Topiaries & One More!

I was looking at Bunny Williams's portfolio earlier today and this photo inspired me to investigate creating topiaries.   Look closely!  There are a couple of really handsome ones in the background. 

Whether used inside or prepared now for use on a patio or porch later, this might be a good time to while away the winter hours coddling some live greenery!

 

These are English ivy topiaries and a clipped lemon cypress.  The cyprus is trimmed into the desired shape.  The ivy ones are trained onto or around wire forms.  Although ivy can withstand cold temperatures it would be best to start these inside and move them outside as spring approaches.  Either of these would be a nice complement to an interior as well. 

 

 

Handsome topiaries like those above are made from ivy trained around a wire form.    Grapevine works too.  Elegant accents for a porch or patio.  Water, cajole and trim regularly. 

 

How about an arch?  This sweet little plant is angel vine and I found directions for creating this one.

 

Plant a 4-inch pot of angel vine in a premoistened soilless potting mix, such as Miracle-Gro Potting Mix. Insert your topiary frame on top of the plant. Wrap the plant around the frame to train it, snipping away the excess.

 

The interesting use of  plant life (below) showed up while I was looking at multi-million dollar properties for sale around the country.  That will be another post. 

 

Espalier is another skill in manipulating plant life into a particular shape.  I was impressed with this one. 

Got a brick wall?  There you go!!  It takes years but the results are worth the effort.  I did it with pyracantha some years ago on the house we lived in for many years.  It was a thorny but fun project.

What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?

I just read a post by Dewena Callis on her blog Across The Way that expressed well what is going on with me these days.  What are you doing the rest of your life?  It's a line from a song.  Dewena liked the Frank Sinatra version.  I think I remember Barbra Streisand singing it.

 

  What are you doing the rest of your life?
North and south and east and west of your life?
I have only one request of your life
That you spend it all with me.

 

Yeah!  Well, maybe not all of it but just enough so that I feel wanted!  I've been at this blog thing for several years having abandoned one that carried the name of my now defunct antique shop and moved on to this one.  Just in case you're thinking of trying to change the name of a blog it is hell.  It is much easier to just start over and be sure you don't link the new one to the same email.  I've been through all the horror of trying to retrieve that which was lost.  I gave up.  Pontifical's Porch has been around for a couple of years and I sometimes feel unloved by the blog community.  Just as Dewena said, we wonder how we are missing having people sign up to follow. 

 

Is it because you don't have a Google account?  That is easy enough to do and I like gmail a lot.  Free email.  It comes with your account.  I think the information required is fairly generic. 

 

I know I lost a couple of followers once when I railed against painting antique furniture.  I am fairly outspoken about the issues that are dear to my heart. 
 

There is a lot more on my mind about the rest of my life these days and I'm actually considering a blog on that subject.  I am older than most of the faces I see over there in the right hand column and I wonder if I am a pariah.  That isn't the word I most wanted to use but you see at my age the better one is sometimes elusive.  I wonder if I'm hip enough for the blogging audience.  Perhaps I should share more of my personal life and designs.  Sharing the designs is not easy since my business partner does the photos and seems to never be able to locate what I want.  So, I offer photos from the 'net to illustrate my theorems.  That's funny.  A theorem is an illustration, after all.  I remember when a pseudo artist friend thought doing a theorem was an easy task and presented me with ...well...I wish she'd studied the medium a bit more.  Perhaps I should not be so presumptive as to claim I have theorems since Wikipedia has "theorems and postulates" as synonyms.  No postulates, please.  Although there will very likely be some in that other blog if I write it.  Aaany-waaay..

 

Demena posted this quote from the marvelous Diana Vreeland:

 

Few things are more fascinating than the opportunity to see how other people live

during their private hours--in rooms they love, gardens they have planted,

among their personal possessions, pursuing their favorite interests,

enjoying their domestic arrangements to fit the pattern of their individual lives.

In her time homes were mostly shared in newspapers, magazines and books.  Look at us now!   So, in agreement with Demena, I will say,  "I plod ahead writing posts, searching for subjects and good photos, trying to visit my blog roll friends faithfully, leaving applause for them, comforted and inspired by my visits to them, often astounded at the sheer talent out there, rejoicing with their good news and often crying at their sad news."

