Hortus Botanicus

One doesn't always have to travel far to see a beautiful garden. At the end of April last year, two friends took me on a belated birthday trip to the Hortus Bortanicus in Leiden. It's  half an hours drive from Rotterdam only.

The university garden is the oldest botanic garden in The Netherlands, and one of the oldest in the world. It dates back to 1590. It's a hidden treasure in Leiden's historical centre, situated between academy buildings and the observatory. There are several green houses, a rose garden, a Japanese garden, an orangery and a woodland part, which was my favourite.

I had been there before in summer, but to me spring in the Hortus is the best. The spring flowering bulbs, wild flowers, the amazing colour combinations, the young leaves on the trees. It's all like a dream. I couldn't stop taking photo's. If you need a burst of inspiration for your garden, do go and visit. It's worthwhile!

A Happy week ahead!

Love,

Madelief x

Thank you for your kind comments on my last post too.

Flowers, cookies and vintage finds

Hi,

This post is a bit late. Sorry about that. I tried to post on Sunday, but I did not have enough photo's. I would have loved to show you some early crocusses (wishful thinking) or close ups of the hellebores in my garden, but it will have to wait. I was too busy to even go there. Really miss it, but it's the way it is. My time was taken up with work, appointments and a patisserie course I started recently. Hence the cookies.

The cookies are called Koggetjes in Dutch and come from Amsterdam originally. It's a thin, crispy and incredibly tasty nougatine cookie. My hazelnut merinque pie (so proud :-) would have been much more photogenic, but because of it's limited shelf life I had to chop it in half and freeze it straight away. The pie will be a present for my father, who will celebrate his birthday with us next week.

If you are interested in the cookie recipe, you can find it here.

The photo's above and below were taken in my workroom mostly. That's the place where I store my treasures. The wooden toy duck,  floral tin and the blue and white art deco teaset are recent vintage finds.

Did you visit a flea market or thrift store recently? Found any treasures?

Enjoy the rest of the week! I may post irregularly the coming weeks. Hope you don't mind too much.

Love,

Madelief x

A rain soaked garden

Somehow I always choose the worst days of the week to work in the garden :-). It was pouring with rain when I opened the garden gate last Wednesday. On a whim I drove to the allotment, coming back from and errand in a nearby village.

Before I entered, I met an elderly couple, who just came back from their garden and asked me what on earth I was going to do in mine. The garden being partly waterlogged. Thing is.... I didn't really know..... It had been an eventful week. Working in my garden or just being there gives me the peace and quiet that I need. It clears my mind and fills it with new ideas.

I planted left over bulbs, which I bought at a reduced price in containers, had a look through the seed packages sweets friends gave me, or which I swapped with them. 

Just before I left I had a quick walk through the garden, to see how the plants were doing. Some leaves are turning yellow, so please keep your fingers crossed they will survive the rain. There is good news as well. There are lots of shoots everywhere, the hellebore buds are developing and I can already see the noses of some tulip bulbs appear above ground. It won't be long now. Can't wait :-)

The photo's in today's post are a combination of photo's I took in my garden last week, combined with some I made last summer and haven't shown you yet.

Wishing you a sunny week!.

Love,

Madelief x