What I've Been Doing and Some Waterhouse

I know I had promised to blog about music, but that particular Muse has left me for a while. At the time it seemed like a rather simple thing - to write about my very close relationship with music and the importance it has played in my entire life. But, during the week, mulling the subject over, it became quite complicated so I'll save it for another time.

The last two days I've been trying to finish up the endless gardening and, now, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I planted the FV garden (the new name for the flower/vegetable garden) with flats and flats of annuals, 3 cucumber plants (I feel guilty buying cucumber seedlings, but time isn't on my side) 13 hot and sweet pepper plants, 12 cherry tomato plants of 4 different varieties, 4 small bred- for- container tomatoes (so what are they doing in the garden?), a bay leaf shrublet, and 2 miniature golden barberry shrubs. The tomatoes and peppers were planted last week and there are many perennials, bi annuals, and annuals that came up from compost I'd put down a few years ago.

There is giant blue lobelia, hosta, matricaria, rose campion, purple coneflower, coreopsis, sidalcea (a mallow kind of plant), and lamb's ears. There are plenty of self sown larkspur ,which are favorites , because I can't seem to grow delphiniums. In the bottom box of the garden, years ago, I had, on a lark, sprinkled a package of wildflower seeds in a row, the length of the box. What a joy they are and no deer, woodchuck or rabbit can kill them. There are mainly brilliant sweet william in lovely crimson, pink and white mixtures and one large ,but ethereal, blue flax plant with new, baby blue flowers every morning.

And then Steve laid down two very large flat pieces of lannon stone (dug up from his last planting project) in the center of one of the boxes so I'd have stepping stones. I found two more smaller ones and laid them in like puzzle pieces. He then put down lots of straw mulch around most everything but put decorative hemlock wood chips around the long border of alyssum (love that name!) plants I'd put in the bottom box.

Now that is finished! All that is left for next weekend is to plant a flat of pinkish nicotiana around the pond. I have some kind of pink wave petunias that I had planted in there a few weeks ago, but they look bad and aren't performing like I want. And nicotiana are nearly fool-proof so they will go in with the petunias. Oh yes, I picked up water plants - water lettuce, water hyacinth, and pickerel weed - for the pond. The fish love them!

And, I'd forgotten, pot up the last of my shade and sun annuals- the stragglers. The little pig planter that I showed in a blog a couple of months ago, I'll fill with purple alyssum and give to Ashley. She remarked how pretty the color was on her last visit.

Enough with the gardening!! and on to the Waterhouse. Here is another painter and type of painting I like. I know many women like him also because I see tiny paintings of his used as avatars quite a bit.

Just a little background and on to the pictures. John William Waterhouse was a British painter who was born in l849 and died in 1917. He painted in a style called Pre-Raphaelite (See Wikipedia for a good explanation of that if you're interested) and was famous for the female form in subjects taken from mythology, history, and literature. The pictures are highly symbolic and romantic - everyone seems to have flowing hair and gowns. They are very detailed and fun to explore.

Enjoy!!

Creepy Ophelia.....



Oh, such a haughty Cleopatra!

Looking at all of these pictures doesn't it seem Waterhouse used the same model? Weren't there any other women available???? Can't anyone smile??

Bye for now,

Alyssa