“Beauty is the shadow of God on the universe.” ~ Gabriela Mistral
Photo from: Flower House|Garden| Lifestyle Magazine
“Soft hearts make the universe worth living in.” ~ Veronica Roth
Good Sunday morning, dear friends. The horrendous events of this past week left me feeling lost, bewildered, and heartbroken. Perhaps you felt the same? So, what did I do for comfort? I turned, as I always do in times of distress, to beauty. Beauty helps soothe broken hearts and souls.
Thinking that your hearts could probably use a little soothing as well, I thought I would share some lovely things which helped brighten my past few days. Please know I am not rushing the season and I don’t think I have gone around the bend. However, tulips are such happy flowers and they always bring me smiles. I hope they will do the same for you.
“A simple gathering of tulips in a tole jardinière brightens a room. See designer Mimi Brown’s step-by-step instructions for this easy-to-assemble arrangement in an excerpt from LIVING FLORAL by Margot Shaw” (see note at the end of this post.) Photo and information are from, Flower.
“Tulips are all about levity and rebirth. Their flowers are like ballerinas ~ they dance” ~ Sandra Sigman
All of the following photos are from Flower House|Garden| Lifestyle Magazine. Should you not be familiar with this magazine I highly recommend you purchase a copy. It is spectacular, not just one issue, but each one. And, the regular column in each issue written by the Editor-In-Chief, Margot Shaw, is always grand. Also, her book Living Floral is a treasure. (See information about the magazine and book at the end of this post.)
This lovely photo was taken at the gardens of the Stevens-Coolidge Place. The Stevens–Coolidge Place, formerly known as Ashdale Farm, is a garden and historic home located on 91 acres in North Andover, Massachusetts. It is stewarded by the Trustees of Reservations to preserve the 20th-century North Andover, Massachusetts estate of Helen Stevens Coolidge and her husband John Gardner Coolidge, a descendent of Thomas Jefferson. Notice, the serpentine wall which was added by architect Joseph Everett Chandler when he designed the Steven-Coolidge gardens. It serves as a nod to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.
This pretty lady is floral designer, Sandra Sigman. She said, “I felt lightheaded when I rounded the bend at Stevens-Coolidge Place and saw 30,000 tulips in full splendor.” I certainly guess one would. What a sight to behold!
“Muscari and white hyacinths balance the visual weight of yellow and peach double tulips. Green viburnum softens the flow.” Design by, Sandra Sigman
Design, by Sandra Sigman.
According to Sigman, “Tulip’s beam happiness, and they prompt glorious floral arrangements in a range of hues other flowers can only wish to match”
Dear friends, I hope you have enjoyed your visit and that you have been soothed by a little beauty.
Know I wish you and yours a lovely day and a splendid week ahead.
And. . .
May you find love, beauty, and kind souls wherever you roam. Stay well!
Tulip, Amazone
“To love beauty is to see light.” ~ Victor Hugo
Amour,
Sandra
Notes:
The magazine Flower House|Garden| Lifestyle, may be ordered here:
Living Floral, by Margot Shaw is available through Amazon
The Stevens-Coolidge Place’s Spring Spectacular will be held April 24–May 16, 2021. Pre-registration is required. For more information, visit thetrustees.org
There are 150,000 bulbs planted throughout their grounds. One would have to be inspired at such a sight. It truly will be a Spring Spectacular.
April 17 – 24, 2021, will be Historic Garden Week in Virginia. This is something quite amazing and I highly recommend attending. For information, Visit:
Photo of tulip, Amazone is from Pinterest.
Fabulous pictures! Made me smile! Have a blessed day!
Thank you, Maristella. Wishing you a blessed day as well.
Beautiful flowers! And the sun is shining here in the capital city this morning, what a great combination (it’s been so gray for so many days!). Happy Sunday, Sandra. I am in love with that muscari and white hyacinth bouquet – pinned!
Thanks, Rita. We have sunshine this morning as well. We have also had gray skies for so many days it is hard to remember it being different. Wishing you a wonderful day and week ahead.
I loved Sanda Sigman’s work and it won’t be too long before we will see tulips.
