Alabama
Facebook
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Citrus as Garden Art
Haskell Harris | March 3, 2010 | Design
Nine years ago, during a semester abroad, I found myself alone in the open courtyard of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, Italy, surrounded by an ornamental grove of potted citrus trees.
I'd been wandering around the place all morning trying to find the elusive garden, and by the time I got there I was grateful to find it void of tourists and clicking cameras.
It's hard to imagine that a simple plant held so much history in its leaves, but these trees, heavy with fruit, certainly did.
To the Medici, oranges represented wealth and fertility. If you look closely at Medici commissioned paintings, like Botticelli's La Primavera, look for the citrus trees. They are present in many of the art forms that the family had a hand in.
The single specimen garden was one of the most beautiful sights I'd ever seen.
And one day I want my own grove.
Not only do the citrus trees retain their shiny, evergreen leaves all year, but citrus blossoms produce the most intoxicating scent. A few months ago I got my collection started with two Meyer lemon trees that were covered in blossoms and put them just outside the front door. The fragrance wafted into the house every morning when I left for work and every time I crossed the threshold in the evenings. Heavenly!
I've also been looking to the ornamental citrus gardens in Charleston for ideas. I've spotted several examples, some potted, some espaliered (which just means that they are trained to grow completely flat against a wall or other structure).
I love how espalier looks, so I thought I'd post a few images of other fruit trees trained in a similar fashion. Turns out that the practice goes back even farther than the Medici, all the way to ancient Egypt. For centuries, people have used it to take advantage of space in small gardens, to create hedges in open areas, and more.
If you're thinking of adding citrus or fruit trees to your garden, one of the best mail-order sources is the Tasteful Garden in Alabama. And if you'd like to take the whole idea one step further with professionally trained espalier specimens, River Road Farms is your best bet.
All you'll need after that is a pitcher of sweet tea to put those fresh lemons in...
Image credits: olga-martinez.blogspot.com; sandrobotticelli.net; agrowingtradition.com; frenchgardening.com; orange2.bp.blogspot.com; dovegreyreader.typepad.com; americangardenhistory.com; eastanglia.wordpress.com
DIY: Map Wallpaper
Haskell Harris | January 5, 2009 | Design
I love pattern. The bigger the better. The bolder the better. The more color saturation the better. BUT, I like it in small doses and in unexpected places. Sort of like the way a bespoke designer might line a beautiful jacket with a silk print…it's a really luxe, unexpected surprise. An old trick, yes, but one that always works.
In my Birmingham cottage, I papered an odd hallway that needed a little love (see below).
This particular print (an antique map of Italy in chalky greens, pinks, grays, blacks, and blues) was also incredibly affordable. It's actually wrapping paper!
All you have to do is tear the paper in strips, dip them in a mixture of Elmer's glue and water (it should have enough glue in it to stay thick), and apply them directly to the wall and ceilings.
One thing to keep in mind: this particular wrapping paper was relatively thick, so it stood up to the glue and water mixture without losing its texture. If you try it at home, be sure to pick one that feels sturdy and experiment with a small patch before you tackle a whole wall.
This idea is also really fun for closets, small bathrooms, and the backs of bookshelves or dining cabinets.
Happy pasting!
(9)
Haskell,
You can use clear wallpaper paste also. dry mix that you can mix as thick as you like or thin. I have papered entire rooms with it using like gas station paper towels or brown butcher paper. It can be wrinkled and even painted to give an over done texture. I have a room papered and painted at our salon in Montgomery, oliviaasalon.com Stop by and check it out. We are on Taylor Road down from Eastchase. Rick
By Rick Koch | July 13, 2009 at 06:57 | report | Reply
Good Morning Haskell:
I recently found your wonderful article about your home in Birmingham. It is great to read the explanation of the wallpaper I could see above the door going into a bathroom. I am actually writing to see if you can give me the dimensions of your wonderful display piece above your off white sofa in the living room. My husband is a custom cabinet maker and said he love to make one of these for our home. If you don't mind, could you forward the length, heighth, depth and spacing of the shelves. It is a wonderful way to display photographs and treasures without a lot of holes in the wall. It looks like it might be made of pine - what thickness is the material. Do you know who made yours? Thank you so much for helping me with this information. I will spend some time going over your other blog messages ASAP.
