Violet Love

I have grown violets most 

of my adult life.

My first violets

were from my Grandmother

many years ago.

I like to think that

perhaps some of the ones

I have today are

offspring's of those first ones from her.

Through the years

I have had good luck with violets

and they always bloomed beautifully

for me.

Then, I moved into my current house

a couple of years ago.

Evidently they were not happy with

the move.

Violets that had been outstanding

at my previous house,

suddenly decided they

were merely green houseplants.

For almost a year I did not have

a single blooming violet.

So I started giving them regular doses of 

a bloom booster

and I gave them more light.

Although my house is quite bright

they wanted a more direct light.

The window in my kitchen is western exposure

and in the dining room I have the morning light.

Between these two windows

I started to rotate all my violets regularly.

And guess what?

Last spring they started blooming

once again

and have not stopped since.

I do have the occasional pot 

with no blooms.

But after a few days in one of the

"violet" windows

they reward me beautifully.

Here are some other tips that work for me

to keep violets happy and healthy -

-good drainage is essential

-water from below

-let them dry out between watering

-they like to be root bound,

so keep their pots small.

Baby them a bit 

and they will reward you

with blooms

year around!

Rick's "Lane Cake"

We have our second cake in the

2019 Summer Bake Off:  The Lane Cake

Here's the proud baker, my brother Rick,

who makes his home in Germany,
with his wife Terry.

Although he insists it's "still a Lane,"

he used "real butter cream between the layers."

(Does that qualify as a Lane,

which is a vanilla butter cake

with a fruit rich custard filling?

Asking for a friend.)

He DOES get extra points for creativity

because he did not use a recipe,

but rather "looked at a whole lot of

recipes and built my own."

Rick is a devotee of

The Great British Bake Off

and used Mary Berry's

boiled icing.

Rick's assessment of his cake,

"Really good. Really rich.

Between the frosting

and the butter cream between the layers,

we are talking two cups of butter."

How could it not be good???

from Google Images

I have just finished an excellent book,

LOST ROSES

by Martha Hall Kelly.

About one third into this book

it kept reminding me of

LILAC GIRLS,"

which I read last year.

So I checked the author and yes, 

she wrote that one too.

It deals with a real historical figure, Eliza Ferriday,

the mother of Caroline Ferriday from LILAC GIRLS.

Although considered a prequel

to the earlier novel,

both books stand very well on their own.

This week in the garden
I cut back the iris.
They were magnificent this year
and I hated to see them end.

This is how they looked a few weeks ago.

It's June!
It's summer!
Hope you're enjoying it!

What's Blooming at Buttermilk Cottage this May

Beautiful iris are now gone, but bloomed gorgeously in early May

I consider myself a

"reluctant gardener,"

because I have never 

really had a huge interest 

in gardening.

However, when I bought the current

Buttermilk Cottage,

I also bought several established beds.

This calla lily was in a bed in front of the house,
but was moved to a side bed when it first started peeking up
and is looking lovely in its new spot.

Since these established beds...

* were already there,

* I am not one who likes to waste things,

and

* I care about the appearance of my house,

inside and out,

I have spent the past two years

learning about gardening.

I have discovered that...

* gardening is a process

* if something isn't working (pleasing) in one spot,

dig it up and put it somewhere else,

* perennials are my BFFs in the garden,

and

* there is ALWAYS weeding to be done.

These three small azalea bushes

were bought on impulse last spring

when they were blooming.

They ended in a new bed along the

backside of the house.

I watched them with anticipation

during April

when all the other azaleas in the 

neighborhood were blooming.

I got nothing.

But now late in May

this is what they give me!!!

One of my favorites

that comes back beautifully 

each year is Coreopsis.

Also known as tick seed/tick weed,

 that name does not do it justice.

I have been thrilled to discover

it attracts finches,

which look too exotic

to be just flying around!

Speaking of "exotic,"

this lily was purchased last spring,

again because it was blooming,

to be used as a container plant

on my deck.

It did fairly well,

but at the end of last season,

I found a spot for it in the ground

and look what it is doing now!!!

Although the hosta are not yet blooming,

I had to show them to you

because they are HUGE!

Once they started poking through 

the earth in early Spring,

you could almost see 

them growing by the hour.

To conclude,  

the daylilies are beginning to bloom this week.

They have almost outgrown this spot

and I am anticipating

thinning them out

and transplanting a few

to other spots in the yard.

I'm not sure I can really call myself

a reluctant gardener any more.

Although the work can be hot,

dirty, and sometimes backbreaking,

just look what can happen!

April showers really do

bring May flowers!

Another Birthday Post...and Other Ramblings

Birthdays,

they just keep coming,

year after year!

What's to be done about that?

I have decided the very best

thing to do about birthdays

is to enjoy them.

No one that I know of...yet...

has figured out how to 

slow them down.

This time last year I was just moving into my new home.

What a year it's been!
Most of it has been very, very good.
Some of it has been difficult.
But overall it's been an lovely year for me.
I am even learning to do a little gardening!!!
The above pictures are from my yard.
I cannot take credit for the actual plants,
they were here before me.
But I am trying to maintain them,
and have been developing a few beds
into my own sensibilities.
No pictures to share just yet.
It's a process...

This year I have been trying to 
live with enthusiasm,
mindfulness,
embrace simplicity,
and most of all, 
be joyful.
Some days I fall a bit short,
but others,
I am a raging success,
thanks to friends, new and old,
and family,
who help me laugh daily.

Some house changes are in my future.
I have a small paneled room just off my living room,
which I will soon be converting into 
a screened porch.
Just waiting for my contractor
to come and work his magic.
I will be sharing as it happens.

The 2018 Bake Off continues.
While celebrating our birthdays
in Knoxville last week,
(his is one day before mine)
M and I discovered this one 
in a small eatery.

Since I chose the Hummingbird Cake
as our "cake to bake" this year,
it seems to be popping up everywhere.
Please remember to share your 
pictures, recipe, and stories
if you make one,
and I will in turn share here.

My birthday flowers from M.
Perfect as usual.

Hoping your June is perfect too.

Welcome to Buttermilk Cottage

Welcome to Buttermilk Cottage, which isn't really a cottage, but an almost 100 year old, craftsman style bungalow. But since I'm not living in a museum, I'm not letting the house's style dictate my decorating inspirations. I'm drawn to rooms that look as though they've evolved over years, rather that decorated in one bold sweep. My things have been accumulated over a life time. In the past few years I've done some serious downsizing with my principle being, "only keep the things that you truly love."

Buttermilk Cottage is also more than my decorating aesthetics for my home though. Years ago I owned a yarn shop with partners and started a wholesale tote bag business. We were having trouble finding a bag we liked to sell in the shop for knitters, so I started making some and selling them in the shop. Eventually they were picked up by yarn sales reps and I've been selling them to shops for several years under the name of Buttermilk Cottage. In the past year I've found I also need an outlet for some of my other handmade items, so my shop at Etsy was started. Besides sewing tote bags and knitting accessories, I also knit. You'll find many of my handmade items at http://buttermilkcottage.etsy.com/

With this journal I hope to keep some record of my musings of what makes my everyday life special to me. Maybe you'll come along for a visit now and then to Buttermilk Cottage. You won't find anything earth shattering here, just everyday thoughts about decorating, sewing and knitting, cooking and gardening. I do have to tell you I'm not really a gardener, but my sister Nancy shares Buttermilk Cottage with me and she's created a cottage garden to die for, which I'll be sharing here. So come on over, the front porch swing is empty, I've just made some chai iced tea and we'll spend a hour visiting...