Kitties make walkways more friendly

This street has it all. It has a brick sidewalk, attractive plantings, beautiful homes, and mature trees. You know this took several generations of people planning and caring about how it will/would be for them and those who pass on the street. I wish this sort of thing was mandatory. I don’t mean to make a person go beyond their money and means—but everyone can keep a welcome yard. I think a pathway is one of the most important features. Don’t you?

Straight or winding? The above brick paved walkway is winding—- which I think leads your eye from one side of the garden to the other. The owners made the walkway stand out by planting liriope down the sides. It makes a subtle contrast.

That walkway above is slightly off center. That’s clever cause the door is off center to the left. Nice balance.

With a curved path, you look to the end first and then work your way back.

This home is so confident that it can split the sidewalk and dare you to look beyond.

Mossy green paths with a bit of the basketweave showing is perfectly attractive.

Maybe we’d all be in shape if this was our choice of pathways.

Before modern plumbing, the well was a treasured functional part of the landscaping. It was important to show it off properly. Some folks didn’t have a well and would have to go to the town’s approved public well.

I love the curves, the interrupted mixed brick, and the size. Some would call this a patio but what gives it away as a wide path would be that it draws you around the center planting and invites you continue walking beyond the inner circle. See the walkways that come off the main square? I would imagine that those 4 little bushes were probably vegetables or herbs back in the 1800’s when this home was built.

There are lots of ways to build a path or walkway and you’ll have to decide what suits your personality, lifestyle, home architecture, and needs.

Now this straight path needs no other explanation.

Haint Blue Color Formula

The blue above is what I refer to as Haint Blue, a color that is traditionally used on porch celilings throughout the south and starting to catch on up North. I have finally tracked down an expert on this color. I hope this will help many of you who are trying to achieve the historical color.

Funcolors, a expert in her field of color consulting, has written an article on Haint Blue. You can read it HERE

She also has an article HERE

Sherwin Williams site has an article HERE on blue porch ceilings.

She has those color samples available and will help you figure out the right shade based on historical homes that have this Haint Blue. Haint Blue is more of a term that originated in the South when folks thought it drove away evil spirits called haints. There isn’t an official color called Haint Blue and Funcolors explains the reason. So don’t be fooled in to accepting a substitution—go over and visit Funcolor’s article so you can be as historically correct as possible.

The article by Funcolors gives an in depth look at the color and history behind it. She has provided examples and studied the color from their original sources. So if you are looking for a color consultant or just curious about the color Haint Blue, take a look at her article.

I also wrote a post about it and here is the LINK. I show Haint Blue on several porch ceilings. But here are a few for you to look at and notice the different shades of blue that have been used—anywhere from a true blue to an aqua.

Interesting what you get in to when choosing Haint Blue so be careful and be correct. All of these are beautiful but not all are the traditional Haint Blue. Your paint store will have a 100 different formulas for Haint Blue. It’s best you read Funcolor’s article.

You can find these houses on my sidebar under Impressive Entryways and Wilmington. Thanks for stopping by and please leave me a reply if this was helpful. I have so many people come by searching for Haint Blue since I did my first article. I wish you the best as I know it’s important to get it just the right color. You can also see my big porch on my sidebar under—A Craftsman Home.

Take A Guess At This Garden Object

See the ball in the middle of this picture. I suppose it’s a bit smaller than a bowling ball. It’s got a vine growing on it. The owner of this ball ask me to identify it for him. He said he had ask a lot of people but no one knew. It’s not a decorative orb meant to sit by itself….or at least I don’t think so. I think I’ve found the answer. They were popular during the Victorian era. One of my clues in indentifying the object has to do with where it was found. The owner says he found it during low tide on the shores of the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, NC.

He’s a modern day treasure hunter. Ships from all over the country would sail in and out of the Wilmington harbor. They would bring goods of every kind to sell and trade with the area merchants. The owner of this ball spends many a quiet afternoon with his head down in search of these types of things.

He has pipes, buckles, tableware, buttons, swords, boots, and you name it from the Victorian era. He takes folks out treasure hunting and helps them train their eye for these long forgotten pieces of the past. He’ll go behind where you just stepped and find things like coins. You didn’t notice it at all even though your eyes looked right at it. He knows how to sort the beach debris from the man made objects. It’s not so easy.