Hope to hear from you soon. Kay Alexander 919 219-1177
By Kay Alexander | April 23, 2009 at 01:52 | report | Reply
Genius idea... As an antique map collector myself I think this is a particularly genius idea for the WC or nook & cranny in my new home! I once saw a similiar idea in Marie Clarie Idee where they decopaged a loo with sheets of vintage music paper and recently in a Michelin starred restaraunt in Holland (Tante Koosje in Loenen) saw a bathroom decopaged with botanical prints torn from an antique book. Of all the ideas... this map idea is my favorite! Caspari has a nice Paris map that would be simply parfait!
By the way, I found your site via Style Court. Wonderful discovery... I'll be back!
Best,
The Antiques Diva
By The Antiques Diva | January 18, 2009 at 07:22 | Reply
Awesome idea!!! I will definitely have to try this out!
By Rachel | January 15, 2009 at 10:39 | report | Reply
Fabulous! I bet that took a lot of Elmer's glue! I can only imagine the excitement of whoever bought that house in Birmingham!
By erika | January 06, 2009 at 06:30 | report | Reply
Haskell - I must have been here just before you posted this - it's fabulous!
By Mrs. Blandings | January 06, 2009 at 01:45 | report | Reply
I like the fact that you've torn the maps. Making seams fit together would make it feel like work.
By Christine Lucas | January 06, 2009 at 12:56 | report | Reply
0 of 350 words allowed. HTML and URLs prohibited.
Love at First House
Haskell Harris | November 24, 2008 | Design
Let’s just say that I knew the Virginia house I grew up in was different. [pictured above]
It was different because it was in the middle of town and there were no other children around, except my older brother and younger sister, and the house sufficed as our playground.
It was different because my mother, an interior designer, had a shop on the first floor and customers were always coming and going. Even the basement was part of her quirky creative factory, with its drapery workroom, racks of fabric memos, and library of wallpaper books.
And it was different because it was old and big and rambling, full of secret passageways, and flanked by what I called “the secret garden,” an addition of my father’s that consisted of a hand-laid brick wall, private grove of Japanese cherry trees, and big beds of flowers.
It was, to a very curious and romantic little girl, paradise.
There have been others, too, most recently a cottage in Birmingham, Alabama, my very first grown-up house, and one that I revived, bit by bit. [pictured below]
I have spent my life obsessed with houses and the beautiful things that go in them. Not for the false glamour of having “things”, but for the art and story behind the homes—the designers and the craftsmen and the ingenuity of it.
That’s probably why, after UVA, I ended up working for Cottage Living magazine and why I’m on to a new adventure here at Garden & Gun in Charleston, South Carolina.
I hope to use Belle Décor to post bits about the best of design—from fabric to shops to architecture—with the hope that you’ll stop by and share discoveries of your own.
(23)
Beautiful! Great job! How did you do the bookshelves? And where did you get the light fixtures in the kitchen? Julia S.
By julia Sternberg | July 04, 2009 at 02:06 | report | Reply
Haskell,
I was so thrilled to see you and your lovely home in Southern Living in April. You have impeccable taste and I love what you've done. I'm also glad to see that you're blogging. I think I spoke with you several years ago (like 5 or 6) on the phone for Southern Living. You were so sweet and helpful AND I loved your name. So did my husband. Likewise...you have a namesake who is 2-years-old and lives in the Texas panhandle. You should see the looks we get when people ask us where we got her name. :)
By Keely@http://hopehugsandhaskell.blogspot.com | May 26, 2009 at 07:17 | report | Reply
Thank you so much for your sweet comments! The color on the living room walls is called Riff and I used it in an eggshell finish. The company that makes the paint is called C2 (c2color.com). They have great colors...happy hunting.
By Haskell | May 04, 2009 at 07:28 | report | Reply
After subscribing to Southern Living for years, I have never found an issue with a story that I loved as much as yours. You have inspired me to update my home with ideas that I have gathered from you. Could you please tell me the name of the color on the walls that you painted in the living room? Your southern charm is absolutely amazing!!
By Jessica | April 19, 2009 at 05:45 | report | Reply
love your house..you have such great taste! I blogged about you on my blog..
http://rikshawdesign.blogspot.com/
By Catherine Fitzsimmons | February 26, 2009 at 09:45 | report | Reply
I live in a 1929 brick bungalow in Savannah. It's my first house, and I understand the love of a house. I believe it is how we feel when we are in them that makes them so special. Good energy is what I call it.
By Christine Lucas | January 06, 2009 at 01:06 | Reply
Wow, I couldn't have summed it up better...."I have spent my life obsessed with houses and the beautiful things that go in them".... ME TOO! My grown up life anyway... I look forward to reading more.
By DesignOC | January 03, 2009 at 03:23 | report | Reply
I adore your cottage in Birmingham......know it was hard to leave! Did you sell it? Precious, precious!
