March 11, 2014

Surprises

Today is actually warm enough to remind us that spring is finally on its way. Yay! Sometimes i wish it would just hurry up and get here already, but then i'd miss so many beautiful and poetic moments that happen at this time of year. Like when itty bitty green things start to push their way up through the cold earth showing us the resilience of Nature. It's amazing! Last fall, i planted over 200 bulbs (eek!) and all these months later i've pretty much forgotten what i planted and where.

bulb smorgasbord ordered from Brent & Becky's Bulbs

random mix of species tulips

Needless to say this spring will be filled with lots of surprises! This morning i went outside to poke around and i found these:


I'm actually glad i didn't take good notes or label things carefully because sometimes not knowing how things will unfold is itself a wonderful thing  (can also read this as: memory failure!). Once the bulbs start to bloom, i'll be sure to share (probably too many) photos on Instagram.

Last weekend, Pete and i went to the New York Botanical Garden with a couple friends to catch the annual orchid show. This year's sensational display of exotic tropical beauties was so inspiring that i wanted to share some of my favorites with you. I love that orchids bloom throughout the winter, in months when their color is an exuberant contrast to the bleak, snowy landscape. These rich, saturated colors
caught my eye...


... and so did these soft pastels...


... and the way the foliar colors accentuate and complement the lines of this orchid ...


... and the stark simplicity of the colors and markings on this one ... 


... and the complexities and details in the petals of this one ...


... and the dancing shape of this one ...


... so many varieties! It was a nourishing and beautiful day. Before we got back in the car to head home, we took a detour to peek in at the gift shop (who can resist, right?). Pete stopped in his tracks when he turned the corner and spotted one of the pillows i designed for Surya amidst a colorful display!

What a surprise! So as a special to welcome the longer, brighter, warmer days to come, we're offering 20% off all the pillows in our shop now through the first official day of spring, March 20th. Use code: spring20 at checkout.
Keep on the lookout for all the surprises around you!

xo,
kate

5 comments:

  1. what a beautifully written blog! I could almost smell the flowers from your desscription. We have a lovely cemetery nearby that is planted with the flowers of spring, tulips eveerywhere. I look forward to going each year, and have done it since I was a little girl. so many memories there..I walk and think of years gone by when my children were little and in their Easter finery..life goes by so very fast. I love your fabrics, you are my favorite designer. Keep inspiring and bringing us lovely things to make our quilt world happier!
    diannemitzel1@hotmail.com

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  2. Dear Kate ...I love your designs and was gifted a journal, note pads and pen from my sister this Christmas. Also love your garden.....I had surprise pink tulips in my perennial garden last year....I didn't plant any pink tulips......the squirrels that live in my oak tree gifted them to me ...from someone else's garden LOL .....Janet....a blog reader from Ontario, Canada

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  3. Beautiful photos! I LOVE Spring....shame we are just heading in to Autumn (Fall) here in Melbourne :(

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  4. Enjoy your pretty bulbs! The daffodils in my yard are coming up like gangbusters - so pretty! The little old lady who owned our house before us must have planted hundreds of them - great drifts of them all over the yard. I love being able to cut lots and still have them all over the yard!

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  5. I'm going to be so jealous when you show off all those gorgeous tulips this spring. I didn't get around to planting any here last fall. This year for sure. We wanted to go to the flower show this year but had other commitments over the weekend. Drat! The snow storm is coming so keep warm. We are expecting 6-01 inches of the white stuff. Yuck!

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