This very heavy ball had to be rolled all the way to the car as it could not be carried. It was hauled back to the garden and has remained there for several years. Many pass but no one knows what it is. I have two possible and likely needs for such a heavy ball. First—you must guess.

Do you think you know?

My recent research leads me to believe it’s a pier cap stone. I think it is purely decorative and was used to adorn the main two entry pillars on the front sidewalk. The Victorian era was stately and ornate. The balls were ordered and sat on the top of columns. It was simply a finishing touch.

My other guess is a gravity latch ball. It would be held in some type of basket or chain hammock and would cause the gate to close due to gravity. Have you seen those?

So what is your guess or maybe you really do know!

Inside the 1800s Latimer Home

This is the home of Zebulon and Elizabeth Latimer. It is an 1800’s Greek Revival and furnished with only the best from that time. The home is located in the historic district of downtown Wilmington, NC. See my sidebar category under Wilmington for more about this family.

The upstairs dining room. There was a downstairs dining room that the family used every day. It was cooler and located just off the kitchen in the basement. 

Notice there is no crown molding. It was the only mansion in the area without it. Look on my sidebar under the category Wilmington. Read about Mrs. Latimer and why she made a decision not to have crown molding in the house. You will be surprised. 

Mr Latimer was a Merchant man meaning that he handled the goods that came in and out of the port at Wilmington on the Cape Fear river. He was able to purchase many fine pieces of art. 

Mrs Latimer’s dressing table

Mrs Latimer’s fainting couch. They tied their corsets so tight that it would make them faint and they needed to lie down until their body got use to being confined. 

Below is the guest bedroom

Below is the children’s upstairs playroom. 

The second story windows were designed to draw cool air from the basement and out the windows on this floor. They were also designed so rainwater would not flow in during a storm. The youngest Latimer boy carved his name in a window of this room. 

  See Mrs. Latimer’s modern 1800’s kitchen under my sidebar in the catagory Wilmington. You can also read the Latimer story under that catagory.  A home for the Latimer slaves. She was a very kind woman and gave her slaves a freedom not seen by any at that time. They loved her and cried when Elizabeth died.

The Latimers had two sundials. Their gate came from their cemetary plot. They took it to make a gate for the garden. I found that odd but I guess times got tough and the garden needed protecting. 

 

Copper Butterflies & Mercury Gazing Ball

Above is a copper art depiction of blue butterflies in flight. It is from the Butterfly Garden in Wilmington, NC at Arlie Gardens. You can see more on my sidebar under Wilmington. 

Below is a gazing ball at the Azalea Garden Inn of Blowing Rock, NC. More under Blowing Rock on my sidebar. 

Haint Blue Porch Ceiling

It is a tradition to paint the ceiling of a front porch this light blue as though it were the sky. Or perhaps it is to chase evil spirits away. Southerners call it haint blue. A haint is a spirit.

****Since this article first came out, I have written another article on Haint Blue and give you an expert on this color. See my second article HERE

Some think it wards off bugs. Other say it extends the days of summer when the sun starts to set low in the sky. Still others do it just to fit in.

I am especially fond of this blue and its contrast with the red front door.

I took the first picture while vacationing in Dayton, Virginia

The second is from my Wilmington, NC album.

Morning Coffee With The Birds

When planting our front gardens, we gardeners think of strolling with a cup of coffee on a sunny morn. We think of how the sun streams through the trees and how we will sit upon the bench. We’ll watch the birds flick the the leaves away in search of a worm or seed. The non- blooming is just as important as the fading blooms atop the branches of the hydrangea. What is beneath our feet along the path is pleasing just as well. And even if not a single one knows our joy, we and birds will have delighted there. 

From my Breakfast with the birds series and the Wilmington collection.

Breakfast With The Birds

I can imagine there would be birds at my breakfast window. This is not an accidental setting. This was well thought out by someone who admires the peaceful moments a garden can bring. You and I as gardeners can understand the vision it took to create such a space. Others may look and think how pretty. You and I look with admiration for the owner of the bay window that sits in a space belonging to the garden. A space for little animals who make it home. The common passer-by may give it only a glance of admiration but you and I could write volumes about its loveliness ——-now couldn’t we? 

From my collection on Wilmington, NC

 Click on the picture to enlarge

This is a first in my series—-Breakfast with the birds.