Clematis & Roses

The weather was splendid this week so I've spend it mostly outside. The garden is slowly becoming the paradise I wish for. New flowers are blooming everyday and I took hundreds of pictures, so it's hard to choose what to post, but for today I decided to show you some of my Clematis & Roses which are in bloom right now:




Above is "Auswife", called "Rosarium Glücksburg" in Germany and below is "Constance Spry" which is now growing on my rose arc. Both are English David Austin roses:

"Constance Spry" is a climbing rose and has a wonderful strong but lovely scent which makes me want to smell her all the time when I pass by:


Next is "Wenlock" also an Austin rose, she scents very good and doesn't the raindrops look good on her?

Next is "Clematis Pilu" climbing up on one of my little trees:

"Pilu" close up, after a warm summer rain shower:

Now this "Augusta Luise" a wonderful scented rose which I bought last summer and she's coming along so fine, see she's just unfolding her petals:

Climbing on the blue trellis (my dad made for me) is Clematis "Rouge Cardinal":

I love catching rain drops on my flowers, can you tell? ;-) This is "Rouge Cardinal" close up:

One of my absolute faves blooming right now is my "Eden rose 85", she has such big buds:

and unfolds her petals slowly as well:

She is voted for the world's most beautiful rose this year!

Then I have Clematis "Angelique" planted in a pot on my deck 2 years ago and it is still blooming very well also I think I should change the soil for the next season:

Here is "Angelique" up close and personal:

I did show you my Clematis "Nelly Moser" already in my last post she is still in full bloom:

Well I guess I better stop here or this post never ends lol!

In the next picture you see a little bouquet from my garden and one of the magazines I've offered to swap in my last post:

I'd like to thank all my blogging friends who have offered me to swap magazines, you are all so very kind! I swap Somerset Life with Jen Duncan and some other mags with Nature Girls lovely neighbor and friend TWT and with Andrea Singarella now, because they were the first to offer/answer, but there is always next month and new issues and I hope that you, who I can't swap with this time will still be up for a swap next time! It's so nice to meet bloggers more personal through real mail and swapping and have I recently told you that I love to swap? In my next post I have to show you all the gorgeous things I've got from a swap with the lovely Cari Craft today!

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Happy weekend everyone! Carol xox

Allium love and a little photo shot with my antique dress form

Hello dear blogging friends and readers I'm glad you came back to see what's new at Boxwood Cottage! :D

Well last weekend I've had a little photo shot with my vintage German dress form which a dear friend was so nice to give me last year (see post from December 11th 2006 in my archives). She had no more neck, but my dear Dad has made me a new wooden neck that suits her perfectly which you'll see in the next pictures. This is a not so good picture that I took of her back in December 2006, still in my friends home and without neck, that's the way she was awaiting me decorated with some fresh ivy and a pink necklace and a welcome sign:D

I've had her in my bedroom all the time since I brought her home, but somehow I didn't really liked the place for her there, so while my dd was away to Lissabon last Friday I decided to bring her up in my studio corner in our loft room and so I secretly obtained another corner of our loftroom for my studio ;-), by putting some not so decorative things of my dd in another place and placing the dress form in the corner of a wardrobe which belongs to my studio space. Then I began dressing her up a bit. At first she's got this cameo necklace around her neck.

And then I tied some vintage borders and little paper roses (Can you recognise the lovely roses and the pink border you recently gave me for our swap Nicki? Hope you'll get your swap parcel from me this weekend too! And not to forget the vintage crotcheted border which was a gift from my dear friend Corey !) around her waist:

Ulla, Lauren and Nicol will surely recognize the prints of their gorgeous colloborative jewelry work that I pinned on my not so beautiful cheap IKEA wardrobe for inspiration (I so need an antique warderobe for my studio soon!). Wouldn't such a beautiful soldered necklace look wonderful on my dress form? *sigh*

So here she is now in her full beauty and it was a pleasure to have this little photo shot with her:

See her new wooden neck? I think my Dad did a great job making it look old too!

I just loved to decorate her with roses!

Well now I think it's time for a few more pictures from the garden as I promised you in my last post.

One of the first roses to bloom in my garden this season was this David Austin rose "Wenlock" which is growing in a deep, big pot on my patio, she has a very intensive deep pink color:

The pink and white striped Clematis "Nelly Moser" is my first blooming Clematis this season:

These are the last blooms of my pink Wisteria, it's almost faded now:

People who frequently read my blog surely know about my love for Allium blooms. Now it's the time of the year they are beginning to open their gorgeous pink balls. This ball is of my fave Allium The "Globemaster". The ball is still very small in this picture, their blooms are getting really huge as you can see in a picture from last year here.

These are 3 Allium Purple Sensation blooming like a family at the bottom of my rose arc at the moment:

"Lavendula stoechas" is still in full bloom:

Oh and the first peonies are blooming between my blue cat nip plant Nepeta x faassenii "Walkers low":

In the background of this picture you can see two of my three new wicker paravents, the pink blooming plant in the middle is a Thalictrum:

I guess that's enough pictures for today as I know they'll take ages to load for some of you, thank you for being patient!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! It's a sunny one here after almost two very rainy and windy weeks so I'm off to the garden now!

