faulker042

Luxembourg Gardens, Paris.  15 Sept 2013 The fashionable color combo around the Senate building at  Luxembourg Gardens is red and purple. This is another favorite garden in Paris where I've never seen the same combinations repeated on my many visits over the years. Familiar flowers combined for a unique design. Castor bean, dahlias, petunias and geraniums dominate. Panoramic view of public section of the gardens. Pink (begonias and anemones) and blue plumbago towers (corners) are introduced. I like the use of purple fountain grass and purple spires of salvia. Add caption I'm inspired by the spires of salvia. Love this look. On a smaller scale, this would look great in a cottage garden. The color coordination of my scarf with the garden was purely coincidental. Words and photos by Freda Cameron , Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel .  All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies ...

Dahlia 'Bel Amour' at Jardin des Plantes. 15 Sept 2013 Jardin des Plantes is my favorite Paris garden, and I wander through on every visit, in different seasons and it's always delightful. Huge dahlia blooms—in many forms and colors—are abundant right now. The flower trial sign indicates the varieties were created by  Label Rouge   and are "Les dahlias de qualité supérieure." After enjoying our picnic on a bench in the gardens, I snapped a few dahlia photos to share with you. I can't decide which ones I like the best—do you have a favorite? Huge blooms! Dahlia 'Château de la Bordaisière' Dahlia 'Flamina' Dahlia 'Bumble Rumble' Dahlia 'Fripon' is a short variety, paired with echinops. Dahlia 'Néo' Dahlia 'Colorama' Dahlia 'Clair de Lune' These red dahlias show the height of most. Paired with deep red coleus, backed by grasses. Words and photos by Freda Cameron , Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel . All...

Jardin des Plantes, Paris in panorama mode. October 2012 (click to enlarge photos) Jardin des Plantes in October exceeded my expectations with grand displays of color, especially through salvia, tropicals and grasses. This is my favorite garden in Paris, but all of my prior visits were in the spring  when the tulips and forget-me-nots formed low carpets of color. All of my photos were taken with an iPhone 4s with OS/6. Today, we went to a social hosted by realtor Adrian Leeds (you may have seen her on HGTV's House Hunters International ). "Eye Phoned Paris" was presented by professional photographer Michael Honegger  who introduced us to a few applications to edit and enhance photos taken with an iPhone. After I shot these photos, I played around with CameraBag and Iris Photo Suite , so some have been edited with filters. For true inspiration in photography, be sure to take a look at Michael's website. We spent very little time in the gardens today as it began to sp...

The garden was created in 1857 by scientist Gustave Thuret. Photo: 3 April 2012; Cap d'Antibes, France. The third time is a charm. Well, the garden is charming and on my third trip to Cap d'Antibes, I finally visited Le Jardin Botanique de la Villa Thuret . This is not a "oh my, look at all those colorful flowers" kind of place. This garden, created in 1857 by scientist Gustave Thuret, is a collection of exotic Mediterranean trees and shrubs. The garden will intrigue those with a keen interest in botany or offer tranquility to those simply looking for a lush place to stroll.  There are "2500 individuals belonging to 1600 wild species and 145 botanical families." Every year, another 200 new species are introduced in this five acre garden. Newly-introduced plants are tested for their ability to adapt to the volcanic soil and local climate conditions. The new plants are watered for two years and only during extremely dry summers. Dead plant matter is left to dr...

After a long, leisurely and fabulous Saturday lunch at Plage Keller "Le Cesar" restaurant on La Garoupe Beach, my husband and I strolled along Boulevard Gardiole Bacon. This quiet street on the peninsula, Cap d'Antibes, is lined with villas—more accurately walled gardens that obscure the villas from view. Many of the villas are Provençal style, a common design in this area of France, and quite large and luxurious. Others are Spanish Mediterranean and then there are the modern architectural styles of white boxes. I prefer the traditional styles. I love garden gates. Even the driveways have gates, and some of those are inspiring. Come along on a stroll down that boulevard as we walked back to Antibes, a distance of about four kilometers, depending upon how many  detours we make to snap photos along the way. You see, we justify all the eating by walking! Words and photos by Freda Cameron , Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel . All company or product or patented n...

1.  Jenny's White Garden at Fearrington Village. Pittsboro, North Carolina. March 2012 2.  Duke Gardens, Duke University. Durham, North Carolina. July 2011 3.  Duke Gardens. July 2011 4.  Central Park, New York City. June 2011 5.  Musée des Impressionismes, Giverny, France. May 2009. 6.  In a Paris, France park. April 2011 Sprinkles, masses or entire gardens—the use of white flowers can be a huge success or a total fail. These six inspirations were gathered on visits to gardens at home and abroad. Jenny's White Garden at Fearrington Village changes with the seasons. Since this is located only five minutes from my home, I've seen the changes. In early spring, the white blooms are primarily daffodils and other spring bulbs. I've seen the Page-Rollins White Garden at Duke Gardens  only in the heat of July where it was splendid in the 90+°F heat of the summer sun. There are succulents, perennials and annuals as well as foliage plants. I've not locate...