15 photos of Brussels Botanical Garden

If you are in Brussels, and wish to spend nice time in the nature, walk through Brussels botanic garden in Meise can be very relaxing. 
I am little hesitating to what extend recommend you visiting this garden. It seems to me rather a scientific center. For sophisticated garden connoisseurs visiting the glass houses will wipe out the “so, so” impression of the rest of the garden. There are some true horti-pearls to see. 


View some pictures I have taken during my visit in May.    

Large Eoniums.

Strelitzia reginae.

Strelitzia reginae Mandela's Gold.

Thunbergia laurifolia.

Thunbergia laurifolia.

... still Thunbergia laurifolia...

Victoria amazonica with large leaves. In nature growing up to 3 m in diameter, in glass house reaching 1 m.  Pity it was not flowering in May.

Nymphea gigantea. Leaves with a radial slit, to 75 cm diameter. Flowers emergent, to 25 cm diameter, standing to 50 cm above the water surface.

Lotus. Nelumbo nucifera, known as Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or simply Lotus. 
Aquatic perennial, its seeds may remain viable for many years, with the oldest recorded lotus germination being from that of seeds 1,300 years old recovered from a dry lakebed in northeastern China.

Large collection of Sempervivum (Houseleeks or Liveforever), organised in very tidy way.

Interesting collection of roses blooming end of May. On the pictures Albertine.

Brussels botanical garden (The National Botanic Garden of Belgium) is located in Meise, a village 12 km north of the centre of Brussels (3 km north of the Atomium), inside the Flemish Region, i.e. outside of the Outer Ring Road (R0) around Brussels.

Address: National Botanic Garden of Belgium, Bouchout Domain, Nieuwelaan 38, 1860 Meise.
Not easy to find, but worth it :)

French Way to Prune Lavender

Franch way to prune lavender is maybe not really French by tradition. I call it French because for the first time I've heard about pruning garden with scissors. Normally I would be very suspicious, but the result is stunning. The owner of the method is Nicole de Vésian, the retired fashion stylist at House of Hermes, spent the last ten years of her life dressing rather her garden. She created an iconic Provencal garden of textures, shapes, scents and stones, without flowers. And she used scissors (!) for that as well!

I am always struggling to prune nicely my lavender. Inspired by Nicole, I decided to prune it this time with scissors. Let me tell you... I didn't expect it to be so easy and fast. Just look at the photo.... 

See also The Lavender Lover's Handbook: The 100 Most Beautiful and Fragrant Varieties for Growing, Crafting, and Cookin

Flowers From My Garden To You - GBBD August 2011

August 2009 and 2008 offered bit different flowers than this year. Garden is changing with time, climate is changing as well. Roses usually flowering also in August, this year decided to take holiday. Buds are in plenty, but no flowers...
I hope enjoy this set of 14 photos and this sameday delivery flowers from my garden to your PC, from Poland to wherever you are living and reading this.
GBBD is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Garden.

This container is freshly planted. Late planting because I had no heart to remove pansies...

H. paniculata Pinky Winky

Japanese anemone.

H. paniculata Limelight

Lonicera periclymenum Serotina

Coreopsis verticillata (Thread-leaf coreopsis) or whorled coreopsis, thread-leaved tickseed, thread leaf coreopsis or pot-of-gold.

Limelight

Wax begonia in the pot.

Phlox paniculata awfully oldfashioned, scented and self-seeded. It's self seeding easily if you don't dead-head it in autumn.

Pelargonium.

Obedient plant white variety.

Rudbeckia fulgida Golfsturm

Arugula blooming and I am waiting to save seeds.

Weigela florida variegata this year showing 2 different kind of flowers pink and white (right).

Giant hosta and giant spirit

This giant hosta grows in sloping garden you already know, if not jump here, here and here.
The lady smiling at you is my friend Krystyna.
See gloves?
After one day spending with her, I had to go to garden and work, work, work....to make it more beautiful. I sometimes wonder where she takes the power from?
It's good to have inspiring friends. Do you have?
Xo xo! 

What camera? What gardens in Northern France?

I have received an e-mail from Judith asking what camera do I use to take the photos published on Ewa in the Garden. Judith is heading to Normandy and Paris in September and asking for recommendations for gardens worth visiting while there. I decided to answer these questions here, because you might be also curious.

