A Contributing Editor

Last Fall, while discussing the details over the feature on our guest house, I was asked to join Country Living magazine as a contributing editor. 

This was of course a complete surprise, and I was sure I was being mistaken for someone else. 

When I told Mike this news, he responded with lots of congratulations, and then asked, "what does a contributing editor do?" 

I said that I didn't know exactly, but it sounded very important! 

Needless to say, I was quite honored to be asked as I've been a passionate Country Living reader for many years. 

So far, I've been helping to develop story ideas and to find beautiful homes to feature on the pages of the magazine. It has been a great experience. I am continually reminded of the passion and spirit that so many people invest to make their homes and livelihoods truly beautiful and special, and also how their lives are enriched by the beauty that they create. 

There are so many wonderful details that fashion those warm and loving spaces. And that's ultimately what its all about isn't it -  

to endear those spaces so that we and our loved ones feel embraced by the homes that hold us? 

I look forward to sharing my experiences through this new endeavor!

The Lovely Peony

The peonies are coming up in the garden. 

 I imagine that in the next week or so, we'll see some blossoms. 

To celebrate their arrival, I pulled a few blossom photos from the archives.

Have a wonderful day!

A Love of Hydrangeas

I brought home a bouquet of cut hydrangeas the other day. 

It's made me think of all the hydrangeas I've planted in the garden. 

I've planted twelve varieties over the past several years. 

I just love them.

There's the Limelight and Mini Limelights that surround our dining patio. 

We also planted a hedge of Limelights along the old sauna building. 

My favorite varieties are those that express this wonderful lavender-blue hue. 

Nikko Blue, Endless Summer, Penny Pac...are all dependable for this coloring in their blossoms. 

This bed of Little Lamb hydrangea are under the windows at the east end of the dining room. 

Here they are in late summer. They blossom cream and fade (brighten) to a wonderful pink when the nights turn cool at the end of summer. 

Hydrangeas (hydro) are named for their love and need of lots of water. If your cut bouquets start to fade, give them a nice cool bath and they will brighten up. It's wonderful to watch. 

Endless Summer. 

This variety blooms all summer long. A few more examples of their blossoms follow below. 

Endless Summer. 

Endless Summer. 

Endless Summer. 

This hydrangea bed has mostly Endless Summer, with a mix of pinks and blues. 

They were so small (one gallon pots and smaller) when we planted them. 

It's amazing to see them so big now. 

You can see a large Nikko Blue blossom in the back corner. 

Classic Nikko Blue. 

They are all so brilliant in color. 

The north facing hydrangea bed has a wonderful view of the valley. 

This Pee Gee hydrangea is in the front bed which receives a lot of sun throughout the day. Pee Gee is a sun tolerant variety so I planted several of them. 

I also planted some Pee Gee's in front of the dining room windows (on left). As you can see, they look a lot like the Little Lamb hydrangeas underneath the east facing dining room windows (on right). 

Here they are again from the porch. 

Hydrangeas have been a wonderful addition to our gardens. They have thrived in our Pacific Northwest environment (we are in Zone 5). 

Also, the deer have never bothered them and unlike the roses, we've never had to treat them for anything (fungus, pests, etc.). 

They are amazingly low maintenance. 

They just need water. 

I hope to plant some of these favorite hydrangeas at our new home. I'll have to wait and see what zone we end up in!