#CHELSEAFLOWERSHOW2017 #RHS #COLOURFUL

Went to Chelsea Flower Show yesterday and was happy to find so much colour! On the flowers, on the walls etc. This garden was influenced my Mexico.

Chelsea in Bloom, a project to save rare animals in Africa etc, invited shops and businesses around Sloane Square to participate with a "Safari" theme. A lot of monkeys, giraffes, elephants etc. I will soon write a blog just about this project.

A mix of colour, the rainbow in the same border, a multicolour trend is arising...

Lovely new species of orchids, I love orchids!

The queen of colour, Tricia Guild, had cooperated with Annika Rice and gardener Sarah Raven to create this colourful and happy garden for BBC2.

The Silk road had inspired to this Chinese garden. A bit kitschy but sort of fun and happy! Not quite my cup of tea!

More Safari...and more from Chelsea soon...

#AQUAVITLONDON, I WILL GO THERE TOMORROW, MORE TO COME!

This is Aquavit Restaurant in London. Exclusive Scandinavian interior design at it´s best! I will sample their menu tomorrow night with my Swedish woman´s network organisation, SveaBritt. I will be back here with more soon! (PS Aquavit is not the same as the restaurant with the same name in New York but you might say that they are cousins since they collaborate!)

#WILDGARLIC #WILDGARLICPESTO #RAMSLÖK

WILD GARLIC grows in the shadow of the forest. You can find it in England and Wales, and in the south of Sweden(Ramslök)and also in many other parts of Europe. In the British Isles it grows in the same habitats as Bluebells and they are together considered to be ancient woodland indicator species. The wild boar loves it and will dig up the roots! You are sure to have found it when you sense the significant garlicy/oniony smell in the air.

It is the leaves that you use for cooking. Rinse them and use for pesto, soup etc.

The flower is beautiful in itself.

I made pesto from my harvest! Chop 100 g of Wild Garlic leaves and add 50 g of toasted (optional) pine nuts with 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese. Add 100 ml of olive oil and blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I just happened to have a lime green Margareta bowl and a matching blender (Philippe Starck for Philips ca 1996)to work with.

The blender "Billy" working...

The Wild Garlic Pesto is ready and put in jars. Will keep for weeks in the fridge.

The flowers I used as decorations in my home!

Wild Garlic decorating my lounge, and not smelly at all. Seems like the onion odour comes from the leaves!

#LONDONCRAFTWEEK #LCW #LONDONDESIGN #HANDICRAFT FROM DESIGN TO FOOD

London Craft Week is on! A celebration of handmade objects and handicraft, from food to ceramics, small artisan work to the big brands like Burberry, Mulberry etc. Not sure what I think of this, a commercial event or a serious try to highlight English products and highlight how much handicraft really are invested in these products. From cars to food! Above, high quality knitting from Scotland by Bamford (Daylesford Organic is under the "same roof" by the Bamford family.)

It was hard to understand that this was part of London Craft Week. An installation of Danish ceramics at Skandium/Marelybone Road.

Gunnel Sahlin, Swedish glass designer and a good friend of my mine had been invited by the Craft Council etc to showcase her latest work at Vessel Gallery, 114 Kensington Park Road, Notting Hill. The exhibition goes on until 3 June. Colourful sensual vases etc, a must see!

Not sure if some of the participants in this Craft Week had taken it seriously enough. At Selfridges all you found was a small stand making filter coffee in Japanese glass jugs. Hard to find the exhibitions and a lot of the events had to be booked in advance and also quite frequently needed to be paid for! The catalogue should have been more informative and guiding in how to manage the week. London is VERY big!

The weather was cold. Felt for these french umbrella makers who had to stand outside. New exhibits every day at St James´s Market, Piccadilly! The Scandinavian restaurant Aquavit held a special dinner for London Craft Week. They have a lot of Scandinavian high class handmade products in the restaurant.

Mulberry showed how their most popular bag is being made at the store on New Bond Street.

Wonderful portraits of the craft behind the Mulberry bags! Window display at Mulberry, New Bond Street.

#HIDCOTEGARDENS #HIDCOTEMANORHOUSE #NATIONALTRUST

A week ago we all felt a bit taken down by current circumstances, studies, work, personal issues etc. We went to Hidcote Gardens and Manor House. Such a tranquil and soothing place, heals the soul. We live nearby so visit often! Hidcote is one of the worlds most famous gardens due to the different "rooms". All in different colours and with different themes. From the white garden to the french... Sissinghurst Garden are similar in style.
Here some history (Wikipedia)  The Americans, Lawrence Johnston and his mother, settled in Britain about 1900, and Lawrence immediately became a British citizen and fought in the British army during the Boer war. In 1907 Johnston's mother, Mrs Gertrude Winthrop (she had re-married), purchased the Hidcote Manor Estate. It was situated in a part of Britain with strong connections to the then-burgeoning Arts and Crafts movement and an Anglicized American artistic expatriate community centred nearby at Broadway, Worcestershire.
Johnston soon became interested in turning the fields around the house into a garden. By 1910 he had begun to lay out the key features of the garden, and by the 1920s he had twelve full-time gardeners working for him.
After World War II Johnston spent most of his time at Jardin Serre de la Madone, his garden in the south of France; and in 1947 he entrusted Hidcote to the National Trust.
The style of the garden has been widely imitated. In 2007 a temporary garden designed by Chris Beardshaw that drew inspiration from Johnson's Hidcote was constructed at the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

This year the garden was full och these "shard edged" tulips. In the entrance in yellow. Pink was the biggest theme of the garden this spring.

Just look at these magnificent tulips with its matching background!

Beautiful borders and my son specifically loved this cypress tree...

More pinks, here mixed with orange, brave!

Blues mixed with purple and lovely growing sculptures of birds.

My lovely husband Bruce is having a rest in of the lovely decorated "huts".

My son Hugo with girlfriend Perdi took the opportunity to have a rest at the same time.

The surrounding landscape looks like taken from a period drama! It is for real!

One of my favourite at this time of the year, Skunk Lily, yes, it stinks but is soo decorative...

We say goodbye from Hidcote with this lovely view...