A little white loveliness from the inside and the outside.
The top image is one of a fan that I found at a brocante some weeks back...Made of parchment type paper with a wooden frame, the face of the fan is handwritten with a mix of Italian and French language...I think the fan is some kind of travel memento celebrating a trip between Turin and Paris in 1891...This piece was in beautiful condition and the handwriting was so well preserved that I thought it deserved to come home....It has a new life in our sitting room now and has seemingly travelled from Turin to Paris and on to Saint Rémy de Provence...
Some of our irises are still flowering...which is long overdue but with the extended summer this year perhaps they have been tricked. Even though they are short lived I find the iris and all her various shades very lovely...So lovely, that I have recently split all of our bulbs in an attempt to border our driveway....Did you know that the iris, if not split every two years, will revert to the classic pale blue/purple shade? This is what I am told happens in Provence and that is why there are so many overgrown clumps of pale blue growing wildly in the countryside....I am aiming for the majority of my blooms to remain white....so splitting I will be and planting I will continue...for the near future...or until I have enough to completely line both sides of our driveway....
I don't quite know what it is about white but I always find such beauty in the simplicity and the contrasts it affords....As much as I love and appreciate the brighter hues of the colour spectrum something always draws me back...xv
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images - vicki archer
Lovely! So classy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful iris,I don't think I have ever seen a white one before,it's so pure. Ours this year and last are lemon and white and before that they were purple. I don't remember planting the lemon ones. x
ReplyDeleteso lovely!
ReplyDeleteI too am drawn the simple elegance of white.
Both your iris's and brocante find are wonderful examples of this color palettes timeless appeal.
Have a blessed day~
Donna
So serene! These images bring some serenity... I get why you like it so much!
ReplyDeleteI hope everything is great with you, my friend.
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
How sweet is that fan!? Just lovely.
ReplyDeleteI love the elegance and purity of white as well. The fan is exquisite and love the story - perhaps we will get to see it in context!! I am not a gardener so know nothing of the rules of splitting irises but your drive sounds lovely!
ReplyDeleteI had never heard that about Iris. I have several clumps that probably need dividing. I have a yellow bearded iris that is stunning and blooms faithfully, then I have some that barely bloom. I've wanted to try the ever-blooming variety but just haven't gotten around to it.
ReplyDeleteThe fan is lovely.
Karen
Thank you for sharing the gorgeousness of white and script here. I am in complete agreement with you about white - I adore white in many areas but especially in flowers as the distractions of colour are removed and you get to see the pure shape and design. In the evening light they glow as well - beauty!
ReplyDeleteI have just spent the last few weeks here in Bendigo loving my white tulips - the best bonus having been the size of the flowers this year after our 14 year drought eased. I did not dig the bulbs up last year and some that had been other colours flowered white too - perhaps it is taking over the garden for me.
That fan is lovely! What a great find. And the irises, love them. I did not know that about splitting the bulbs, very interesting. A lot of people here plant blue hydrangeas, but they need soil additives to maintain the blue color, otherwise they revert to pink. (Or is it the other way around? I always get that one confused.)
ReplyDeleteI'm a lover of white, too -- it feels so calming and peaceful to me. Your white iris are stunning -- worth the hard work of splitting to keep them so beautifully white. (And I never new that bit of botanical knowledge. Thank you!)
ReplyDeleteYes, iris are one of the most beautiful flowers-what a lovely picture!
ReplyDeletethe iris and the fan are in wonderful juxtaposition.
ReplyDeletei know exactly what you mean about white. there is whitewhite and creamwhite and greenwhite...i have to be forced into a little color.
and when i do, it must be such a wonderful color that i cannot resist-and pow! joy of color!
Looks like Sucre!
