With spring arriving again (sort of - it came early all gorgeous, sunny and warm, and now I've had to pull my winter scarves back out) I can't wait to get out there and explore more of the stunning Northumberland countryside. In the meantime, I use my photos to imagine I'm there.

So let's start on a little tour of the grounds at Alnwick - this is more greenery than flowers but next week we'll walk through the gorgeous gardens - beginning with the Treehouse Restaurant which is what greets you as you enter the estate. I love that this magnificent forest abode actually serves fantastic local fare - pretty tourist trap it is not. I was there on this day with my lovely friend Luisa and we hadn't made reservations before our outing and couldn't get a table (though they did try), but luckily I'd eaten there twice before. Then again, I knew what I was missing!

This is the view as you walk away from the Treehouse without lunch in your tummy (it's the same if you do have lunch in your tummy):

This is inside the part of the castle where the Duke of Northumberland lives with his family. Yes, they do live there sometimes and you can see many of the rooms during visiting hours in the summer. There are family photos everywhere in the one sitting room, you kind of feel like you shouldn't be there looking at everything because it does actually appear lived in, rather than a museum-type moment frozen in time. I took a sneaky pic of the China Gallery, I couldn't resist how gorgeous it looked with the jewel tones, carved mahogany, candelabra chandeliers and the reflection of the glass.

Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England, after Windsor Castle.  It's 1000 years old if you count back to its original structure. The history of it all is quite interesting, you can read about it here

If you drive outside of the estate and around through Alnwick, you can see the sprawling view of the castle; however I'm not showing you the full sprawl because part of it was being renovated and scaffolding is not charming! (Invariably, whenever I visit an architectural site something is being renovated, it's so frustrating!)

Behind me was a pretty pond:

 

 Photos © The Swelle Life

Red Valentino: There's No Shame in Being Pretty

Unabashedly feminine and youthful, Valentino's latest 'little sister' collection Red Valentino is not only darling and pretty, it doesn't care that the season it's to be sold in is autumn,  I like that! Lots of blush pinks, floral appliques and prints, mini lengths, ruffles and bows that traditionally resurface in spring. We have been moving toward seasonless collections for a few years now but I still get a real jolt when I see such fresh loveliness in the shops and editorial pages as I lament the skies being jet black at 4pm in November. Red Valentino is what it is, year-round. I like a label that has an aesthetic you can set your watch to. 

Ok, you pretty much need a concave chest to wear these dresses so you don't look like a Lolita Jordan, but aren't the illustrated fairytale backdrops are a dream?

Photos: Style.com

Haute Couture: Alexis Mabille's Monochrome (Probably Not Mannerist) Models

My first thought when I saw Alexis Mabille's monochromed models for Spring 2012 haute couture week was "The acid coloured faces - they're just like those in the Mannerist paintings!" Now I may not remember what I had for lunch yesterday (or today), but I vividly recall certain things I learned in high school art history, it was the only thing that truly interested me. As a fine art major in university I don't recall coming across this again and therefore re-confirming the information, but I do believe I was shown some paintings from the Mannerist period as an example of something you wouldn't expect to see from the time because they used vivid colours, on the faces as well. However, I should admit it's entirely possibly that I was half asleep and I got confused, because after searching for hours and hours over several days since the collection was shown, I cannot find any evidence of this. I couldn't drop the reference though and start over, because at the very least they remind me of Jacopo Pontormo's acid-hued masterpiece Descent from the Cross (1525-1528).

But it's small consolation, it's not a close resemblance. I might be clutching at paint brushes here. Now I am (almost) convinced I imagined the whole thing. It wouldn't be the first time!

I still wanted to show the collection, for two reasons. I love the colours Mabille chose and the way the faces harmoniously carried through the hue (not at first but it really grew on me) and focussed attention on the head which was adorned with a giant paper rose.  According to Tim Blanks, his inspiration was (guess what, not a Mannerist painting!) a photo of Lisa Fonssagrives on a beach "her face suffused with pink from the sunlight coming through her umbrella." Sounds gorgeous, doesn't it? I couldn't find that one either!

And the dresses themselves aren't bad either! Beautiful, actually. Modern classics.

These are my favourite colours from the collection, as shot by Style.com:

Right: I love this shade of gold, very pure and clean, completely devoid of yellow.

The other reason I carried on despite my failed concept is I found some absolutely stunning photos of the collection on Violeta Purple, a gorgeous blog with lots of original photography by Yavidan Violeta, a Mexican-Turkish woman living in Paris. She's utterly charming, signing her posts with a photograph of shoes, her other muse. 

