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The Stores of Italy

| Flower Roberts

It was hard to choose what stores to take photos of and even harder to choose which to enter.
Buying was not an option for most items because there were four of us traveling and eating, so photos had to suffice.
I will note that one of the women in the group purchased 12 pairs of shoes on the trip. Shoes there are wonderfully made and not that expensive. She showed us photos of her shoes over diner one night. They were all unique and beautiful.

Items made of alabaster.

We have a small cabinet in our library which we call ‘ The Italy Cabinet.’ All our souveniers were small and carefully chosen.

I did get a necklace and scarf for special occasions. These items mean more because we limited our purchases.

Stay tuned for floors, furniture, decor and maybe some fancy ceilings.

FLOW

Background Details of Famous Masterpieces

| Flower Roberts

I learned that the master painters were in charge of painting the main subjects in paintings.
Then the apprentices would come behind to paint the backgrounds. It was obvious that a lot of effort was put into the small details in the periphery.
Of course this tidbit of information got me side-tracted…literally. I made it a point to search the margins for interesting details an apprentice might add to get noticed by his master.
I tried to photograph the whole painting and then the tiny details. Sometimes rude tourist were impatient with my careful attention to detail. Imagine such rudeness!

Whole painting below.
Baby Jesus on the ground.
Whole painting above.

Needless to say, I got carried away.

Another detail that got me side-lined was all the paintings in which baby Jesus is lying on the ground surrounded by unattentive adults.

We Americans like to keep our baby Jesus in Mary’s arms or the manger.

But what can you expect from a country that parks their babies in a stroller outside a store and goes inside to shop alone?

FLOW

The Doors of Italy

| Flower Roberts

One of my readers commented about my Passion Vine flower, Blue Crown, reminding me of Italy. I did not blog much back in 2015. I will share photos from that trip while I am trapped inside, prior to surgery.

Blue Crown Passion vine

Here is the flower that started my passion for Passion Vines. This vine had grown to cover the fence of our lodgings in Volterra.

Passion fruit



The rest of the post will be of doors in Italy. These could be in Volterra, Rome, Florence Venice or Verona.


I had two cameras to work with and took thousands of photos of plants, people, art, food, and doors.

At the Vatican.

The doors were so ornate and huge that I got carried away taking photos of them. Everything seemed to have more color and detail than I am used to. My eyes stayed wide open the whole time.

FLOW tens years ago, on the go.

The Perfect Pebble Patio

| Flower Roberts

My vision has come to fruition in one afternoon.
Rose removed the cardboard that killed the weeds before the crew from Ncline Landscaping arrived.


Then a crew came and put in a cut-stone perimeter, geocloth and colored pebbles.


This is exactly my vision. I am so pleased.


FLOW

The Church Rose

| Flower Roberts

This lovely Iceberg rose belongs in the church courtyard. It had to be removed to make room for a columbarium.

Iceberg rose

Decades ago we designed the space to be a meditation garden with all white flowers.
It has a fountain in the middle and benches to sit on.

When death entered the space, the rose and I left.


The rose is still with me, waiting for a parishioner to fetch it.

FLOW

Nature Comes to Me

| Flower Roberts

I came very close to falling last night. We have steps everywhere outside. I needed to water some pots. I started down some steps at the spigot, I stumbled in slow motion. My bionic knee pogo-sticked me into the air. It was a miracle.
I have promised myself to stay on level ground until my surgery later this month.
I slithered out the front door to my chair. I sat quietly as hummingbirds zoomed across in front of me.
They love the Firecracker Vine. Males and females buzzed by my head. I enjoy the sound of their wings and the quick chirps they make.

Firecracker Vine / Ipomea lobata/ Spanish flag vine

Then not one, but two, Pileated Woodpeckers landed in a tree close-by. These two giants seemed to be conversing face-to-face on the trunk.

Two Pileated Woodpeckers

I am so grateful for these lovely visitors right outside my door. They are all the company I need.

FLOW with friends

A Red Horn and Grenades

| Flower Roberts

I plant ground cherries for my chipmunk, Stubby. He enjoys climbing the plant and picking his own snack. Stubby leaves the wrappers under the plant, so I know he has been there.

Tobacco Hornworm has a red horn at rear


I spied someone else snacking on the ground cherry this morning.
A Tobacco Hornworm is devouring the delicate ends of the ground cherry limbs.

The hornworm leaves his grenade-like frass under the plant, so I know where he is.



Someday this green caterpillar will be a lively Sphinx moth that pollinates the Four-O’clock blooms at the corner of the vegetable garden.

My garden is not about me you see.

FLOW

There’s a New Bug in Town

| Flower Roberts

I finally hobbled down to my vegetable garden. I wanted to investigate what was ravishing the zuchinni leaves.


This was not the usual culprit. Instead of finding the golden eggs of the squash bugs, I found a cluster of yellow eggs.
I hoped these were ladybug eggs, so I left them.

Squash lady beetle eggs


Then I saw things that looked like corn kernels with whiskers hooked on to the leaves like ticks on a dog. These were not moving, so if they had eaten the holes in the leaves, they were finished.


I did find elongated, yellow, spiky larvae which moved quickly to get away.


This is my first infestation with these whiskered- corn critters. I am a pesterer of pests, so finding any new insect is of interest.


I fear I should not have let that volunteer butternut squash vine take over my small garden.

Big ole butternut squash vine


The shade and lack of airflow cannot be a good thing.
There is a lot going on in my tiny plot. Stay tuned for birds, butterflies, snakes, squash and pumpkins.

FLOW

The Transformation of Flowers

| Flower Roberts

It is an unusually wet July here in North Carolina. All the rain has kept plants green longer, but the flowers are transforming.

Lablab purpureus blooms

Flowers are not the end of the garden. There is one more phase before the life leaves it.

Lablab purpureus pods

Flowers have a purpose you see. They are more than pretty faces. All that flash is for attracting pollinators. Then the petals fade and fall and only the seeds are left.

Blackberry lily bloom

Sometimes seeds are in fruits and other times they take the form of nuts or pods.

Blackberry lily pods

That is where my garden is now. The colorful curtain has closed. Transformation abounds.

Magnolia macrophylla bloom

Not having flowers is a bit sad, but a future is being left behind.

Magnolia grandifolia pod

Those fruits, nuts and pods hold promise. They are the gardens of the future. They should not be ignored just because they are not big and bright.

Those seeds are the most valuable part of the story. They are the gardens of tomorrow and next season and forever.

I have faith in those seeds.

My beautiful friend, Sandra, left us last week. Sandra has transformed from being a beautiful mortal.

She leaves behind two girls and two grandchildren. It has been quite a shock to the people who love her. I will miss her being here with me, but she left things behind for the future.

Treasured memories of laughter, love and grace; as well as two more generations…a beautiful past and a beautiful future.

FLOWER