Good morning, Sandra! Those flower bouquets are so beautiful and have me dreaming of spring. I’m going to have to check that magazine out. Thanks for sharing! Happy Sunday!
Good morning to you, Shannon. This time of year I think we all in need of a little color. I love it when the grocery stores begin to carry winter tulips. Here that is late January. I do believe you would enjoy the magazine. In my opinion, it is a treasure. Happy day to you, my friend.
Beautiful images. I would love to see that many tulips blooming but to be able to cut them and make an arrangement would be wonderful!
Have a great week, Sandra.
Good morning, Bonnie. I so agree with you. Seeing that many would truly be a feast for the eyes.
Wishing you a lovely day and week ahead.
Sandra, the tulips are so beautiful. I agree with Rita, the muscari and white hyacinths are fabulous. I have the “Living Floral” book and I shall pull it off the shelf and revisit it this week for some beautiful flower therapy. The sun is shining after many days of rain and gray skies. Wishing you a lovely day, my friend!
“Living Floral” is a treasure Pam. Flower therapy helps us all. We have sunny skies this morning as well, it is such a marvelous sight. Have a wonderful day and week ahead.❤
My subscription to Flower expired but I do know the publication and it is indeed a stunner. And you are right — we need beauty as an antidote to the ugly we have seen in the past week. Thanks for this one, sweet friend.
Thank you, Jeanie. Praying for days up to and through Jan. 20. We have daffodils on their way up – a sign of hope. Wishing you a wonderful day and week ahead. Hope you are under blue skies.❤
Thank you for this. I really needed something to sooth my soul. I am going to order the magazine. Happy Sunday.
Penny, I believe you will enjoy the magazine. I think it is outstanding and it makes me happy when I see it in the mail. Wishing you a wonderful day and week ahead.
I hope that many people will be able to enjoy your Tulip Festival this year. We will need to see all the beautiful growing flowers to lift our hearts and make our soul sing again. Thank you for sharing this beauty and calmness and hope.?
Thank you so much, dear friend. I hold onto hope and I know you do also. Wishing you a lovely day and week ahead. Stay well.❤
Sandra, thank you for the glorious floral therapy! I use the chicken wire and tape for most of my arrangements–it really makes it easier and prettier, I think. Tulips are a favorite of mine, especially all the Easter colors. Even though I love winter & snow, I find myself absorbed in spring planting books by the end of February lol! I live next to Longwood Gardens and they have a spectacular show of tulips every spring for which I am most grateful. This weekend has been bright & sunny, as will the week ahead. I don’t mind the cold, but I don’t care for grey or rainy days that go on & on as I’m far more productive on sunny days. I have a pot of split pea and ham soup simmering and it smells wonderful–that, a salad, crusty bread, and fruit will be an easy supper tonight. Hope you have a beautiful week ahead, my friend.
Good morning, Bobbi. I am happy you enjoyed all the blooms. I love tulips too, but so don’t the bunnies. So I have rather given up on them and turn to the multitude of daffodils. It wouldn’t do for me to live next to Longwood Gardens, I would be constantly in serious trouble.
My mom was a National Flower Show judge and she taught me about the chicken wire, tape, and a few other tricks. She often judged the Philadelphia Flower Show and always thought it to be one of the best.
I agree with you about grey days, I had forgotten them while living in Va. Beach. But you are right, “they go on and on.”
Your dinner sounds perfect for a January evening. Soup helps in the winter with menu planning and is easy when one is not anxious to spend a good deal of time in the kitchen.
Have a wonderful week, sweet friend. Stay well.❤
Beautiful photos of gaily coloured tulips that certainly cheer up the grey day we’re having here. In my garden the first bulbs are barely beginning to poke their sharp leaves up through the soil. I can hardly wait until they bloom (several months away). Have a wonderful day, Sandra.
Hello, Lorrie. I am happy you enjoyed the tulips. I have a few but have pretty much given up on them because the bunnies think they are a delicacy. Our daffodils are starting to poke through. Two years ago, we had a warm January and many of the daffodils were damaged when our real winter arrived in February. Wishing you a great week, Lorrie.