Plant fair

Last weekend we went to a plant fair at the arboretum Trompenburg in Kralingen (Rotterdam). It's one of my favourite landscaped gardens in the neighbourhood. Dating back to 1820. It has a huge collection of trees, conifers, hosta's and rhododendrons.

We visit at least twice a year, when there is a plant fair. Specialised nurseries from all over Holland are present. This weekend the fair was extra special, due to the fine weather.

We walked through the garden, around the stalls and sat in the sun to eat some home made parsnip/carrot soup. We took several plants home with us. I couldn't resist the tall spiky stems and purple flowers of the Verbena bonariensis and the crimson bell shaped flowers of the penstemon Rich Ruby. I found it difficult not to take any Dahlia's with me, but I wasn't sure if I could keep the tubers over the winter. This year I will give it a go with the Dahlia's I have in my garden. I would welcome advice!

What I would love to know. Have you been to plant fair recently?

Wish you a happy wednesday!

Madelief x

Autumn lunch

Two weeks ago we had a few warm and sunny autumn days in Holland. I already cleaned the outdoor kitchen and prepared the garden house for winter, but this was too good an opportunity to miss.....another beautiful day in the garden!

I invited my parents to enjoy part of the day with us, and have lunch together. Because the grass was soaking wet, we put the table on the decking, which my brother recently renewed. From this elevated position we had a good view of the garden; the colourful flowers, the little garden house, the old hazelnut tree, the leaves of the plants slowly turning red, the morning mist.... I soaked it all up. It will be a long five months before the first spring flowers appear. Wish it could be sooner!

At the end of the day we took the last vegetables home with us. Some red and green peppers, garlic, oak leaf lettuce and grapes. Now it's time to open up my garden books once more and start thinking of what lies ahead. Will I plant more flowers, get rid of the herbs and some blackberry bushes, what shall I do with the fig tree that's giving too much shade......?

A lovely weekend to you all!

Madelief x

An autumn day in The Hague

Last Wednesday I went to The Hague with two friends of mine. It was as dark and dreary autumn day, but perfect for sightseeing. One of my friends, who was born in The Hague and knows the town very well, took us on a guided tour. She showed us Noordeinde palace, where our queen Beatrix works, the Royal stables and the Palace gardens. We walked along the Hofvijver, past the houses of parliament and the tower of the prime minister to the passage, a covered shopping street dating back to 1885. The day would not be complete without visiting some shops. We settled on the Denneweg and Frederikstraat, with it's many antique stores and galleries.

We ended our day in Hotel des Indes, where we had a delicious lunch. What a beautiful place the hotel is. It has the charm and grandeur of the old world, but with modern day luxury. It feels like stepping back in time, to the days when men and women were still wearing hats, doors were being held open and a hand kiss was still a frequently used gesture.

Let me show you where we have been.

Wish you all a happy weekend,

Madelief x

Biggie Best shop in de Frederikstraat

 

Inside the garden house

What a wonderful weekend we had in Holland! So strange to be sitting in the garden in October with temperatures up to 25 degrees Celsius. I planned to paint the ceilings of our garden house white, but because it was so hot, I decided to do it another time. Instead I took some photo's to show you how the inside of our garden house looks at the moment.

We took the old cupboard from our living room to the garden house. I was pleased to see that I could store more things than in our old cupboard. There was even some space left for the teacups, which I recently found at the flea market.

I still have lots of flowers from the garden. I can't remember having picked so much, for such a long time. There are still Sweet Peas, Cosmos, Zinnia, Sedum and lots of Dahlia's. Some plants seem to have taken a growing spurt, like some roses and the pepper plant in the greenhouse. I will show you some photo's next time! Hope you all had a lovely weekend too?!

Happy new week to you all,

Madelief x