Gardening for the late bloomer

I have a friend in England who has the most beautiful garden. It has several herbaceous borders, an orchard, vegetable plots, a lawn suitable for croquet and even a meadow. She is a cell biologist by profession so naturally she knows what she is doing, but her garden is a true labour of love. Whenever I visit, it is such a treat to wander around it, looking at the changes she has made, the imaginative layouts and the gorgeous displays. No matter what time of year, there is always something to see and do. When I lived in Norfolk, near my friend, she tried many times to impart her considerable green wisdom but I never got the hang of it. Even the most hardy of plants withered under my inexpert care.
We now have a bungalow with a reasonable sized plot of land in Oakville, Canada. The climate here is for Zone 5 so we can have quite a good range of plants, at least the books say we can. Although, the last winter made us wonder if anything survived. There are several mature maple trees in front and back and the previous owner left a good selection of perennials, albeit rather haphazardly planted. The first year we just watched to see what grew. Quite a lot, it turned out, including hyacinth in the middle of the lawn and several circular flower beds with regimental arrangements of tulips, day lilies and some plants we have still yet to identify. Now going on our third summer, we have bravely rearranged a few beds, removed a few and put in a retaining wall in the back. While nowhere near as ambitious as my friend's garden in England, it is certainly starting to take shape. Admittedly my dear husband does the majority of the labour, mowing and landscaping. I am still rather timid with the plants I choose, preferring the more reliable well known varieties. We have several types of peonies which are the divas of the garden, they are very blousey and don't last long but give a wonderful splash of colour. We are in the process of putting in a deck. So far we have the section from the back door to the end of the house completed and steps down to the back. The lower deck will be completed soon, which will give a good excuse for a party. We have high hedges in the back and are surrounded by mature trees so it is very relaxing to sit in the morning with a coffee, listening to the birds. It has taken me awhile but I am finally getting the hang of growing things. The trick for me is to get something I like and see how it manages. Sometimes it may require moving things around but, so far, there have been only a few fatalities.

In Bruges

It is very hard to take a bad picture in Bruges. Every street is like a painting, walking over bridges you glance left or right and see pretty scenes of tour boats on canals or horse drawn carts taking tourists through the cobbled streets. It has a
village feel to it and the flower market in the old town centre is definitely worth visiting. One interesting part for me was the old medieval fish market. Although there were no fish for sale this day, the individual stalls have cool stone slabs for laying the fish on, a remarkably efficient design. We spent a pleasant day wandering the streets, buying souvenirs and soaking up the atmosphere.



We visited the beguinage in Bruges, a women-only religious retreat. It was peaceful and serene. It has a small wooded courtyard surrounded by small houses and walled off from the town. This is one of several bequinages in Belgium and the Netherlands which have been given World Heritage Sites status by UNESCO. These places are unique and tranquil in atmosphere, almost like stepping back in time.


The Gothic church, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady) has a beautiful little statue of Madonna and Child by Michaelangelo. It is apparently the only statue by Michaelangelo outside Italy. It was bought by a wealthy Flemish merchant and donated to the church. There were numerous museums, churches and medieval buildings to see.




You could easily spend a whole week in Bruges, exploring the sites,  but we only had one day. We finished it off with a visit to the Half Moon, a brewery and pub. We decided to pass on the tour of the brewery and just sampled the tasty product. We can highly recommend it!

Brussels

Brussels is the home of the European Parliament. It has a reputation for being stodgy, boring, and full of bureaucrats - like Ottawa, only much older and much bigger. But if you ignore that and just concentrate on the culture, well, it has something for everyone. We had just two days so we decided to see if we could capture our own taste of Brussels. There was funky street art and oodles of shops and cafes. We wandered into Brusel - a bookshop extraodinaire. It had comic books from several generations in several languages, a real trip down memory lane for anyone looking for comics like Asterix and Tintin as well as the latest in Manga and cartoon strips.

Window shopping was fun near the Galleries Royales St. Hubert. Sitting and enjoying coffee and cake, we noticed one local who was most definitely a regular (see photo). Both myself and my husband love the Art Nouveau period and Brussels is a haven for that style. A must for us was the Horta Museum, located at 25 Rue Americaine. The gorgeous interior is a work of art. The attention to detail is everywhere. As soon as you walk in, everything has a fluid flow. The staircase with its twisting and winding wrought iron railings swirl like ivy entwined pulling your gaze upwards to a splendid skylight. Each of the rooms has every feature meticulously crafted from the fitted cupboards to the masterful carpentry in the doors and around the windows. Even the lighting and fixtures have the stylized details crafted with such exquisite care. Some of the furniture is not original to the house but enough has been retained to give an overall effect of luxury, opulence and style. The only disappointing feature was the untended gardens in the back and the sunroom on the second floor. The plants were dried out and some even dying. It detracted from the rest of the property and really would not have taken much to put right.

What trip to Brussels would not be complete without the trudge to that little statuette, Manneken Pis. It was disappointing and bizarre to see flocks of tourists herded to this unremarkable little figure. So many were photographing it and themselves in front of it, then they quickly were moved on to the next regulated site by their tour guides. Yet all around them on this street corner were several wonderful stone carved images over doorways, like this devilish fellow: and beautiful buildings with intricate designs, going largely unnoticed by these visitors. While it is fun to see many of these famous tourist attractions, it is also no great effort to look just a bit beyond the guide books in order to find your own memorable landmarks.

