While doing work in other gardens I will salvage things that are heading for the compost pile and use them at home. Lichen covered Azalea branches, some moss from my terrace, and a single Galanthus nivalis bulb in bloom, just a little bit of woodland inside.
Fatsia japonica is another plant that I never really cared for, looking messy and out of place in the garden, but when I saw the fruits I felt the need to do something with them. Muscari armeniacum (from the window box), Tiarella 'Crow' (from the window box) and Fatsia japonica.
Even single arrangements grouped together of Euonymus fortunei 'Blondy' and Helleborus blooms works for me.
Another addiction is ceramics and vases, which I find anywhere, but that's another story.. When I found this one, reminiscent of a loaf of bread, in a Paris flea market, I knew this was my keepsake memory to stuff into my suitcase and take home. Thank goodness it didn't break.
For lunch with friends I filled it with a plethora of Viola blooms from the window box. They added a nice scent once brought inside and now reminded me of a 50's swimming cap.
And here was a favorite I called " The Canary and the Lion"
The yellow pom-pom like blooms and foliage of the tree Acacia dealbata and the foliage of Begonia rex, which I had as a houseplant. Don't underestimate those houseplants, make them work for their money!
An arrangement that I look forward to doing again is Dahlia 'Chat Noir' (picked up the tubers from the Columbia Road Flower Market and grown on my terrace in the window box), and mixed them with dark blue glaucous grapes (supermarket!), which sit on one very large leaf of Begonia rex. These arrangements give me such pleasure, acting as living sculptures that give off a certain sense of mood.
Viennese cafe? Apple strudel anyone?
Mexican mood? Dahlia 'Helga' and a tiny burro? Homage to Frida Kahlo? Maybe?!
Doing flowers used to intimidate me because I felt they never looked "right" and now I don't care, and that is when I started really enjoying it and it became fun.
Whether it's a color story, texture, mood, scent, it doesn't matter, it gives great pleasure from the start
until
the end.
To the those affected by Sandy in the U.S., you are in my thoughts.......xoxoxo
To the those affected by Sandy in the U.S., you are in my thoughts.......xoxoxo
Even before entering the gardens, you see the many Laurel trees and Orange trees in the wooden planters associated with Paleis Het Loo. It was customary to paint the square tubs white and the round tubs green, which are also throughout the gardens. These plants are put out in the warmer months and put back into the Orangery in the cooler months. 
The gardens are designed in the Dutch Baroque style. A Baroque garden is one that follows a formula that includes, perfect symmetry (which mirrors the house, thus bringing more attention to it), an axial layout with gravel paths and walks radiating outwards, and parterres that encompass fountains, basins and statues. These hedges can be with or without flowers planted amongst them. 
The King's garden has a bowling green which was used for various games and a parterre hedge of Boxwood. Here in the planting mix was a Geranium that had been staked so the plant grew up and displayed it's blooms on top, rather than it's typical habit of sprawling all over it's neighbors. This makes for a much more tidy effect. It is hard to see in the photo, .JPG)
so I included a sketch from my garden journal to get an idea of how it was staked. 
Large gardens can seem so overwhelming sometimes to the eye and one way around this is through repetition. This can be done with shapes, colors, forms, plants and materials. Even the shadows play along with this theme using the embankment as their backdrop. 
Here the plants and pots are repeated and notice too that some of the plants used actually prefer the hot dry conditions that they are in. This means less maintenance on the pots and more time on other areas for the gardeners. 
The Lower Garden here, shows everything the Baroque garden represents, statues included. Formal gardens were a way to show status and also to show what could be done when nature and art were combined.
It is exciting for me to look at the sculptures and ornamental vases in the garden too, since each has it's own story. Vases are used in the garden to accentuate changes in level and immediately brings the eye into perspectives. They help lead the eye up to take in the garden as a whole. 
This vase represents virtue, Virtus, with a woman holding a laurel wreath, above two cherubs and a globe. 
Another detail not lost were the cascading fountains flanking both sides of the descending stairs into the Lower Gardens. These fountains represent two rivers- the Rhine and the Ijssel, with the 
Here is a cascade with Arion, who is the god of quick decision making. 
and the north-west parterre holds Pomona, the goddess of fruit, especially those grown on trees.
The south-east side of the garden holds Flora, goddess of flowering or blossoming plants.
and to the north-east Bacchus, the god of wine.
On one side of the Paleis Het Loo, there is the Queen's or Princess's Garden. This was the private garden of Queen Mary, who lived in the apartments just above and therefore had a birds eye view of the parterre hedges. 
In this garden the plants used have flowers that have more of a feminine touch. Flowers associated with the Virgin Mary such as Aquilegias and Lilies are perennial plants used in these beds. 
These arbored pathways were incredible, not only for the skill it took to grow, train and shear them but with how they resembled the architecture around them, thus linking house and garden seamlessly. 
The Fountain of Venus serves as a central axis in the Lower garden,
and a small fountain detail. 
There are tree lined canals which quietly usher you into another area of the garden. Originally Beech, Fagus sylvatica, were used but these were switched to Oaks during the restoration of the garden. This was so the branches of the full grown trees would be able to be pruned up the trunk so the view of the gardens beyond were not spoiled while looking from the Paleis.
Perspective is another trick that gardeners like to use, whether it is to create more space or some other trick to the eye. At Paleis Het Loo, once you reach the furthest end of the garden, you notice just the Paleis slightly rising from the hedges and the fountain as a focal point to emphasize how grand the gardens were.
There was a tour with the head gardener that took us to the boat house which had their Fucshia standards,
a walk down a Medieval allee, and past a building called the elephant house where the exotic menagerie was kept. I was told that Napoleon tried to steal the elephants that were kept in this building from Paleis Het Loo, but they did not want to go to Paris. Eventually they were coaxed into going by feeding them biscuits soaked in gin.
It was a treat to get to see the cutting garden on the grounds. Paleis Het Loo is well known for its impressive floral arrangements that are displayed throughout the palace interior. Some of the cut flowers seen were Agapanthus, Tagetes, Crocosmia, Zinnia, Snapdragon, Amaranthus, Cornflowers, Nicotiana, Lathryus and many others. In some arrangements I had also seen Liriodendron tulipifera foliage mixed in for effect.
For a cutting garden, this idea seemed to make perfect sense. A post was put into the ground, and around them sunflowers or dahlias would be planted. A string would then be tied around them to prevent them from flopping and falling over.
The canals are everywhere and so are the wonderful bridges, 
all packed tightly together with tiny little buildings.
With all of the quirky tiny details that seems to make each building unique.
People even live on the canals in houseboats, with tiny little gardens too!.JPG)
It is obvious to see how much the people love their plants. These arrangements were found at one of the flower markets held alongside one of the canals.
Here is an arrangement outside the front of a shop.
And the streetart did not disappoint me either.
And speaking of living, I could be happy here in this tiny and simple 3 colored house, which I also saw in town,
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