My Dutch Backyard

This friend of mine pictured above is called M. Le Vent: a decorative clay mask purchased in a garden shop in Sarlat, France. It is hung above a lavender pot. I looooove it !

Decorative clay mask, bought in downtown Perigueux, Southwest France. It is hung on the façade of our little chalet in the back yard. I regret VERY MUCH that I haven't bought more similar masks like the one above, humpf ! Hubby generally thinks I will make a crazy carnival of our house/garden/backyard and is not always pleased (or maybe feeling anxious?) about my style plans. The chalet is falling apart and covered in patina - but I think patina might have its charms, at least when under a certain control...

I think my back yard has a sort of Mediterranean style. So no gnomes statues or figurines, no mushies, no windmills, no frogs no insects/butterflies/dragonflies nor birdhouses. No bold sentences written on the wall ("nooit gedacht"; "my house my castle") either. No welcome boards on the door or plaqueswith the names of the inhabitants "Sus & Luk & Puk & Fuk van de Hogebergen". Or: "Melle & Yelle & Belle Wittenagels". Or "Siske & Wytske, Tim & Tom Onrust". No toilet pots / bathtubes / bikes / sinks / stoves / whatever... recycled into flower pots. Mmmm, I definitely have a very boring backyard for the Dutch standards !! Hubby: relax. I am the one who is not making a carnival around here.

But clay doesn't always resist to Dutch winters...

One of our Italian vases didn't resist to the snow during last winter. I will keep its remains anyway. Maybe in the future we can re-use it for another purpose.

The second Italian vase I positioned in front of another stone vase. The damage is not big, so nobody will be able to see it, I hope.

And where the two squared vases used to be I decided to place this rack I have seen in a Dutch garden magazine and purchased via post. It displays thym (top), sage, flowers, citrus thym and oregano. I wanted to have some mint as well, but so far I couldn't find it in garden shops. Thym is the best thing to stuff chicken before it is going into the oven and sage to prepare pork/ham meals. A little on-line research revealed that sage has many medicinal qualities, including: reduces bad breath, reduces perspiration, reduces the symptoms of menopause and premenstrual cramps, increases brain concentration, and reduces blood sugar in people with diabetes. And burning sage leaves can cleanse a home of negative energy.

I think I miss the warmth of hot landscapes and a Mediterrenean style is the nearest I could find to create a (sort of) "Brazilian" sphere ... Well, Brazilians do not use flowers/herbs in backyards but rather bouganvilleas, palms, lots and lots of foliage... I think you understand what I want to say with "creating a sort of Brazilian sphere". No gray/white/blue or black pots in my backyard !!!