What a difference in a month! It beginning to look like spring although it sure hasn’t been feeling like it. Temperatures have been mostly single digits C (seldom above 50 F).
A closer view this month
The trees are still pretty bare, but the grass is green and growing and the daffodils that we actually sodded over last year have returned. This brings me much joy.
In contrast, a friend helped me plant close to 200 daffodil bulbs in this new garden last fall. They were meant to fill the garden with a swath of yellow, and spill out onto the lawn (which they have done.) What a disappointment they have proved to be.
A work in progress
What’s in your garden right now? Are the spring flowers in your part of the world all finished?
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I did this balcony, although I wasn’t really on the cover of Time.
Twenty years ago, I had a small business decorating what I called “outdoor spaces”: porches, balconies, decks, patios, gazebos and so on. As part of my advertising as the haven maven, I wrote content for several online and print publications.
Yesterday, I found a piece I was particularly pleased with at the time, but which never found life in a publication. It’s especially appropriate around Oscars time, but there’s only one movie in this list that was made in this century, so I’m classifying it as ‘vintage’ rather than Oscars. Enjoy!
TOP TEN VINTAGE MOVIE OUTDOOR HAVENS
1. The absolutely most wonderful outdoor space in all of movie-making history must be the quintessential Adirondack-style screened porch in On Golden Pond. Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn’s portrayals of Norman and Ethel Thayer earned them Academy Awards in 1982.
2. My childhood dreams came to life in the musical number that Liesl and Rolfe danced around that fabulous gazebo in The Sound of Music. Nominated for ten 1966 Oscars, this musical saga of the von Trapp family took away five statuettes including Best Picture.
3. The widow’s walk that Colonel Behrani added to The House of Sand and Fog played an integral part in the plot of this 2003 drama. Who can forget Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo’s last afternoon together, watching the sun set from their precious balcony?
4. Last moments together play a recurring theme in movies and outdoor spaces. In the 1999 version of Anna and the King, Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat danced together in the royal gazebo the last time he held her in his arms.
5. Porch swings have often been associated with old-time courting, and so the scene in Witness in which Rachel and Daniel sat silently rocking spoke volumes and no dialogue was needed. Witness won two 1986 Academy Awards.
6. Hark – what light through yonder window breaks? The most famous balcony scene in history is over 400 years old. Willy Shakespeare would no doubt have loved Franco Zeffirelli’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, which copped two Oscars at the 1969 ceremonies.
7. Although the plantation setting might suggest lots of activity played out in outdoor living spaces, Gone with the Wind’s most memorable porch scene was when Melanie caught sight of Ashley’s return and fairly flew off the steps to run into his arms. GWTW was nominated for a phenomenal 15 Academy Awards in 1940 and won nine – including, of course, Best Picture.
8. Much of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner is set on Matt and Christina Drayton’s elegant terrace overlooking San Francisco. At the 1968 Academy ceremonies, Katherine Hepburn won her second of four Oscars for this picture.
9. Forrest Gump and his mother lived in a rambling southern country home with one of movies’ most beautiful white painted verandas. It was from here that Jenny stepped down on her wedding day. Among the six 1995 golden statuettes that this movie won, was an award to Tom Hanks as Best Actor, and Best Picture.
10. Titanic swept the box office and the 1998 ceremonies, winning an astonishing 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. But wait—this movie was set on a boat- where was the outdoor haven? Of course—Jack declared himself King of the World – all the while standing on the deck.
Two decades on I find my tastes have changed slightly. My favourite in the list now? Depends on whether I’m in city or country mode.
City: Hands down, the Drayton’s SF terrace in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Country: that absolutely wonderful wrap-around porch in Greenbow, Alabama.
How about you?
P.S. Some of the book and product links are affiliate links so I will receive a small percentage of any purchase you make after clicking through from this blog.
(Does anyone remember Katherine Hepburn’s famous line in Stage Door, 1937: “The calla lilies are in bloom again.”)?
When we moved here, there were several daylily plantings that have all thrived and grown. They really need to be divided this fall!
A sea of colour. Unlike many parts of the country (I’m thinking of you, Ontario) we had lots of rain and cool weather in June so the garden is somewhat lush.
