Tag: travel

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French Garden Retreat

IMG_1399 IMG_1400Look at the Baccarat–clear sky above the Hameau de la Reine {the Queen’s Hamlet} in these photos, this tranquil cottage on the grounds of Versailles has become my inspiration for the gardens at Heath this spring. I have been researching information on how Marie-Antoinette enjoyed this quiet hamlet as a refuge from the pomp and ceremony of her court. Imagine an exclusively secret garden where no one may enter without an invitation.

IMG_1403 IMG_1418Though I am not compelled to do what André Le Nôtre, Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Jean-Baptiste Colbert did for Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette in designing the layout of the gardens at Versailles by removing woodland and shifting huge amounts of earth to create canals, fountains, flower beds and the Orangerie.

But, I am dreaming of creating my own escape with beds filled with parrot tulips, hydrangea, grape hyacinths along with night blooming jasmine and orange blossoms. There is nothing like being in the fresh air and wide-open spaces during the weekends, and having a body of water close by makes this secluded area and absolute {re}treat.

Garden stylishly in the French fashion,
K

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Fallingwater, PA

IMG_3388IMG_3385Family members have been skiing and snowboarding this weekend at Seven Springs and took a drive to Fallingwater; the home designed over falls on Bear Run in the mountains  southeast of Pittsburgh by Frank Lloyd Wright. The house built for the Kaufmann family between 1936 and 1939 was to be a refuge for hiking, riding and fishing.

As an art student I remember studying the strong horizontal and vertical lines of this home, which are a distinctive architectural feature. There are four levels that are progressively set back to lie low against the forested hillside; the terraces, apparently suspended in space, echo the form of the waterfall.

Stay stylish,
K