One Year later

I added this rose to my garden last spring. It has taken off this spring with good growth and a great show of blooms. The rose is Fourth of July, recommended by the Southampton Rose Society.

A Very Fun Mix

I was in Quogue today and stopped into THE LILY PAD. The store features a mixed inventory made up by a variety of people from the community. I found the selections diverse and refreshing.

Bowl of Greens

I have not done much with vegetables in my garden. These heads of Boston Lettuce have formed up nicely in this large planter on the south side of my house.

Bird Bath in my Garden

Pending correct photo

Starter Home

My friend Pam is selling this great cottage near Big Fresh Pond. I think it is a good value for the price point.

Grande Dame

I came across this fine magnolia bloom in a garden today. They really are a very fine flower.

Bird Baths

I would like to look at Bird Btahs. This one has a natural style with a tree bark like texture on the base and outer edge of the basin.

Little Italy

Over the summer season the parking spots in Southampton Village can be worth a look. I think I will cover a bit more of that this time around.

A Little Spice

If you have chives in your garden they might be blooming now. When I have access to chive blooms I like to use them in my salad.  I trim off the purple tops of the bloom and sprinkle them over a salad after it is dressed. It is best to trim off the top bits and discard the knot at the center of the bloom. The flavor is like a mild onion.

Beach Access

The trail over the dunes to the beach looked very inviting this past weekend.

New Surf

Most days the surf at my beach breaks close to the sand line in one big crash. The other day we had multiple lines of breakers stretching far out into the ocean. It will be fun if this is still the case when the water warms up in the summer.

Clean Like a Whistle

I had the opportunity to stop into the Southampton BMW service area. It would be hard to be a grease monkey in this place. The work bays are spotless with a ceramic tile floor and not a wisp of oil or exhaust.

Special Spot

Living up on the bay can have some very special qualties. The scale there is more intimate and one feels very connected to nature. The summers I sepen there I always knew the lunar cycle from the movements of the tide in my back yard.

Inspirered Selection

My friend Hal Goldberg is a very talented landscape designer. He made up this amazing little table top planter with a great verity of succulent plants. 

So Many Options

Not all of the horses in the Hampton Classic are trucked in for out of the area. Less than 5 miles from the ocean beach we have fine fields full of excellent horses.

Twin Peaks

Bits of the Dune Church on Meadow Lane peak over the dune line and can be viewed from the beach.

Caught in the Moment

I wonder what event motivated the making of the mural on the back of the old Canoe Place Inn.

Good Color

The gardens at Old Town Road have great accents of color that burst out of the evergreen border at times.

It was a Good Drying Day

The climate on the Eastend can vary a lot from day to day. Some days we get a big bright blue sky and a light breeze. That makes a great day for drying shirts on the line. My lines are discretely tucked away in my back yard.

Alien Beast

This is one of a few exceptional sycamore trees on First Neck Lane nearer the ocean.

Oh the Details

There are a few lines of tile that have a specific shape for every condition you might find when tiling a room. These tile designs were first intended for institutions. This bathroom from the 1960s is tiled with that level of care. I have used the curved base tiles that eliminate the crack where the wall meets the floor, these tiles are called 'sanitary base' as they make the corner easier to clean out. 

Green Stripes

The lawns at the local tennis club are looking very good to me. The early season might be the reason the nets are no up today. The stripes are formed by alternating the direction when mowing.

The Harbor

Locals at times refer to Sag Harbor as 'The Harbor" as it was the primary harbor shared by East Hampton and Southampton. The harbor can be seen off in the distance here.

A Family Affair

In the 1960's there was a TV show starring Sebastian Cabot as Mr. French. The show centered around a NYC apartment and often featured their ornate front door. This door opened had an active door knob mounted in the center of the front door. I have seen decorative knobs centered on doors. I think a central knob that actually opens the door latch is very rare. The hardware to make this work must be very tricky to install.

Random Color

Years of trimming these azaleas have produced a stunning mod effect on these shrubs.

Avalanche

This gusher of wisteria blooms is growing on a trellis at Mecox Gardens. Getting a good bloom on your wisteria requires careful pruning. I was informed that this plant is an heirloom verity with longer blooms and more fragrance the some of the newer plants.

Deck Work

This spring when the pool covers came off it was time to make some repairs. Some of the cedar had held up very well, other boards have the start of rot and needed to be changed out. We ended up with two good sections.

Primitives

Fiddle heads have become popular as a spring food. I leave my ferns alone as I would rather have them to look at all summer.

Greek Revival

Friends of mine found this amazing chaise lounge. It has rested by their pool for over twenty years. It looks to me like the artist who designed it was having a Greek think.

Hitch Hiker

When I got a Magnolia for a south facing corner in my garden it turned out here was a bonus in the root ball. My tree came with a jack-in-the-pulpet. The spot is a micro climate warmed by the house and dryer vent, kept moist in the summer by the drip from the AC. At first there was just one, now I have a cluster.

Big Green

I think this dormer is very creative. Part bay window, part eyebrow the dormer is a hybrid of many forms.