One of the percs of country living is being able to see the stars. Countless nights, we have arrived home and stood outside our vehicles, head back and jaws open in awe. In the city, such viewing was impossible and limited to annual vacations in the ‘north’, or visits to a friend of a friend’s country place. (That didn’t happen often.)
Tonight is one of the best nights to have a ring-side seat to the stars because, of course, it’s time for the annual Perseids meteor shower, the best of the year – here in North America anyway.
So, just what is a shooting star? My research tells me that comets orbit continuously throughout our solar system. As the earth passes through a comet’s orbit on its way around the sun, some of the debris from the comet falls to earth as meteors. A meteor is a solid chunk of ice or metal that heats up the same way a space shuttle does when it passes through Earth’s upper atmosphere. They attain entry speeds of 12 – 18 miles per second and get hot enough to begin to vaporize. The evaporating gas from the meteor emits light, making the glow we see “shooting” by as the meteor falls toward the earth.
Unfortunately for me, today is the first rainy day in two weeks here and there will likely be too many clouds to see any stars at all tonight. But if you’re some place where you can observe this year’s show, here’s some tips I’ve picked up from country star-gazing.
• Get comfortable. A reclining chair, chaise or blanket on the ground will provide the best view and prevent a sore neck.
• Sitting or standing still outdoors can be a chilling experience, even in the summer. Bring a jacket or sweater and perhaps some blankets. This is especially important if you are accompanied by children who will be stretching out on the grass to watch the meteor shower.
• In many areas, you’ll want to use insect repellent to keep away mosquitoes and other pesky critters.
• Ten to 20 minutes before going outside, turn off all the lights in the house to help your eyes become accustomed to the dark. Of course, all of your outside lights should be off. If you find a lot of light in your neighborhood, you might organize a shooting star party, encouraging everyone to turn all of their inside and outdoor lights off for the evening and join you in watching the sky.
• While you’re waiting for the shooting stars, take a look around at the rest of the night sky. Next to the sun and moon, the planet Venus is the brightest object in the sky in the Northern hemisphere. You’ll see appear it above the western horizon just after sunset and may recognize it as the poetically named “Evening Star.” Or find Polaris, the North Star, around which the whole northern hemisphere sky seems to revolve.
Check a star map for what planets, stars and constellations are currently “showing” in your area. The trick to using a star map is to read it while holding it over your head. Suddenly, the ‘north” at the top and the ‘west’ to the right make sense!
• To see the Perseid meteor shower, look high in the northeast sky in the direction of the constellation Perseus and let your eyes relax and wander. The later you stay out, the better your chances are of seeing lots of shooting stars. After midnight, the earth turns into the direction of the meteor shower and you will see more meteors from the leading edge of the earth.
If you can’t get out tonight, when the Perseids shower is at its peak, there should still be some activity in the sky tomorrow night as well – and there’s always next year!
One of the most rewarding ways to use your larger outdoor living space in the country is to gather your family members for a reunion. Perhaps it’s a small group that gets together annually, or a large one whose far-flung members attend every two or five or even 10 years.
Whether large or small, a reunion is a wonderful opportunity to knit families closer together through shared stories. In the much-underrated 1990 film Avalon, a Russian immigrant to 1940s America relates the disintegration of his family ties. In his young manhood, his children gathered at the feet of older relatives during family gatherings and listened to tales of their heritage and history. As television took hold of society in the late ’50s, children and adults alike opted for the entertainment of television personalities, instead of the stories of their roots.
And just as the art of listening to stories has gone by the wayside, so has the art of telling them. Here’s how to re-start a tradition of storytelling at your family reunion. Read the rest of this entry »
There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.
(Henry James)
Country living usually offers outdoor living spaces that can be put to many different uses, including parties.
Perhaps nothing says “garden party” like having afternoon tea outdoors. It’s a charming reminder of bygone days and childhood make-believe. Outdoor spaces of all kinds (including balconies if you’re stuck in the city) can be successfully adapted to a tea party.
Tea parties span generations and will be enjoyed by your most sophisticated women friends or all the giggling little girls of your acquaintance.
And just as the art of listening to stories has gone by the wayside, so has the art of telling them. Here’s how to re-start a tradition of storytelling at your family reunion. 
Country living usually offers outdoor living spaces that can be put to many different uses, including parties.