Answering first question, I am using mainly compact small camera Canon PowerShot A570IS. I cannot recommend this Canon for making nice garden photos in too much sunny days, but beside that it takes decent sometimes suprisingly nice photos for this class camera :) You need to find smooth soft light without deep contrasts. Then it will make nice photos. 
Recently sometimes I use  Sony Alpha SLTA33L DSLR - it has many more options, it is much more advanced, different class camera.   

When it comes to gardens in Northern France I can recommend wonderful Sericourt Gardens I’ve visited this year. And you may see some pictures here.

Xoxo! 

Dress Up Outdoor Rooms

Hello everyone! It's Mari here. I write as a guest blogger for Design Shuffle, a fabulous social networking site for interior designers, architects, design professionals and enthusiasts. I love my work because I get to explore the beautiful world of interior design every day. Then, it's my job to write about the great decorating ideas I discover. Sometimes those ideas are found in amazing outdoor living spaces as well.

We love to get outside, whether on a tiny apartment terrace, country porch or in a grand outdoor room with chandeliers and flowing curtains. Today, outdoor "rooms" have become almost as important to us as our interior spaces. So, when I was asked to do this guest post for Ewa in the Garden I knew the topic to choose was outdoor rooms and how to dress them up. Thanks Ewa for letting us be a part of your beautiful corner of the blog world!

Style at Home (via)

What better way to dress up an outdoor dining space than with over-the-top gorgeous blooms. It's obviously the perfect time of the year to dine and enjoy the riot of lovely blooms here in this garden. Isn't it beautiful how the chair cushions pick up the glow of green and yellow here!

Elle Decor (via)

Even in the city, it's possible to beautifully and simply decorate an outdoor room. This Manhattan terrace is dressed with oversized containers of greenery to define the wide-open space high above the city.

Daily Decorator (via)

A brilliant color palette transforms this patio and raised deck into an inviting space for relaxing and entertaining. A perfect mix of ceramics, textiles and lush plantings—all great outdoor living room design ideas.

Shelter Interior Design (via)

This comfortable country porch with a coastal theme is all dressed up with colorful ikat pillows and white slipcovers. Plants add the finishing touch.

Inspire Bohemia (via)

It doesn't get much better than dining outside under a wisteria-draped ceiling—unless of course, you add a glamorous chandelier and long draped table cloth atop a brick floor to complete the illusion of an outdoor room.

Mallie + Posh (via)

At first glance, this outdoor dining room appears very formal with its flowing white drapes, but take a second look and you'll see that furnishings in tropical hues actually give it a comfortable relaxed carefree air.

Southern Living (via)

Soft gold in the chair cushions and planters, along with the golden glow from candles make this the perfect place to relax as summer days turn cool. With a nice cup of tea, of course.

Belgian Pearls (via)

A covered outdoor dining space is all dressed up for a special dinner. This is one of those appealing dining room design ideas that can be used in even the most informal of spaces. Setting the table with your best china and crystal atop a crisp cloth is an easy way to make an outdoor style statement.

This post comes courtesy of Design Shuffle, where you can find top tier interior designs from around the world – from San Diego interior designers, Chicago interior designers, and more, check out the latest at Design Shuffle.

15 photos of the Top Rose Garden in London

Quuen Mary's Rose Garden offers a delight to rose maniacs. Below photograps were taken end of May - looks like this is the best timing to visit this rose garden in London. Located in Regents Park. Queen Mary's Rose Garden is one of the greatest formal rose gardens, with about 400 different varieties and more than 60,000 plants. It was founded in 1828 and was originally called the gardens of the Royal Botanic Society.

 Norwich Castle rose.

 Look how thick are the bottom stems of the roses. Entire plants were about 1 m tall.

 In the far sight roses scrambling along ropes in Fragonard swags.

 Above and below Brother Cadfael - English rose.

 Above and below Fellowship rose. Can you see how thick the body of this plan is? I think it must be very very old. Lichen grows on it - which means the air is clean.

 Ice Cream rose above.

 Little untidy Belle Epoque variety, but is it so important if you count the number of colors is displays?

Check out this great resource for finding best roses