Late June garden

Rosa Odorata

I can't turn a smell
into a single word
you've no right
to ask. Warmth
coaxes rose frangrance
from the underside of petals.

The oil meets air:
rhodinol is old roses;
geraniol, like geranium;
nerol is my essence
of magnolia; eugenol,
a touch of gloves.

Wish you all a happy weekend!

Madelief x




Photo 3 William Shakespeare, photo 5 New Dawn, photo 7 Coral Dawn, 
photo 9 Sunny Abundance, photo 11 Rhapsody in Blue, photo 13 Belinda,
photo 14 Constance Spry 

Thermic baths & coffee houses

When in Budapest at the end of May, we saw lots of impressive places. One of them was the Széchenyi baths. a thermal complex with spa and wellness treatments, dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. The architecture of the building is amazing: the neo baroque baths, tiled ceilings and walls and enormous statues. In contrast I liked the wide hallways inside, with 1960s and 70s furniture. Although the weather was perfect for relaxing in the water, we did not take the plunge. We will definitely have to go back and do so next time! 


The photo's below were taken at the museum of Ady Emlék, a famous Hungarian poet. If you want to have a museum all to yourself and see how Ady lived, go and see. Although very small, the house is worth visiting. If only for the 'experience'. 

When in Budapest, you almost stumble over coffee houses. The one grander than the other. We walked through the New York café, had a look at café Gerbaud, but sat down in a little less well know café, a bit out of the way, run by a family for years. We loved it. The kindness of the people and the taste of the cakes are still vivid in my mind.

If you like antiques, I can advice you to go to Czene Tamas, an antique shop at Pal utca 7. It is filled to the brink with paintings, porcelain, glassware etc. It's the place to find the perfect souvenir to take home with you. The father and daughter who run the store, are really nice and can help you in your search. 

The exotic looking photo's in between, were taken at an Indonesian restaurant at the end of the Andrassy ut, while walking in the direction of the park. It's on the left hand side. I tried to find the name on the internet, but alas..... When you enter through the front garden, you walk past a row of huge bamboo trees and elephants. In the restaurant tea is served in the most beautiful Hungarian porcelain. The back garden is like a dream....

Well, that's it for today. Have fun!


Madelief x

A good year for roses

 

 

This year the roses in my garden flower in abundance. Although I lost my Pierre de Ronsard, Leornado da Vinci and Gertrude Jekyll rose over the winter, the ones that survived are more beautiful than ever.

The two ramblers: Paul's Himalyan Musk and Veilchenblau are high up the trees, with a waterfall of tiny pink and purple flowers tumbling down. The New Dawn, covering the veranda of the garden house, lost several large branches because of the cold, but recovered wonderfully. The Rhapsody in Blue and my new Heritage rose have exceeded my expectations.

Perhaps it's the amount of rain that fell, the sand I added to the heavy clay or the compost I gave them. I can only guess. What I do know for sure is that it must be a good year for roses :-)!


Is it a good year for the roses in your garden too?

Wish you a wonderful weekend!

Madelief x

 

Photo 1. Heritage rose, Photo 3 & 5 Paul's Himalyan musk, photo 11 Veilchenblau.

In the bouquet the above mentioned roses are mixed with Rosa New Dawn, Alchemilla mollis (Lady's Mantle) , Nepeta six hill giant,Centaurea (Bachelor's button) and Campanula persicifolia blue.

Foxgloves & the first roses

Lately I find it difficult what to post. There is so much I want to show you! I realise this is quite a luxury, but nevertheless.......time is catching up with me, especially in the garden. When I made this post, about a week ago, the first roses were just starting to bloom. Now, only a few more days later, there is an explosion of them! Salmon pink New Dawn roses covering the veranda of the garden house, while Veilchenblau and Paul's Himalyan musk find their way up the trees. But...more about roses in one of my next posts :-)!

The little white rose, which you can see in the bouquet, is always the first to appear. I don't really know it's name. If you can help me out on that, I would be really happy! I found it a few years ago on a piece of derelict land and took several cuttings of it. Some of them survived and now cover part of a fence in the back garden. The foxgloves which seem to pop up everywhere in the garden, only add to their beauty. 

Are the roses in your garden in bloom yet?

Have a lovely Wednesday!

Madelief x