Giant pyramid garden and freemasonry...

Long, long time ago, in the eighteen century she discovered a mysterious link between the pyramids in English landscape gardens and the secret Freemasonry society...

Pyramids or similar to pyramid-like forms in the early English landscape design in gardens like Cirencester, Castle Howard, Stowe, Rousham, Studley Royal, Castle Hill, appeared at very early stage, long before the later eighteenth century archaeological explorations of ancient civilizations, thus is sometimes understood as an expression of freemasonry ideals of the garden's owners.

She found out there is an interesting link between the landscape garden in England 1710 and 1730 and the period of the European Enlightenment and diffusion of Freemasonry in England and Europe. 

In this period many landowners and intellectuals were freemasons. Also many famous figures like Alexander Pope, Arbuthnot, Edward Harley, the Earl of Chesterfield, James Addison, Richard Steele, Jonathan Swift, James Thomson, Lord Burlington, Lord Cobham, William Stuckley, Lord Montague, Voltaire and Montesquieu. 

She also discovered that as Freemasonry develops in this period of time a focus for intellectuals, politicians, the gentry, artists and architects, as natural result there was an exchange of beliefs, aesthetic values and ideas between English and European intellectuals. Those intellectuals who had links with freemasonry secret society or were part of it, were also strongly linked with the development of the arts, including landscape architecture. 
Don't you think it would be interesting to research the connections between Freemasonry and the early English landscape garden?

Below photos were taken during Floriade garden show 2012. This interesting and pretty construction that adds interest to the flat surface of the garden, clearly revokes pyramids. Does it have any other meaning?

What do you think?

Vegetable sloping garden idea

This vegetable sloping garden idea is taking strawberries on the lowest bed. I like it. And asparagus on the highest one.
Do you like it?

Handy, handsome portable outdoor fireplace...

This portable outdoord fireplace in rusted steel seems to me very handy and very stylish. Additionally vertical twin storage for wood doesn't take too much space. Isn't it great idea?   

More rusted steel design ideas you may find while clicking here.

How to grow basil from cuttings

Constant supply of basil in the winter time – that’s my goal this year. I have checked internet and found out that some of the garden magicians grow basil from cuttings. I have never done it before. Usually I buy ready seedings or grow basil from seeds.

The idea of growing basil from cuttings and starting this before winter seemed to be puzzling to me, far more easy and faster than growing from seedlings. Trying if this works will be exciting, especially now when it’s time to cut off the basil from garden before the first frost will kill it. 

Another way to keep basil through the winter is trimming it heavily and taking home - I've done it one year with great success.

Current basil was fading away already, so I made fresh pesto from leaves, but also from part of the stems I took basil cuttings.  Removed majority of leaves and placed them in a fancy liqueur glass by sunny windowsill – that is suppose to guarantee 100% success rate. Fancy glass including of course…

This is done exactly same as I’ve done with brugmansia cuttings taken  in the autumn as well.

Will keep you posted if it rooted or what else happened.

Would you give it a try, as well? 

One... two... three... barbed wire laughs with glee...

Barbed wire garden deco would be the last thing I would think of.
This one looks surprisingly nice.
But....
Do YOU think it's safe?

Color frenzy fairytale...

Once… long… long… time ago… when I was young… and you were not born yet… there was a girl who loved gardens. She just started her first own garden… she was so focused on the plants and flowers that any additional element in the garden had to be in brown, so will not disturb admiring another beautiful plant in her newly starting collection.

Every little plant that appeared in the garden was looked after carefully. One day she decided that brown furniture is not elegant enough and she asked fellow bloggers about color in the garden. She was advised that BLUE might be right, because it would look great in the winter, while partly under the snow. She was thinking and thinking, considering the change.

After few weeks or even months she decided that WHITE is the only color she would love in the garden. So she painted the bench white. That’s all for her color courage in the garden so far.

Then one day she spotted color frenzy you can see on the photos! She knew the people who placed it together were right. Yet what could she do? Royal dignity must be maintained and thinking must be processed... What do you think?

Heirloom fruits and vegetables at Heritage Harvest Festival, Monticello, US, September 6-7, 2013

Coming week there is a chance to attend 7th annual Heritage Harvest Festival at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, US.  Thomas Jefferson championed vegetable cuisine, plant experimentation and sustainable agriculture.

Visitors will be able to taste a wide variety of heirloom fruits and vegetables, and learn about organic gardening, seed-saving, land preservation and discover locally-made foods.

This year’s featured speakers are Cary Fowler, former executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust and expert on the worldwide effort to save seeds, and Steve Bender, Senior Writer at Southern Living Magazine and gardening author for nearly 30 years. 

It seems to be very interesting, more info available here. 

How to convince lavender and perovskia to self-seeding

If they like growing conditions you choose for them, they will self-seed like crazy.

My lavender and perovskia self-seed after I have changed my attitude. 

My 7-8 years old lavender looks neat if pruned 2-3 times a year.  Otherwise it gets too messy, but it takes little pruning to get it to proper condition. 

This is this year earliest self-seeded seedling. It's already pretty big. Not pruned yet.

 Perovskia got the hot place, but I have a feeling it is too big here - I will think where to move it. One of them is the plant that self-seeded 4 years ago. You may see it here.

This perovskia seedling appeared mid spring - it's already 10 cm tall. The hot area there was not enough - it had to be under the stone to get more heat.

And this surprising and not so surprising combo - lavender and perovskia this year seedlings appearing together.

There are 3 conditions lavender and perovskia need to self-seeding freely and willingly, if you want more than you already have:

-       Change the spot for the one they love: hot and arid. Choose the hottest spot in your garden.

-      Don't collect all flowers, leave some of them to make your lavender produce and then scatter the seeds.

-       In the early summer and mid-summer don’t be too fast to weed around the plants. Let the small plants grow until you make sure they are not lavender or perovskia. Some of them appear really late – like July.  

Good luck!

Have a nice weekend!

Xoxo,
Ewa