Her Mabille photos are so gorgeous and convey the romance of the collection beautifully - the feel is so engaging it makes the standard runway shot seem pointless. Does anyone else wish we could ditch the singular view from the wall of cameras at the end of the runway in favour of something magical, like this?

 For more of Yavidan's Alexis Mabille photos including backstage, see Violeta Purple. Enjoy!

Floral Friday! The Last of Wallington Pt.1

If this is Part 1 I guess it's not really the last then, is it! But it is winding down. Two weeks ago we saw Wallington's gorgeous greenhouse and now we walk through canopied paths to another walled garden with a small pond. There are more photos than I realised that are worth sharing, the garden is just bursting with beauty, so next week we'll finish with the scenery on the walk out of this living wonderland. It started to rain halfway through, but it would take a lot more than that to send me running from Wallington. Golfball-sized hail would do it.

To take the rest of the tour see here

I hope you like green.

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday: Au Revoir, Francois Lesage

The man responsible for much of the heartbreakingly exquisite beauty of haute couture has died.  Francois Lesage was head of Maison Lesage, the legendary embroidery salon in Paris where rare magic happens. He was 82.

It seems the craft was in his blood. His father, Albert, founded the family firm in 1924 when he bought the atelier of Napoleon III’s embroiderer, Michonet, who had also worked for Charles Frederick Worth. Subsequently Albert married Marie-Louise Favot, an embroidery worker at Vionnet. With that legacy how could he have followed any other path?

Luckily he fell in love with beautifying textiles with threads and beads and has helped keep this highly skilled art alive, through the work of the Maison as seen on the best of haute couture (not without help from Chanel who saved the Maison by buying it), and ensuring new talent is nurtured through his Paris school, Ecole Lesage Atelier de Broderie. What a dream vocation. (A fellow Canadian named Sarah Crowley got her dream and moved to Paris to study at Lesage a few years ago, you can read about her time there and see her own beautiful designs at Glimpse Creations.)

Below is a delight of an interview with Lesage from 1987 from Fashion Television:

Christian Lacroix's exquisiteness was greatly owed to Lesage

Floral Friday! Wallington's Lush Greenhouse

This Floral Friday I take you back to Wallington's walled garden, one of my most favourite places, which I'm really missing especially now that the winter bitterness is beginning to creep in. Their picturesque greenhouse is just a dream, it had me wondering how I could live in one. (Probably wouldn't work out anyway, I'm a huge wimp when it comes to cold.)

For more on glorious Wallington, including their dreamy pond with a floating bed and baby black coots flitting upon the lily pads, see here (you'll have to scroll down a bit but be sure to catch Versailles on the way!)

(I think it's funny there's a picture of a flower hanging amongst the superior live specimens!)

Nice place for a cat nap

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! Papery Printed Porcelain from Bath

This past weekend I went on a girls' trip to visit a friend in Bristol (no one makes toast like you, Sophie) and it included a visit to dreamy Bath, which is a must when in town. We had gorgeous autumn weather and I really wished I had my camera, but I left it at home so I wouldn't be holding up the group or miss everything that was happening. I took lots of pictures in spring of last year which you can see here here here and here. (Though I do find my old photos a bit cringe-worthy so if you look, do it quickly, eh?)

While roaming the shops in Bath I popped into Rostra & Rooksmoor Galleries - I couldn't resist a turquoise-painted shop - and saw a collection of works by local ceramicist Janine Roper which immediately attracted me due to their Delftware influences. And then they really intrigued me when I noticed they weren't poured into moulds but had a papery effect in that they were obviously hand-formed. I didn't get her name (must work on that) but the woman at the gallery was really helpful and explained that the artist rolls out the porcelain into sheets, cuts and shapes it and then screenprints it. That is is so neat! She uses mostly traditional cobalt blue oxides and draws her print design from vintage 'Sunday Best' tea sets and other domestic items from her life.

I had to take one home and decided on the jug, a charming little piece that stands about 6" high. I pictured delicate flowers in it but really wanted to actually use it, as a jug. But I wasn't sure if that was a stupid idea (that happens a lot with me). Was it safe? Would I break it? I got all excited when I read the artist's statement the lovely woman gave me and saw the words "pour exquisite drinks from her range of pitchers of all different sizes." Permission! I've been displaying the jug on my aqua French side table in my living room, then last night when I was putting a tray of tea together I took it into the kitchen and filled it with milk. This was exciting to me. Is milk exquisite? No, not unless it comes from an exceptionally beautiful cow. But it made my tea ritual much nicer.

