Love Notes

I was at a cocktail party this week, and my lovely former neighbor Blair asked how I get ideas for the Love Notes.  I admitted to being a little worried about this one.   Historic Garden Week made for a busy week, and I had yet to even pick up a pen.  Worse still, I confessed I had zero ideas.   

But that is what I love about this weekly missive.  It forces me to look a little harder, and sometimes sends me out on a vigilant and assiduous hunt for little bits of life that just might be worth sharing here. 

Then my dear friend Ruth walked over, who had just run into someone she knew from Georgetown Visitation - where her daughters had gone to school.  The conversation turned to what it's like to go to a school with a religious affiliation different from your own.  Visitation, or Visy as it is known, is an all girls Catholic high school on a beautiful 45 acre campus in the heart of Georgetown, immediately north of Georgetown University.*

I had never heard of the Salesian tradition, which informs the school motto: be who you are and be that well.   READ MORE

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Consider the corner turned.  Spring is in bloom, we are dancing with the daffodils and tiptoeing through the tulips.  How inspired is this arrangement of rhubarb and ranunculus?  Miss Rhubarb - look at you.  Stepping into the chorus line, center stage across the table - instead of a Pyrex into the oven.  Hat's off, girlie!

This is the moment when everything starts to show off a little bit.  Nature's own version of  fireworks.  

I love hearing what's doing in everyone's garden, and noticing how far apart we all are.  Here's what's going on in mine, in Alexandria Virginia (zone 7):  a second wave of daffodils,  lilacs just opening, mid season tulips and Carolina jasmine in bloom.  Camellias have faded as the dogwoods begin to pop.    The azalea buds sit with lips pursed, about to burst into a technicolor wave of pink.   READ MORE

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Is there such a thing?!   Usually, I'd say no.

You know how I say that writing this note is one of my favorite parts of the week?  And oh it is oh so true.   But today, I’m coming to you from beneath a glorious, slightly teetering tower of too-muchness.

Between a flurry of bespoke design projects (really dreamy ones - new scarves and so much more - I can't wait to share!), along with prepping armfuls of flowers for the grand Historic Garden Week house tour this past Saturday, my days have been brimming. Truly brimming. With lilacs. With lovely dressmaker details. With logistics. With laughter. With lists I’ve lost track of.

It’s all been an absolute joy — and also, a gentle reminder that even beautiful things can be a lot.  READ MORE

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I've learned a lot about native plants and pollinators through my 29 years in the Garden Club of Virginia and the Garden Club of America.  Perhaps most importantly, I've learned how much I don't know.  

Pollinators are essential for maintaining vibrant ecosystems, and for the health of many of our food crops.   Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, birds, bats and other insects visit flowers in search of food, found in nectar and pollen.  While these small creatures feed, they transfer pollen from one plant to another.  From this, *cue the fireworks*, comes fertilization, leading to the formation of fruit and seeds.   As much as three fourths of the world's flowering plants and 35 percent of our food supply depend on pollinators.  READ MORE

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One of my favorite weeks of the year is upon us ... this Saturday April 23, marks the beginning of Historic Garden Week in Virginia.   Garden Clubs throughout the commonwealth will host a total of 28 unique area tours, including over 200 private gardens, homes, public garden and historic sites. Read more

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