Citrus Garden by Josef Frank in primary is a favorite of mine. Red was the only color in my garden last week that worked with this latest batch of pillows.  Almost looks patriotic with the blue and white chinoiserie thrown in, which was not really my intention, but pretty nonetheless.

With peony season behind us, which is always too short lived, we are moving into dahlia season, which is a personal favorite. It is always so unpredictable what will show up every year although with the deluge of rain this past Spring I am hopeful. At least dahlia season lasts clear into Fall.

I can never bear to waste any of the scraps from this fabric so we make all kinds of accent and lumbar pillows as well as gifts bags.

This timeless pattern is popular beyond words. Always on back order, I finally received the lime colorway yesterday that I ordered back in January.  The next batch is not due until September, with this batch already sold out.

My insanely talented neighbor puts us all to shame with the display of flowers in her front yard. And if you are lucky enough to  get an invite to her backyard you are in for a real treat.  She recently redid her backyard with amazing steel box planters  (over flowing with daffodils and tulips this spring), some cement-scaping that includes a sunken fire pit and a few grassy spots for outdoor dining.  The covered shelter will be great almost year round.  I particularly love the fence, stained in black, which adds such a great contrast. 

She chose some outdoor pillows from STUDIO TULLIA including Citrus Garden in Pool, another long standing favorite.

And Schumacher has come out with a couple more colorways this year…

CITRUS GARDEN IN GARDEN

Reminds me of a tiled mosaic walkway I came across on a recent walk in our neighborhood.

CITRUS GARDEN IN LEAF

Pretty refreshing, eh? Now I want a gin & tonic.

FERNARIUM by Schumacher

We’ve got lots of ferns in our garden in the Pacific NorthWest.   Something out of character for our region that we find every year is this odd phenomenon of a flower, called the CORPSE FLOWER. It smells like rotting flesh, believe it or not. Hence the name.

Never fails that every year I catch a whiff of what smells like a rotting animal, and now I know, it’s back.

For a couple years, I tried to extract it from the garden and it has just kept coming back every year with a vengence. We were amazed to discover that it is quite a novelty, with crowds waiting in long lines at the NY Botanical Musuem to observe this annual oddity. I was shocked to discover that some variations are far taller than the human species!

We brought this flower to my brother in law for his fortieth birthday. With all windows down for the entire ride, we proudly presented it to him. We had to enjoy it from a distance,  a good 20 feet from our gathering, LOL.

Not to be too morbid, but it does seem like a flower symbolic of our times, and having just gotten over Covid in the last couple weeks at our household.

All this morbidity and strangeness in the garden reminds me of my art history days and studying the famous painting by Spanish painter, BOSCH.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

“As little is known of Bosch’s life or intentions, interpretations of his intent range from an admonition of worldly fleshy indulgence, to a dire warning on the perils of life’s temptations, to an evocation of ultimate sexual joy. The intricacy of its symbolism, particularly that of the central panel, has led to a wide range of scholarly interpretations over the centuries. Twentieth-century art historians are divided as to whether the triptych’s central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of paradise lost.” – Wikipedia

ANYWAY, back to Josef Frank, so we end on a positive note…

This is the sofa of my dreams.

Josef Frank, Austrian-born architect/artist/designer, became a Swedish citizen in the latter half of his life. Together with Oskar Strnad, he created the Vienna School of Architecture, and its concept of Modern houses, housing and interiors.  If you want to explore his life and work further you can go HERE, where there is a comprehensive exhibit of his work. 

Or check out this book, which features interiors, furniture, design, and architecture of the mid century in Vienna:

Enjoy your Summer, the garden and the occasional cool drink out on the patio…until next time.

XOXO,

Suzanne