I know what I want to do in my next life. Study ceramics in Bath. That sounds pretty good to me.

You can see where the porcelain is folded, giving it a papery effect

The spout has been applied as a separate piece but it appears seamless from the exterior

Photos and collage © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! Razzberry's Bazaar's Fuchsia Garden

During the freakishly awesome weather we had recently, I took the opportunity to get a few snaps of the most cheerful garden I know. (At the most challenging time on the sunniest of days, hence the harshness.) A shop on the local high street called Razzberry Bazaar is known for its gorgeous and inviting entrance of hot pink and purple painted pots with flowers to match. People come from all over to see it and have a browse in their rainbow rooms where thousands of trinkets and gift items are arranged according to colour. The garden is just for show, not for sitting in, but I wish it was.

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Weekend! The Fashion Week Edition

Florals may be a bit of a cliche now, we see them season after season including AW. But I don't care, I love it! There's always a new way to work with them so it's not just another floral dress, like these looks from fashion month which are anything but old and dusty.

Clockwise from top right: Chistopher Kane; Richard Chai Love; Peter Pilotto; Antonio Marras x 2;  Erdem; Kinder Aggugini; Gary Graham.

I cordially invite the Erdem and Kinder Aggugini coats to my wardobe, April 2012 sharp.

Floral Friday! This Morning's After-Rain Finds

Getting back into the school run routine wasn't something I was looking forward to, but I did miss my walks home along the beach. It was lightly raining for the first bit (of course the sun came out 30 seconds after I got in the door!) and I  noticed that the flowers in the gardens of the houses I was passing after coming up from the sea were still thriving. I didn't have my favourite lens for the closeups but I thought these still might do the trick for a little brightening up if it's a bit gloomy where you are:

   

I love this flower, it's so spiky and lush. Its orange petals have lilac tips which is so unusual. I don't know what it is, do you? Tell me in the comments if you do!

 

© The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! The Butterfly Conservatory Gardens

I know this is huge but I like that it looks as if you could jump into it!

I've got to rest up for a shoot in the morning so this is a quickie from the gardens outside the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, plus a shot of a storm coming in at dusk. Have a great weekend and happy Labour Day weekend to everyone back home! (Despite it being the most depressing holiday ever - who wants to celebrate the end of summer? Yarg!)

 
 
     

 

 
Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! Niagara-on-the-Lake's Blooming High Street

A restaurant I can't remember the name of that is beautiful with so-so food (so I've heard)

Following my afternoon tea at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara-in-the-Lake with my awesome friend Bridget (she is lovely but that word is getting played), I took some photos of their very pretty, very floral, very English high street named Queen Street, of course. (A funny fact - we noticed that they don't really age the Queen on notes in England, she's completely smooth in her 80s and we all know she didn't take the Joan Rivers route. So we showed a friend here a Canadian bill which shows her appropriately craggy face, and he had a good laugh at the extreme difference.)

           
   
  

 

 

A very pretty Sunflower umbrella displayed outside the shop

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! Wallington's Walled Garden

Now we enter the walled garden at Wallington at last. After a beautiful walk in, past the mansion and past the lush lily pond with baby coots frollicking about and a bed floating in it, I came upon the wall and went through the wood and iron door. On the other side was the most stunningly landscaped garden with sheep grazing on the green hills that overlook this romantic dreamland.

 
 
  

I love the texture of this plant that I don't know the name of.

 

 
    
   

 

   
     

 

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! The Walk Into Wallington

(Apologies for missing Versailles which I promised for yesterday. We travelled back to Toronto to find that the cable and internet were out. So Rogers made a liar out of me. Ach. However, I am flagellating myself for not delivering, it's way overdue.) 

The proper title of this post is actually 'The Walk Into Wallington's Walled Garden' but that's a big of a tongue twister. Last week I showed you the incredible pond, dense with lily pads and frollicky baby coons, which is actually what's behind this gate after you've walked a couple of minutes through the forest:

And we continue the tour which makes no chronological sense at all because I'm taking you back to the beginning!

 

The mansion at Wallington is a real treasure trove of curiosities. Last year I showed you the dollhouse rooms but there's so much more and I'll get to it one day ...

   

Next week we finally get into the walled garden which is so beautiful you won't be able to stand it.

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday: Six Baby Birds and a Bed in a Pond

First - I've been travelling this week and am now in Toronto for my summer visit home. Next week I will get back to Interiors and Exteriors on Thursday and finish showing you Marie Antoinette's domain at Versailles...