ReplyDeletexxx's
What a gorgeous find Vicki............and yes, white is the Queen of elegance in the garden. You just reminded me to go treat my Hydrangeas (or your reader did). Happy digging. XO
ReplyDeleteWho knew Iris, if not separated, become blue once more..a day learning something new is sooo exciting. Thanks for that learning. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteHi Vicki, Wishing you "happy splitting"--can't wait to see the photos of the drive when it is surrounded by white iris. xoxo Mary
ReplyDeleteYour white theme is elegant and I love the iris.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that irises needed splitting or they would turn blue. I have never seen a white one before now. They are lovely and I can just imagine what a lovely bouquet that they would make en masse in a vase.
There is something so elegant about white...
your white iris are lovely! I have many clumps of white Siberian iris all long overdue for splitting. Maybe it is the bearded variety that reverts to blue/purple? How interesting. Next Spring I'll be looking for white bearded.
ReplyDeleteWow, Vicki! Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful fan and paper fan.
Thank you for sharing.
Teresa
xoxo
White just seems so right at the moment for many reasons and your two images and descriptions are just lovely!
ReplyDeleteVicki, I would be doing the same splitting & it would be worth all the work to get the beautiful white blooms. I didn't know about them returning to blue. Good information. xx's
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post! You are so right...there is nothing like a good, clean, crisp white! We should have some chairs arriving from our latest shipment and they are fabulously slip-covered in a white cotton that I cannot wait to get on our website! Thanks for the tip about the iris's as well! I will definitely try my "non green thumb" at it and see what happens!
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Carolyn Bradford
And there are so many colours in white. Such a fascinating element of such a classic colour. And there's nothing better than a white garden under a full moon.
ReplyDeleteYes, white. I don't wear or decorate much with white, but my enormous white cat Harry (who is indeed very, very, very hairy) leaves white everywhere he goes...
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about white in the garden--and about white irises! I didn't know that about splitting them. Now I understand why so many of the ones I've planted in my mother's garden over the years have reverted. Your white irises along the driveway are going to look so elegant!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing my crisp recipe over at the Daily Click! I'm honored, my friend. xo Gigi
I had white irises at my previous house and its scent was heavenly. I remember visiting my in-laws and one of their neighbors was splitting up her irises and she had a huge pile to just throw away. I asked if I could have some of her divisions and she didn't mind at all. Love generous gardeners.
ReplyDeletePlease, please, tell me about where you get your iris bulbs. I grew up in Oklahoma with the most wonderful, artistic (southern) mother and I associate large, fragrant irises with her more than any of the other many flowers she grew. I now live in NE England the irises here seem quite miniature - stunted, really. I can't import from the US (HM Customs get really snooty about unsolicited gifts of meat from the US!) but I can from anywhere in the EU! I would love to have a whole swathe of gorgeous irises in my garden!
ReplyDeleteWe do also have delicious white french wines!
ReplyDeletehave a good night.
Vicki I love the parchment fan it is just divine.
ReplyDeleteI love white too. Did not know about the irises,
your driveway will look fabulous.
I also adore white in the garden. I am looking forward to our white hydrangeas flowering soon. Under the canopy of our beautiful (huge) tulip tree in the front garden our green and white scheme is just so cool and relaxing, particularly on a hot Melbourne Summer's day. I have just looked at your Pininterest page - what a terrific idea. Another browsing page to add to my favourites!
ReplyDeletePS: Congratulations on another collaboration with Carla - I can't wait to see the results.
I love the elegance of white flowers in a garden. Love the fan too. What an interesting find.
ReplyDeleteBest...Victoria
Vicki really a treasure, I love the white and dividing them they will spread beautifully!! Very classic and elegant.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
I also love white and have an all white garden, it's beautiful and calm looking.
ReplyDelete... I think it's the "green and white" thing ... love white flowers ... hydrangeas too ... several colours of iris are fabulous. How lucky you are to still have them ... great post!
ReplyDeleteLove that fan with all the writing, what a great find!!
ReplyDeleteand I have heard that about iris's. They are such a pretty flower, hope they stay white for you!
xx
callie
White gardens are so gorgeous and among my favorites. Thanks for the gardening tidbit!
ReplyDelete-Keri
love white! white everything, love white chandeliers :)
ReplyDelete