summertime, and the livin' is easy

Summertime, and the livin' is easy...

in bloom

Magnolia in bloom!

The massive magnolia branch, my friend Rosa brought from the market last week, was big and beautiful! and top-heavy...
Even the largest jug in the house, couldn't handle the weight. So I decided to cut off the side branches and make a magnolia bouquet.

The flower-buds opened up one by one in the past days. Today the magnolia is in full bloom and is shining on my home-made plant stand.

flowers on stage

Flowers on the plant stand.
My friend Ank brought the flowers last weekend.
The enormous tulip in front is so awesome! I was afraid the stem might snap, thank goodness that did not happen.

t u l i p s

Tulip season has begun!

My sweet flower child Pippa brought me a bunch of mixed tulips from the flower shop, where she's working as trainee on Fridays.

bunch #2 from the garden

Bunch #2 from the garden is for the sweethearts who stay at home.

splendid sweet peas

splendid sweet peas, a photo by wood & wool stool on Flickr.

Just picked one of the last mini bouquets from the garden.

Really smells divine!

villa augustus flowerday

villa augustus flowerday, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Every Thursday there's a flower update at Villa Augustus.
Fresh flowers everywhere.
The flowers in the hotel lobby,
for the breakfast buffet and the market cafe, I take under my wing.
Thursday flowerdays are wonderful, every week again and it never gets boring.

seize the day

tea-plantation, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

This time of year I pick all the flowers from the garden of Villa Augustus on my weekly 'flowerday'.

There is so much in bloom in the garden right now and it's not necessary to get flowers at the flower auction.

It's a little party to take the pruning shears and walk through the garden to pick flowers legally. Sometimes I see people watching from the terrace with a glance and hear them think; is that allowed?

August is the name, because it's the best harvest month and if you plan to ever visit Villa Augustus, this is the moment!

summer in the kitchen

summer in the kitchen, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

the beauty of one single flower

the beauty of one single flower, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

I can never throw away a bunch of flowers at once, without saving a flower pretty enough to enjoy some longer in a small vase or bottle.

flowerday flowers

flowerday, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

My favorite day of the week is Thursday. At that day of the week I'm totally lost in flowers. Every week the flowers are changed and the fresh flowers are waiting in big buckets. When I arrive at my work at Villa Augustus I collect the "old" bouquets and bring them to the kitchen in the hotel. Some flowers are still very beautiful and have a second live (even if it is for just one day) in my home. I clean up the vases first and make the new bouquets for the hoteldesk and the breakfast buffet in the restaurant. There are two Tsé Tsé vases
to arrange; a medium version for the hotel lobby and a large version for the marktcafé (market cafe). The so-called April Vase is made up of glass tubes and metal fixtures. You can arrange them into various shapes and forms. To transport the vase from the sink in the kitchen to table in the lobby and the market cafe, is the dangerous part of the job. The only way is to firmly bundle the vase assembled with both hands and walk slowly to the destination. The trip to the market cafe is a pretty long journey through the garden. If I succeeded I have to re-arrange the flowers, because the tubes have to be brought back in shape again. Finally there are about twenty little vases to arrange for the rooms in the hotel and when they are standing all together on the table it's like a flower field. I ♥ my flowerday and enjoy working with Andrea, who is teaching me the tricks of the trade every week again. When I'm working on the flowers, sometimes people walk by and tell me what a great job I have and I can only admit it. Lucky me...