Have a look at  http://awindow-lookacrosstheway.blogspot.com and get your Google account so you can follow legitimately.  We will all feel better if you do.

As for the song, I'm still working on it and I will link the other blog if I get the nerve to write it. 

All the seasons and the times of your days.
All the nickels and the dimes of your days.
Let the reasons and the rhymes of your days.
All begin and end with me.

 

Well...that would be a bit much but I thought you might appreciate another exerpt from the song. 

I wish for you the happiest and the best new year ever and thank every single one of you who visit here.  More, please!!

PS.  I'm laughing today at the song title that we maybe should have used.  The one from The Fantastiks with the chorus "follow follow follow follow follow"!!  Try To Remember.  Love that show and the music.  You're standing in my kumquats is one of my favorite lines. 

 

CHINOISERIE DEFINED (FOR ME)

A few days ago a romp through some of my favorite blogs brought me to a question about a usage in trade terminology. For whatever time I've known the term Chinoiserie, to me it has meant some sort of Oriental themed drawing on a lacquered surface. While wandering the blogosphere, I came across mention of Chinoiserie and the photos shown were of furniture pieces that were plain. Not plain in the sense of having no style but plain in that there were no Oriental figures, wobbly little trees or ladies with umbrellas painted on. That sent me on a search for a definition of Chinoiserie. Wikipedia has a full page of interesting information. Google Chinoiserie and the Wikipedia definition should be near the top of the page. I kept looking, promising myself to go back and read the whole thing on Wiki. I found a page advertising the San Francisco Fall Antiques Show from which I harvested the photo above. The definition given on that page is: "Western Art that incorporates or imitates Eastern design elements and techniques - a popular conceit across numerous styles for the past 400 years". Hmmm. That doesn't answer my question.  But wait, there's more: "Asian motifs, real and imagined, such as pagodas, parasols, flowers and birds have adorned all manner of architecture, interiors, furniture, decorative and fine arts". Chinoiserie. Who's gonna argue with San Francisco?

BTW, I'm also going back and read some of the links that showed up when I googled San Francisco Art Show. One could express great joy in the internet if there weren't so many glitches and opportunities spoiled by hitting the wrong button. I did that while writing this blog and it took forever to find the definition again. The next page that came in response to my query was just like the one I first saw in every way except there was a tiger where the Chinoiserie had been and no definition. Nothing if not tenacious. Some call it stubborn.  I found it again so that I could share it. 

PRUNELLE...

This is a repeat of a post from the old blog with a few edits to make it timely.  Not outdated, I think, since I've seen a lot of purple in design blogs in recent weeks so I brought this back.. 

 

I read a number of home decorating magazines itermittently. It's my business. There was a time when I stacked them up month by month. Would you believe I once had ALL the Victorias ever published? I miss Southern Accents terribly.  I buy Veranda sometimes and wish Elle Decor were more available to me.  Others I pick up sporadically or sometimes a friend passes one on.  I like shopping for magazines from a rack and just will not trust the mailman to deliver one unscathed.

In this brave new internet world we have some wonderful decorating and design blogs - there are so many but I've found some I can trust to offer inspiration regularly.  We'll link to them when we can. Two years ago there was a piece on The Peak of Chic about colors and how their names are more interesting in French than in English. The color being discussed was called prunelle by some famous designer. Purple. Brownish purple. The color doesn't sound any more appetizing than it's namesake but it is a fantastic design color for upholstery or accents. I would love to do a room with dove grey walls and shades of grey, prunelle and yellow in upholstery and accents.  Perhaps red.  I think a rich bullfight red and prunelle would be luscious next to each other.  It is a well known decorator maxim that every room should have a dot of red or black.   Notice I didn't say "pop".  I don't want anything to "pop" in my rooms.  I'm bored with the use of the word in fashion and decorating. 

Would I do the walls of a room in prunelle? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe.  Is it a new color or a new name?  In the same evening I browsed some clothing catalogs and found that JJill knew about prunella since there were at least six items in the online outlet close to that color. Come to think of it, I have an old and worn Life Is Good t-shirt that is faded prunella. I knew I liked that color.  Don't go looking at JJill now.  Remember I first wrote this post in 2009. 

The photo above is of Italian prunes and the one shiny one is the best exemplification of the color I could find. Isn't it rich??

~ Sami