the prettiest cottage flowers of all!

 

What’s blooming right now? Roses, viburnum and foxglove, and I’m enjoying every moment!

Every few days, I see what’s blooming in the garden and change up my mantel display.

I can’t seem to get enough of these flowers.

Hey, honey! I was out bright in early this morning while it was still cool picking some of the first spring flowers from my garden to fill this cute can. 

My favorite blooms are all here: a Downton Abbey Rose, Sweet Williams, Snowball Viburnum, Snapdragons, Pincushion Flowers and Scented Geraniums.

I found this lovely vintage honey label and decoupaged it to a regular tin can for a look that was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest.

 

During the early part of April, just before Easter, my roses were just starting to emerge, so I supplemented my display with Lilacs and Stock from Trader Joe’s.

 

These gorgeous pink Roses were also from Trader Joe’s. I love how they look in this vintage calico blue pitcher.

 

I just adore this springtime look! For summer I plan to add a few seashells into this ceramic mix, which will be so pretty with my summer flowers like Zinnias, Sunflowers and Hydrangeas.

 

Have a lovely weekend!

 

 

 

 

ciao! fabiana

 

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials”*. 

 

 

 

5 favorite new gardening books

Gardening is a self-taught hobby for me. My interest and earliest memories come from my father, who always had a small vegetable garden in the backyard.

 

My most vivid memory of my father’s touch in the garden is when he decided to take the dozens of small lilac seedlings that lined one side of the yard, and plant them straight across the other side of our front yard, creating a living fence between us and our next-door neighbors the LeFleurs.

 

Those lilac shrubs grew quickly over the years and filled my springs and summers with the sweetest scent. I was surrounded by all the purple and green loveliness that embodies lilacs, and I’ll never forget it!

The spirit of my childhood lilacs was reawakened with the discovery of tis most beautiful book, simply called Lilacs.

 

From cover to cover, it’s filled with amazing tips, growing methods and best of all glorious pictures. 

Lilacs by Naomi Slade and Georgianna Lane. 

Other similar lovely books include:

• Hydrangeas

• Peonies

• Dahlias

 

Here's a peek at one of the pictures from the Lilac book...

A new portion of my garden that I created in early 2020 has come to be known as the Cottage Garden. It’s where I grow so many of my favorite old-fashioned flowers, mixed in with all kinds of herbs, kale, an apple tree, a lemon tree and even several tomato plants.

 

Have you ever heard of growing tomatoes together with sunflowers? The sunflowers grow tall and strong and become the perfect stake to hold tomatoes up, and best of all they’re the best companion plants.

I've grown all the sunflowers and tomatoes from seeds, so it's been a really fun process to see them grow so quickly.

That’s why you can never stop learning with gardening. There’s always so much to discover!

 

I’ve been delving into to a few other amazing gardening books over the past few months, and I want to share them all with you now:

 

•    Four-Season Food Gardening

•    The Elegant & Edible Garden

•    The Urban Garden

•    Containers in the Garden

 

Containers in the Garden by Claus Dalby has incredible inspiration. Claus is one of my favorites to follow on Instagram, so I was thrilled when I found out he had come out with a brand-new book!

 

He’s written over 30 gardening books and is considered to be the foremost gardening expert of Denmark. Not only does he create beautiful planted containers, he also has the most amazing gardens and makes gorgeous floral arrangements.

 

I really get inspired by all Claus’ seasonal and holiday displays too. Check him out here on Instagram and on YouTube.   

 

 

ciao! fabiana

 

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my other favorite books here 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase via one of these links, I may receive a small commission from your purchase. This commission does not add any cost to you but helps me to continue to share new products and companies with you. Thank you for always being so supportive!   

 

dreaming of lilacs

Lilacs are oftentimes considered one of the first signals of spring. Having grown up on the east coast, I have a deep-seated affection for lilacs. They have truly the most magic aland intoxicating fragrance in the world. In southern California, with all the amazing plants we can grow, lilacs don’t seem to be a favorite of this climate.

The house I grew up in had a 100 foot long lilac hedge that divided our yard from our next door neighbors’. Each individual plant was just a tiny seedling when my father planted this hedgerow, and year after year, it quickly grew to an amazing treat for our eyes and noses. And luckily for me, my bedroom window was just above this luxurious shrubbery.   

So, whenever I see bouquets of lilacs for sale, the first thing I do is smell them. If they have even the slightest scent, then yes, they’re coming home with me!  They just fill the whole house with the aroma of home, childhood and love!

I love that purple lilacs symbolize the first emotions of love, while white lilacs represent youthful innocence. Don’t you love the language of flowers?

What’s your favorite spring flower?

By the way,

I haven’t found any lilacs yet this year,

but after seeing these images,

I’m on a mission!

and you'll be the first to know when I find some!

💜

“I've not much interest in the important things of life. Only in the beautiful things. Just this lilac here makes me happy.”     ―Erich Maria Remarque

ciao,  fabiana

photo credit:

Country Gardens

Living the Country Life

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