Isn’t this quilt block great? It was paper pieced by my sister-in-law, Dolores, who blogs about quilting at deeroo designs.
The pattern was designed by Amy of During Quiet Time and is free here. She has also created four other gardening theme patterns: a watering can (shown below), gardening gloves and boots, and a Victorian greenhouse. They are available for sale at her Etsy Shop here.
“Butterfly and Flowers,” between 1820-1890, an American watercolor by an unknown artist , via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Inscribed on the reverse:
“Take this little Arthetta dear
in token of my love sincere
Phebe S. Woodward.”
From Virunga Safari Lodge (Rwanda).
Staying in France a little longer: The city of Lyon has two excellent museums located side-by-side on the Rue de la Charité in the Presqu’île area.
The Decorative Arts Museum is housed in the Hôtel de Lacroix Laval, built by Jacques Germain Soufflot in 1739.
Its windows overlook a small traditional parterre — or would, were they not covered by protective shades and gorgeous silk drapes.
The boxwood hedges are laid out in concentric triangles, punctuated by clipped balls. Ivy fills the centers, and acuba is planted at either end of the space.
Inside, the museum displays beautiful complete rooms of paneling, lighting, and furniture taken from 18th c. French residences, as well as ceramics and silver.
Next door, The Textile Museum exhibits clothing, tapestries, and carpets — from ancient Egypt and Asia to modern France.
I nearly had a religious experience in its gallery of silk Persian garden carpets hung against deep gray walls.
While I was in the garden, I also remembered the triangular patterns in the Rwandan Royal Palace garden in Nyanza.
Chateau of Courances, Seine-et-Marne, France. Plane trees along canal, summer 1925, by Frances Benjamin Johnson, who used the image in her lecture, “Old World Gardens.”
enclos*ure 