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This last August, Kathy and Jannie, my roommates from college came to spend a week with me at my beach house. It was such a sweet time; so easy going with all three of us pitching in and playing and cooking together – just like we used to do. It was as if the years had melted away and we were back in our little apartment in the Sonata in Lincoln, Nebraska for our junior year of college.

Jannie brought the picture of the three of us that I have included. It was taken on my 22^nd birthday. The rest of the pictures are from our recent holiday.

Many years have passed but our friendship and love have remained the same.

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When I am in the backyard on a July evening, the fragrance of my Star Jasmine sweetens the air. It is really a lovely experience. Sometimes it takes me by surprise and makes me stop and move to where the Jasmine vine thrives on an arbor surrounding an old stone bench. A beautiful fragrance first fills my nose and then occupies my mind clearing it of all mundane cares and takes me for a little while to a heavenly place.

I believe my two favorite flower fragrances are jasmine and sweet peas because they both fill the air outside in the garden and also inside when I make bouquets for the house.

I cut a jasmine branch and combined it with a small bouquet of white sweet peas for a whimsical little arrangement on my living room mantle. The long jasmine branch loops into a green handle in this arrangement.

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Chartreuse is one of my favorite colors for the garden. I love chartreuse foliage as well chartreuse blooms like Lady’s Mantle and lime green Nicotiana. This is a great color for white gardens as well as full color gardens.

Because these plants are plentiful in my garden, I chose to paint the garden furniture at the beach chartreuse. I actually bought this furniture at K-Mart – a great Martha Stewart design. They were originally a natural wood finish and I had them painted to give them some pizzazz!

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I had these contemporary shadow boxes made so I could arrange 3-dimensional sea collages on the wall at the beach house.

The beauty of these stacks of shells, found objects, and vintage pieces is that two or more of them simply stacked together in a shadow box make unique and delightful wall art!

These are the objects I used in my four collages:

1. A vintage wooden egg crowns a sea urchin.
2. A baby nautilus shell balances on a sea star with another tiny sea star on the back surface.
3. Another sea star base, this time with a sea urchin, then a shell and finally a green vintage marble to top it all off.
4. On an antique wooden stand, a polished stone from the beach is nestled into a shell.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN 3-D COLLAGE FOR THE WALL

1. Use a purchased shadow box, a custom-made shadow box or simply a small wooden box (new or vintage) and just start playing around with some beautiful natural forms and perhaps add a fun vintage item.
2. Use museum wax, candle wax or some other type of soft wax made for temporary attachments to hold the stacks together. I also used wax to attach the little sea star on the back wall of one of the arrangements.
3. Hang your wall art on the wall in just the right place and enjoy it!

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I have had this Turkish urn for over 10 years and wanted to find a good place for it in my garden. In early June of this year I built a miniature circular garden as the centerpiece in the backyard. I laid half bricks as edging and placed the urn in the center raised on an old metal stand to a dramatic height. .

I planted a trimmed boxwood globe in the urn. In the circular garden below I put in starts from my lambs ear on the outside and a circle of garlic chives on the inside. The garlic chives are a narrow flat blade, about a 1/4″ across, and the blooms are airy and white. I used plant material I already had in the garden so this new little garden design would match the whole big garden.

I finished June 7 and today the plant starts are already filled in enough to be attractive.

HERE’S HOW I MADE MY CENTERPIECE IN THE BACKYARD:

1. The first step was to find the center of the space in my backyard where I wanted to create the circular garden. Using a stick tied onto a two-foot length of string, I secured it in the center of my space and drew a circle in the ground for the outside marking of the bricks. I carefully dug out the length of the brick about 2″ deep inside my circle. See the last photos for the project beginning.
2. I then set the bricks around the edge adjusting the depths and using a level to keep them even. I did have to extend the circle out a little to get the last full brick in. I also used four more bricks in the center of the circle to create a base for the metal stand.
3. After the bricks were set, I set up the stand and urn and planted the boxwood, lamb’s ear and chives.

A Note About Garlic Chives:

Garlic chives are a lovely addition to any garden and they are also a culinary delight. I love them in salads and also in many hot dishes. I like to add them to hot dishes just before I take them off the heat so that they just wilt and stay brilliant green and pungent with flavor.