Hugs Carol xox

P.S.:

Oh btw some of you have asked me about my name lately, it's written and pronounced Carola with an "a" at the end in my language, but I really like being called just Carol! :D

P.P.S:

Would someone of you lovely US readers would be interested in a little one to one magazine swap with me? I'd get you a copy of our most beautiful eye candy magazine Wohnen und Garten if you'd get me the latest issue of your gorgeous new Somerset life magazine! Or you just tell me which magazine you'd wish to get from Germany. I so need a copy of Somerset life and it takes ages until we can get it overhere. I'd be forever thankful to you!

Latest flickr faves and yummy mail!

These are all my fave flickr images I've saved from after Easter until last week. Aren't they all gorgeous? It took me a while to find out that you need a special flickr toy to make these mosaics and now I love to play with it! :D

1. Plate of Pearl Pink Roses, 2. Thistle II, 3. Handmade birdie from Ramona!, 4. This and That, 5. ed bird, 6. edwardian may, 7. Thistle, 8. "Peat Pot Babies", 9. peat4, 10. P4300008, 11. May Day Basket for Kari, 12. Cupboard, 13. ballerinas & bunnies cupcakes, 14. May basket sneak peek for Ramona!, 15. May basket swap sneak peek for Ramona!, 16. May Basket Sneak peek, 17. Birds Under Glass, 18. Miniature May Baskets!, 19. kari's may day basket, 20. flowers and lace, 21. may basket sneak peak -, 22. A birdie in her floral home, 23. Pretty pretty vintage wallpaper pack from Jen Duncan!, 24. Tinsel makes me happy!, 25. The sweetest sweetest work of my new friend Carol!, 26. Rose Bouquet, 27. my birdy found a home !!, 28. Altered Postcard, 29. Flea Market Finds, 30. My Small Treasures, 31. An incredible handmade mixed media creation from the SUPER talented Cari Kraft!!, 32. Super sweet mica flake covered bunny box by the fabulous Dee Foust 2005, 33. Your Creative Heart, 34. New Work, 35. Easter eggs, 36. winter wonderland star ornament

Think my next step is to order Mo cards from my flickr images now lol Yes we Germans are always far behind all you US people!

In other news I've got some gorgeous parcels this week, oh how I loved to open my mail!

First was a beautiful Collage Elements pack with vintage wallpapers, ribbons, buttons, tickets etc. pp which I've purchased from Jen Duncan's Etsy Shop here: jkduncan58.etsy.com It was the fastest mail I've ever got from the USA, ordered on may 3rd and got it on may 7th! I found Jen's shop and blog through Jenny Heid's Every Day is a Holiday blog here: http://journals.aol.com/jennyeveryday/everyday-is-a-holiday/ who recently made a swap with Jen, if you haven't read about that yet, you should go and do it now, it's her post from April 23rd!

And the second parcel I've got was a purchase from the lovely Louise over @ http://beachyscapecodcupboard.blogspot.com/ from her Etsy shop: CapeCodCupboard.etsy.com

This was already my second order from her Etsy shop because I love her selfmade earrings! She also was so kind to put me 2 vintage postcads in my parcel the first time and a vintage button card for my last order. Thank you so much Louise! Here is a close up of my new earrings which I'm wearing right now along with a matching turqouise t-shirt:

Then I've got a private material swap parcel from my friend Nicole over @ http://www.smalltreasures.blogspot.com/ containing a bunch of small treasures really:

See all the yummy vintage playing cards, buttons, wallpapers, millinery flowers, ribbons etc.pp ! You've made me very happy with this swap parcel dear Nicki! Thanks a million! xox

A closer look:

Nicole has recently opened an Etsy shop too btw called thesmalltreasures.etsy.com where she is also selling her beautiful vintage wallpapers in case you feel the need to get you some! ;-) She also has a give away on her blog at the moment maybe you don't wanna miss that one too!

Lastly I like to thank all you lovely people who have left me so many kind comments to my last 2 posts! I've read them all, yes Lauren your's too! :D, and it gives me such a warm and beloved feeling to be part of a group of such gorgeous and artistic women and garden lovers here in blogland! Thank you all ! xox

I have new garden pictures to share with you too, but I think I better save them for my next post. Have a great upcoming weekend everyone! Carol xox

Pink Garden days!

Dear blogging friends and readers I apology to you for the lack of blogging lately but I just can't stay in the house while we are experiencing the sunniest and warmest spring ever and my garden is blooming more and more.

My little lilac bush which I've bought last spring and planted in a big pot on my patio (no more space left in the garden) is blooming as well as my neighbors old big lilac and I can't get enough of this sight:

It smells so good!

My pink Wisteria is also in full bloom now. This is the sight when I sit in my deck chair and look up in the air, it's as if the Wisteria blooms are raining down on me:

Birdseyeview of my patio:

Of course Sammy is always enjoing the garden with me:

It's the first time that I've got this big Lavendula stoechas through the winter and it is also in full bloom at the moment. I love all the pink and purple colors blooming now!

Some hanging baskets and my potting bench:

Some pots:

And the view from the back entrance of my garden in direction of the cottage:

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I have still not mowed the lawn because I so enjoy the white daisies blooming in the green grass


All the flowers in my garden have got big buds, here are just some examples from Sunday meanwhile they are even bigger and soon to bloom!

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Like my Eden rose:

Or the snowball, here still green:

And a Peony bud, it's the first time my peonies got buds in this garden :D

Can you understand that there is no other place, even not my studio, where I like to spend my spare time more at the moment?

So how's your garden coming along?