Monday, June 28

poppy dreams

{hungarian blue poppy pods from my garden}

The house was neatly and imaginatively thatched, with a second roof, like a scalloped apron, over the first. The windows had leaded panes. A herringbone brick path crumbling with age and edged with lavender and santolina curved around to the back door. Here were hollyhocks and pinks, delphiniums, thyme and mignonette. An immaculate lawn stretched away from a flagstone area. At the bottom of the lawn, half hidden by a huge viburnum bodnantense, were two beehives. Barnaby, after his first shock of pleasure, stood for a long moment in silent appreciation. The garden settled round him as gardens will. Indifferent and harmonious; consolingly beautiful.*

That sounds like a house of perfection.

I'm also reading Handmade Houses: A Guide to the Woodbutcher's Art,** an incredible mostly-photo book of handmade houses; a collection of rustic stunners. One of them even has a tiny teahouse suspended on cables right over a creek. Bliss!

And lately I've been inspired by so much incredible photography on Flickr. 
Here are some of my favorites...


*from The Killings at Badger's Drift, by Caroline Graham, publ. 1987
** by Art Boericke/ Barry Shapiro, publ. 1973, San Francisco

10 comments:

madorange said...

I am in love with the poppy pods. They are the perfect color and look so magical. And you made such a beautiful photo with them!

bananenblatt said...

thanks for the flickr-links, i never have enough time to explore many new photos there (beside those of my contacts)...the bamboo-forest is amazing, and also the oranges are lovely!

Angela said...

Oh, how wonderful those poppy pods are! Poppies (probably the small California ones) are on my list when we finally landscape our yard.

Off to check off your Flickr links :)

sheena said...

I LOVE this photo!! It reminds me so much of when I was little and we pretended like the poppy pods were salt and pepper shakers.....we shook the seeds out on to everything:)

Violet said...

What a lovely picture. I love Polaroid's, shame the film is soo expensive here

ALFIE said...

just found your blog and love it!
will be reading for sure!

love that passage!

Brooke said...

madorange ~ thank you! Isn't that color wonderful? Brocolli plants are that color too: a blue-green. Love it. :)

bananenblatt ~ glad you liked the flickr photos: I could not believe that bamboo forest one! I'd love to see some gardens in Japan or China someday...

Angela ~ california poppies are so gorgeous. we don't have a lot of room for them: so we grow these, which grow straight up instead of sprawling everywhere. :)

sheena ~ that is so great, I wonder how many poppies were planted by you doing that? :)

Violet ~ have you heard of the Impossible Project film? They have instant film out now that is much more affordable. Polaroid film is getting so expensive, yikes! If I'd only known years ago....

Alfie ~ thank you! :)

caballosblancos said...

Wow... They're great. Like your latest posts ;)

Cindy said...

I love those blue poppies!
Do you know that there's a bamboo forest around Huntingdon Valley? My husband took my sons there awhile back, to cut down some bamboo (the guy was happy to have someone help him thin them out a bit)...now we have a small stand of them in our backyard...not sure how great of an idea that was, but they are pretty nice to see. I'll try to post some photos one day.

Brooke said...

caballosblancos ~ thanks. :)

Cindy ~ Yep, Tim's found a few stands in the area. One day we'll probably have our own bamboo grove, but no room for it where we presently are. :) I'd like to see pics of yours. Let me know if you post some. :)