The statues on the beautiful baroque and gothic buildings in the Grand Place were a personal favorite for me. There was so much character and individuality in each and every one of the carvings. I was particularly interested in the female figures and found two beautiful and fashionable ladies placed side by side. I am not sure if they depict saints or wealthy women of the court. The lively and delicate features of the young woman touching the bird on her shoulder along with her casual and animated pose made her a striking figure. I could have spent several hours gazing up at all of these characters. Fortunately for my dear husband, there were several cafes in the area offering that other necessary taste of Belgium - beer. We rested awhile and enjoyed a triple (9.6% alcohol) and watched the world go by. Recognizing a familiar accent nearby, we smiled at each other as we noticed a flag on one of their knapsacks. No matter how far away from home you are, isn't it funny how small the world can be.

The traveller returns!

We recently returned from a 10 day trip to The Netherlands and Belgium. The Netherlands was the family part as my darling husband is originally from Holland, although he took Canadian citizenship in the 70s. We spent 5 days with family, catching up on news and celebrating birthdays - mine included. Then we went on to Belgium, just the two of us, for our proper holiday of culture vulture activities; museums, galleries, medieval churches, cafes and shopping. It was a fantastic trip and although at times tiring, we came back full of inspiration. My next few blogs will likely be touching on the various places we went to visit, what were highlights for me and what I found particularly inspiring. The beautiful medieval towns of Ghent, Antwerp and Bruges were a treat to roam around.Each has its own unique feel and character. The most difficult part was deciding what to do. We really had to be firm with what we had to see as opposed to what could wait for another visit. Fortunately, both of us have similar interests. We both love art, so the hardest part was deciding which galleries and museums made the short list. And scheduling regular rest breaks was also important. Stopping for a coffee at cafes was not difficult as they are everywhere and are, in fact, part of the experience. Just sitting and watching people go by in such wonderful surroundings was incredibly relaxing and enjoyable. Of course there were personal observations that any traveler likes to make and the inevitable comparisons -like, many older Belgian women were dressed so stylish, and coming from anti-smoking Ontario it is alarming how many Europeans smoke, and why can't we have escalators that stop when no one is on them and are activated when you step on the pad at the top or bottom of the escalator. The same company makes them here in Canada as there in Belgium!

But the real joy of traveling is coming home, tired but happy with little treasures gathered along the way, fond memories and, in my case, with over 400 photos. Don't you just love digital cameras!

Clothesline Chic

I have been eco chic long before it was fashionable. I even had a Canadian Tire clothesline set shipped to England when I lived there as it was impossible to find a pulley clothes line! Can you believe the home of the Industrial Revolution did not have a simple pulley clothesline for sale to the common masses? Neither could I but months of fruitless searching left me desperate. Eventually, friends visiting from Canada asked what to bring as a gift. Foregoing the usual jug of maple syrup I requested the clothesline, much to their disbelief also! Anyway, since returning to Canada I have reinstalled a new clothesline - I left the other behind in old Blighty, to the delight of the new homeowners. Something I did purchase while visiting family there recently were these super little silicone covered soft grip pegs . I purchased them at a store called Lakeland but have since found you can get them here also at Solutions.- although I have only found them in white. They are brilliant for delicate fabrics like lingerie, soft knits and some synthetic t-shirts as they grip well but leave no marks.

Snow

Snow, in Canada, is not news. However, even we have had enough. While many have escaped to warmer climates for Spring break, the rest of us are left to shovel and shiver. Spare a warm thought for those of us still in the grip of winter. Spring is two weeks away, officially, but with views like this from our window, we may have a bit of a wait for those tulips.

Toronto Art Expo 2008

This year’s Toronto Art Expo is billed as showcasing over 300 of the finest artists Canada has to offer. Myself and my darling husband went there on the second evening to see for ourselves. We have been collecting Canadian artists works over the last few years and make an effort to go to several galleries and events both summer and winter, so far mostly in Ontario. Both of us have lived in Europe for a number of years and continue to travel there every year and although we have been to numerous art exhibitions, galleries and showings in a number of countries, this was our first time since returning to Canada to attend the annual Toronto Art Expo. We were somewhat disappointed. Not because there wasn’t good art, there was plenty. What was disappointing was the vast range of skill and the limited variety of art available. While there are clearly some exceptionally fine artists on display, several whom we have been following for a number of years and some new ones we will definitely add to our list to watch, and hopefully purchase, there were also a number of artists who have clearly not progressed beyond their art classes. Their presence at this expo is more to do with affording the $2000 stall fee than being able to compete with their peers. It is difficult to say whether this is a reflection of Toronto as not yet having sufficient numbers of patrons willing to buy and as a result raise the bar and thereby increasing the competition stakes or whether sufficient numbers of artists were able to afford the entry fees. Certainly being so close to the One of a Kind Spring Show, many artists likely decided to opt for the more likely retail success of One of a Kind, which no doubt draws much larger crowds. Most noticeable at the Toronto Art Expo, there were predominantly painters. We had hoped to see more sculptural works and while there were also some textile and mixed media artists, for the most it was painted canvases.

Artists I particularly liked included Stephanie Ford Forrester, whose silk quilts were luminous and exquisitely styled. Debra Tate-Sears had several wonderfully drawn watercolours, one scene of horse drawn threshers racing across a wheat field with gathering storm clouds in the distance was very dramatic. Greg Shafley, artist and printmaker, had an exceptional array of work which included finely drawn nudes and hauntingly beautiful landscape prints. I could not resist and bought one of his moonlit scenes, elegantly framed and very reasonably priced. He apparently trained under David Blackwood and his drawing skills are certainly of a high caliber. Marjolyn van der Hart is a personal favorite also, we have two of her works in our collection. Her colours and themes are reminiscent of the Impressionists with refreshing modern elements.

It was surprisingly quiet for a Friday evening downtown event like this. We expected there would be many more visitors. Perhaps the snow has kept people away or many patrons were on their way south for some much needed sunshine and warmth. We will return next year. Toronto needs to support the artists, they are the makers of our cultural fibre.