I think Monet would have appreciated this scene. Carrying on from last Friday's intro to my visit to the walled garden at Wallington in Northumberland (in the north east of England in case you're not familiar), I take you to the pond which was a wonderful surprise on my way to the gardens. After walking through a forest we came upon the lily pad covered water and I noticed some movement on the surface - it was six fluffy black baby birds! I think they were coots, a marsh bird. They were so light that as they ran with their spindly legs the lily pads didn't even move.

 

Two other babies look for food amongst the firm yellow flowers:

 

What is that off in the distance?

Why, a bed of course!

I can't find anything about this bed which makes it even more mysterious. It's an installation, but who put it there? I don't really care why, it was neat. Like a (very) small-scale Cristo and Jean-Claude.

It started to pour. Luckily this was on my way out after being through the garden (see some of those next week) and it wasn't enough to deter me from taking another shot:

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! Contrasts at Wallington

I went back to Wallington in Northumberland today to photograph their stunning walled garden which I missed when I visited last year. And had I actually known what I was missing I wouldn't never have been able to leave. Last time, I spent a couple of hours in the mansion, particularly in the dollhouse rooms which you can see here and here (I never did post anywhere near what I had altogether, I hope to dig out the rest one day).

These gardens quickly became my new favourite place and I'd love to go back with a picnic and just take it all in without my eyeball pressed against the viewfinder. A serene, huge pond covered in lily pads with baby coots (a black marsh bird) running atop greeted us on the way to the garden gate, and I couldn't pull myself away. (Somewhere my husband is nodding firmly and slowly with eyes glazed over.) Oh! And there was a red and white bed floating in it! Come back next Friday to see what I'm talking about.

To start, here are some of my favourite shots from a small patch in their enormous and breathtaking garden. The gardener seems to have wanted to create a bit of drama and planted a few varieties of vivid flowers with leaves so dark they appeared black. I especially love the first photo, the flowers appear as if they were painted.

 
 
  
 
 
 
 

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! Neighbourhood Gardens (and Bad Dog Owners)

I walk home along the beach every day after taking my daughter to school (despite being knocked off my feet by a dog that charged full speed into my shins thanks to its owner throwing  a ball just over my head, and having a pug relieve itself in the brown way right beside me as I sat on a bench brushing the sand off my feet - the toff who owned him was on his mobile, looked over 'during' at the scene which could not have been more graphic, but kept walking. I had to call after him and was repeatedly ignored until I shouted "You have got to be kidding!" at which point he came back, feigning ignorance.) 

What's this post about? Right, one day last week on my walk I paid particular attention to the gardens of the houses on the seafront (which all have brilliantly painted doors. Which reminds me, we're overdue for a Painted Houses post.) It had just rained and the flowers looked absolutely beautiful with raindrops resting on their petals. They were in prime bloom. Today I had my camera with me, minus the lens I like to use to shoot flowers, but I took some pictures anyway. I noticed that a lot of the flowers were now in their ''twilight" phase and they had lost a bit of their lustre - rougher edges, fallen petals. But I went ahead anyway, trusting they still had something to give. The pink peonies certainly did, they were still gorgeous and I resisted rubbing my face in them. Do they compel you to do that, too?

Note: I do love dogs. It's the odd owner that could use a swat on the nose with a newspaper. That woman didn't even help me up after I face planted in the sand!

 
   
   

 

Photos © The Swelle Life

Floral Friday! Vivid Tulips

 

Welcome to the first Floral Friday! I've taken many photos of flowers, a favourite and irresistible subject, in England, France, Netherlands and Canada, with plans to take my camera to all of the stunning local gardens I pass on my local walks (which reinforces the notion that you should never be without it!), so I think all of this focussed activity necessitates a weekly outlet!

I'm starting with the tulips I photographed locally in early spring, their vivid hues make them some of my favourites. It was an overcast day and I was walking by an unassuming patch that I'd never seen before and luckily I had my camera with me, fitted with my new 50mm lens. The colours just popped as you can see. I haven't and don't want to use any effects on my photos, I'm going to present nice clean shots with naturally saturated colour, the way the flowers look in person. I can't think of anything more beautiful.

I'm also shooting a story for a US magazine on north east England castles and gardens, so there will be lots to keep this weekly feature going. I start my tour this weekend at Alnwick Garden and the timing couldn't be better - in their Ornamental Garden they have a Himalalyan Lily which flowers once every seven years, and it's in bloom!

    

Photos © The Swelle Life