English Landscape Sculpted

Image courtesy of Cowley Manor © Amy Murrell

This summer, make your way to Cowley Manor, a country house hotel in the Cotswolds, where eight graduate students from the Royal College of Art have temporarily installed their site-specific sculptures.

Strolling the grounds, you might see an eight-foot-tall wire tornado frozen mid-swirl on one of the lower lakes, or the word H-E-Y spelled out like a truncated version of the Hollywood sign at the foot of a grassy meadow. The latter, conceived by Wonwoo Lee, has won the juror’s prize and will permanently remain at Cowley Manor. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for Cradeaux Alexander’s amusing installation of “garden plaques with a twist” throughout the grounds. In front of a wooded trail is a sign declaring “A Path of Unusual Morals” and adjacent to a nearby shrub, “A Bush of Great Character.”

The RCA/Coutts sculpture exhibition will be on view until September 3rd and is open to hotel and restaurant guests as well as picnic goers.

Classic Wire Kitchen Basket

I have always been drawn to old wire baskets. I love the simplicity of their appearance and their no-nonsense functionality. Here is a favorite collapsible basket, made in France, intended for gathering, storing and cooking food. The original label is beautifully designed, too.



The obverse of the label also recommends using it whilst camping.

Egg-Citing for Easter

Here are 3 easy ideas to add to your repertoire of spring holiday decorations and centerpieces. They are all from Martha, of course.

I am definitely going to do this one. I'm quite certain all the materials needed are on hand.

The delicately dyed lavender egg shells with tiny blossoms are so sweet. They would look lovely in a cluster or at each place setting.

For more info, click on the images.

Dreaming of an Escape

Here's a little inspiration for your dream garden (and climate) -

Clever homeowners made up for a small master bath in their house with a garden bathing pavilion created from a funky old garden shed in their backyard. They cleaned it up, added a new tile floor, installed awning windows and trained ivy around the exterior for their very own spa.

Click here for more photos.

Log Cabin Envy

Cabins, huts, tiny houses and work spaces in winter sheds offer an appealing place for quiet, focused time. Recently, I've enjoyed catching up on a blog called Shedworking. Each entry brings new inspiration on the endless possibilities this form of architecture may yield. The log house above is a garden house and music studio on wheels in the Netherlands. For more photos, click here.

Green Walls

If you're already a fan of green roofs, green walls seem a logical next step. But creating a vertical garden that stays where it's intended to, is considerably more challenging. That, of course, is what makes it so interesting.

Living walls are fascinating outdoors and in. It's magical to enter an interior space with a green wall. As you get closer you can't help but feel healthier. The planted wall is reducing the CO2 while adding oxygen to the room. All that good energy and it is visually enchanting, too.

Here's a New York Times article on edible walls and here are more examples of living walls.

Reclaiming Building Materials

I have a dream that someday I'll have a little dream hut in my garden. My dream hut will be built with reclaimed materials and salvaged supplies. The windows and doors, stylishly mismatched, will bring their own history and character to the eclectic little hideaway.

Beautiful dream house ideas and inspirations may be found in Thrifty Chic by Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell with photography, as seen above and below, by Simon Brown.

Before and After - Garden Bench

How long can pleasing decay pass as a theme in my seating options? I have tried to be comfortable with the whole shabby chic approach to neglected metal garden furniture. But, it's not for everyone. Some friends look uncomfortable sitting back against a rusting, flaking settee in a strapless summer dress on a humid afternoon.

This year my list of warm weather projects was topped with a plan to refurbish the garden furniture and spiff it up a little. I am hesitantly sharing my first attempts to do just this.