Travel Archives - Page 2 of 25

TRAVEL TO COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA

By Libby|2019-10-06T21:36:22-04:00October 6, 2019|Travel|

It was time for another travel adventure..so off we went to
Coastal North Carolina
No, not a beach, but Pamlico Sound and the historic towns of Washington, Bath and Belhaven.

Our room was right on the water (it was actually in a marina) so we had these gorgeous views:

Our adventures took place around these towns:

Let’s talk about the cotton fields. We had seen a bit of cotton grown on the way to Savannah and Charleston but NEVER anything on this scale.There were fields and fields, as far as the eye could see, filled with puffy white cotton balls. It was HOT out there. We stopped several times to get a closeup look at the plants, the bolls, and the process. I had never, ever really seen or known just how awful it would be to go out in those fields day after day. Back breaking and soul breaking work. Now, of course, it is all picked by machine. But I cannot imagine picking by hand: the plants and bolls are rough and ragged, the soil is parched and overgrown with weeds and the sun. Well, the heat and sun were almost unbearable to us after ten minutes out there.

Cotton fields

FRIDAY FLOWERS: THE GARDEN MUSEUM

By Libby|2019-07-11T21:09:14-04:00July 11, 2019|Garden, Travel|

This is one of my favorite places in London.

And yes, if you are a long time follower here, I did a post about the Museum in this post.

The Garden Museum

The Garden Museum is a lovely, quiet oasis on the South Bank across the Lambeth Bridge and just a short way from Westminster. Its Cafe is excellent; I highly recommend it if you go. The Museum is actually the renovated and redesigned Church of St. Mary-at-Lambeth. The building/church was due for demolition in the 70’s and was rescued by Rosemary and John Nicholson. You can read all about it HERE.

Just a month ago I went to see the exhibition of Ivon Hitchens: The Painter in the Woods

And at the same time, an exhibition of George Rowlett: Paintings of Sarah Price’s Garden

But MOST IMPORTANTLY
The Museum needs support and help from all of us. A planning application for high rise…as in 28 stories.. luxury apartment building has […]

VISIT TO CLIFTON NURSERIES IN LONDON

By Libby|2019-06-27T16:50:52-04:00June 27, 2019|Garden, Travel|

Our visit to
Clifton Nurseries
was an unexpected and delightful surprise.

I had never heard of it, nor had I been to this part of London. It is near the Little Venice neighborhood and the tube stop is Warwick Aveneue.

It is set back behind and between so many gorgeous and beautiful London houses and, if you didn’t know about it, could almost be missed as it is set back like a private park.

What a hidden gem it is! A bit like Petersham Nurseries I would say, on a smaller scale. And from their website it seems the main business is landscape design. But the variety of plants, furniture, garden tools of all kinds, baskets, topiaries, succulents and gifts is wonderful. The selection of pots, garden tools, water features and furniture is amazing and a bit overwhelming!

I need this furniture!!!

Loved these wire animal topiaries!

I have been looking for ages to buy these metal plant supports but cannot find them anywhere in the States. If you know how to find them, please let […]

A WEEK IN CORNWALL

By Libby|2019-06-23T14:37:10-04:00June 23, 2019|Travel|

We have wanted to visit Cornwall for a very long time. When our daughter was small we had started to plan a trip but thank goodness we never went. We a) didn’t really have enough information to make good decisions as to where to stay b) traveling with a child is very difficult; it would have been awful! c) we did not realize the energy involved in not being able to drive i.e. all those trains and buses and stairs and tickets.

Now, with daughter in London and the many new friends I have made through the Makelight course based on London, we felt ultra prepared to go to this beautiful part of the world!

I looked at many, many hotels. We are picky…but in a very certain way. I don’t spend a lot of money. Period. Yes, travel is quite expensive almost no matter how you do it. But to spend say $400 a night for a hotel is out of the question for us. Even $300. So that narrows the field. I know, these are “first world problems.” I am very aware of that. On the other hand, we are older folk. While we are very fit, we just do not want to climb flights of stairs or feel cramped and […]

TRENGWAINTON GARDEN IN CORNWALL

By Libby|2019-06-20T14:11:16-04:00June 20, 2019|Friday Flowers, Garden, Travel|

We’re back from our two week trip to England!
So much to say and show (of course) and so little time. I’ve thought about how to best show all that we did and saw while across the pond. Gardens and gardening are, of course, central to my travel plans so I am starting with this post. We moved around several times which we now realize was a mistake. It is tiring. Packing and unpacking, catching trains and buses, dragging suitcase up long hills and then trying to relax. We are not tour people partly for this reason; we prefer to stay in one place and really settle in. With that said… I will begin with our stay in Cornwall.

Our longest stay was in Mousehole. Cute name, no? Well, it is NOT pronounced as it is spelled (much to my husband’s disappointment) The correct pronunciation is mow-zel . Got it?

This entire area, for those who are not familiar, is the southwest corner of England. To the west is the Atlantic ocean and to the south the beginning of the English Channel.

So much to see! But without a car (we just cannot imagine driving on the other side of the road..) we were somewhat limited; trains and buses are fine but can get […]

FRIDAY FLOWERS: RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

By Libby|2019-05-23T20:16:30-04:00May 23, 2019|Friday Flowers, Travel|

It’s happening:
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show!!!

Someday, maybe, I will get there. In the meantime I read all about it on all social media, and now can watch it streaming live. If you have Britbox you can access it there. Or, just go to YouTube.

Here is Episode 1 which was broadcast on Monday afternoon.

Each of these episodes is about an hour. They will give you great commentary (including Monty Don) and a really thorough tour of the gardens.

Then there is Alexandra’s blog, The Middle Sized Garden, and her latest post:
Small Garden Design Inspiration from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
Alexandra does a really nice job here of highlighting the many new themes and ideas at the show this year. Definitely worth watching and listening:

So much of London is decked out this week with beautiful flowers! By the time I get there next week I think most of the squares will be emptied of these fabulous floral stage sets… but I can hope!

I will be here from time to time in the next few weeks as we travel to various parts of the UK. The weather looks fine and let’s hope it holds!