My husband and I are loving Garden and Gun and so glad to have discovered it! I will really miss Cottage Living, tho.
By Lee Moates | December 31, 2008 at 03:39 | report | Reply
welcome to charleston; you are going to love it!! i adored cottage living and am excited that you have joined garden and gun (great mag)!!
By Pink Wallpaper | December 30, 2008 at 03:48 | report | Reply
Haskell,
I was just reading a back-up of blog posts and found my way here via Style Court. What beautiful homes and a wonderful story. So glad you are blogging. We have mutual friends at Cottage Living, and ironically I'm leaving for Charleston Tuesday morning... I have never been and am looking so forward to the trip. I'm also a fan of G&G, glad you are there and blogging!
Erika
By erika @ urban grace interiors | December 29, 2008 at 02:37 | report | Reply
Stylecourt sent me too. I taught stencilling in Charleston this July and was privileged to see inside some homes and gardens there, I shared my experience on my blog. I too miss Cottage Living. It was sent to me in the UK. Will look forward to visiting your blog.
By www.designinspiration.typepad.com | December 21, 2008 at 02:45 | report | Reply
what gorgeous houses both! but i wanted to thank you more for putting into words what i sometimes find hard to describe about why i am passionate about homes and furnishing/decorating/adding soul to them. it's so not about the things, but somehow the things are a step in making up the whole, so sometimes it seems hard to understand/explain the difference to people. ok, that probably didn't make any sense (you see the problem i have ha ha), but suffice it to say, thanks, i totally appreciate you and your house love and can't wait to see more
By pam garrison | December 19, 2008 at 11:05 | report | Reply
I am so thrilled that ya'll like the blog!!
By Haskell | December 19, 2008 at 09:36 | report | Reply
Another new reader -- sent over by the wonderful Style Court! I just adore visiting Charleston -- and one of my favorite designers is Amelia Handegan! Love your new column!
Jan at Rosemary Cottage
By Jan | December 19, 2008 at 04:16 | Reply
I can't wait to read your fantastic new blog! Your home in Birmingham is just so beautiful and I sorely miss Cottage Living!
By ArchitectDesign blog | December 19, 2008 at 02:35 | report | Reply
Courtney from StyleCourt sent me and your house is beautiful...
By Visitor | December 19, 2008 at 02:11 | report | Reply
I can imagine how it could be fantastic to grow up in this kind of ambiance
By LE PETIT CABINET DE CURIOSITES | December 19, 2008 at 01:59 | Reply
Courtney sent me - both houses are so beautiful! I look forward to reading more from you!!
By Joni Webb | December 19, 2008 at 06:01 | report | Reply
Haskell - so now I owe Courtney for one more good deed. I adored Cottage Living and am sure I will enjoy your posts here. Can't wait to read what comes next.
By Mrs. Blandings | December 19, 2008 at 04:03 | report | Reply
Haskell,
I was so delighted to see your name pop up at stylecourt! I had the pleasure of speaking with you 3 or so years ago at Cottage Living. You were extremely helpful and walked me through submitting a product, I had never done it before! I was recently photographed for a Cottage Living cottage industry feature and it reminded me how very nice you were when I was starting out. We are sad about the loss of Cottage Living but are happy you have found a new home. Best Wishes!
By Stacy McCallum | December 19, 2008 at 02:39 | report | Reply
I recently posted about the house in Baltimore where I grew up. Yours is a beautiful place and I am sure your memories will keep it lively in your mind.
By Pigtown Design | December 19, 2008 at 01:56 | report | Reply
That cottage kitchen is amazing! Love the colors you used throughout.
By Catherine | December 18, 2008 at 05:13 | report | Reply
i LOVE the rope around the porch swing chain. genius! can't wait to steal more ideas from you! keep 'em coming.
By jenny | December 17, 2008 at 05:08 | Reply
0 of 350 words allowed. HTML and URLs prohibited.
Blog Categories
- Most Recent
- Belle Decor
- Southern In The City
- Accessories
- Alabama
- Architect
- Architecture
- Belle Decor
- Charleston
- Clothing
- Craftsman
- Design
- Designer
- Designers
- Diy
- Events
- Fabric
- Fashion
- Florida
- Food
- Fruit
- Furniture
- Garden
- Georgia
- Haskell Harris
- Home
- House
- Jessica Mischner
- Jewelry
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- New Orleans
- New York
- North Carolina
- Party
- Products
- Restaurants
- South Carolina
- Southern
- Sports
- Style
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington
