Got the handy little explain-o-rama device which illuminated the symbolism in this painting. This type of still life was intended as a conversation piece for the well-off Dutch household. The bottom line: life is short, don't waste it!
The hour glass on the left of course represents the passage of time, and the skulls, obviously, where everybody's earthly corpus ends up. The flowers (beautiful aren't they?) also serve as symbols of the brevity of life and tempus fugit.
Flowers are the symbol of the brevity, preciousness and beauty of life.
Been a total social butterfly lately ---- our friends Paul and Lynn had a party at their home on Mt. Scott a week ago. Met Jan from Tres Fabu, the gown shop in Sellwood. What a hoot! She was about to go to Las Vegas for a wedding show, and she promised to call me with the latest in colors for next year. That's a good thing for us flower people to keep track of... Her web site is at tresfabubridal.com.
At that same party one of their neighbors came by...Erica Chandler who just won Miss Gay Oregon America... I must say that Erica, who is a female impersonator, looked really great in her gown. Her partner says it is all illusion but I was impressed.
Darcell XV is having a benefit show for her to be able to go to the pageant in Memphis, on Sunday October 7. The show is at 8 and tickets are $20 at the door.
Stay cool!!!!!! (In all ways..)
Peterkort Roses sells cut English holly in five and ten pound boxes, wholesale... This is a beautiful Oregon product where the climate is perfect for holly growing. Norm reports we have beautiful red berries coming on the bushes this year. Or even yellow berry holly, believe it or not! We have a small supply of this interesting plant too.
Our holly is English holly, green or variegated leaves. If you are interested in wholesale cut English holly from a reputable grower who has been in the holly business since the 1940s, call us at (503) 628-1005.
It still needs more rock surgery around the base to hide the mechanics, but that can be solved with another trip to Oregon Decorative Rock Company off Columbia Boulevard, which is the place for rocks in Portland. We got some Montana river rock and also some white and tan polished rocks.
The big container is a Chinese vessel decorated with dragons, which I bought from Eric at Dragon Gardens NW, one of our fellow tenants in the Portland Flower Market.
Since the back yard has a Chinese theme, inspired by the Chinese Garden in the Pearl, this vessel was the perfect object for the fountain. It is a fairly simple setup with a "disappearing water" design. The water flows over the sides of the pot and disappears into the rocks.
Underneath the fountain is a hidden basin with a pump. We got the setup at Hughes Water Gardens in Wilsonville.
Now that section of the garden can be finished and planted since the fountain is in place. Finally! Would you believe we've lived in this house over 25 years????
Other news - the annual Portland Flower Market Design Show will happen on Sunday, October 7. Please sign up - if you didn't get a flyer call the market - click on "Links" and the Flower Market phone number is the first item on the page.
Our new roses Tropicana, Sweet Avalanche, Bordeaux, Marina, Mi Amor and Talea are off to a good start. For fall especially Tropicana, Naranga, Spicy, Metallina, Karamel Antike, Leonidas and Sphinx Gold have seasonal appeal. To see more about these roses please click on "What We Grow". We have pictures and other information there.
I'd call it a dusty red, maybe almost a maroon red. It's a mysterious color, different from the others.
Bordeaux joins our red rose collection, which includes Red France, Red Velvet, and Prestige. If you'd like to learn more about them, please click on "What We Grow" and examine the rose database. You can get all the red roses by selecting the color red in the color field. You'll get a list, then click on any one of them to get a picture and description.
Here's a little garden status report -
1. Fountain rocks - field trip to the rock place on Columbia Boulevard today. Got interesting rocks plus polished white and tan rocks.
2. Fountain - setback today when lowering fountain onto base. Hose came off. Jim is going to redo the whole hose hookup because he doesn't think it is going to stay on.
3. Trees - Narrowed tree search down to Crape Myrtle, Stewartia, Kousa Dogwood, and Yulan Magnolia. Of course there is still plenty of fun to be had with cultivars, etc. Next step: trip to Hoyt Arboretum to see these trees at maturity! Already have 2 japanese maples, a dwarf pine, a harlequin glorybower, and a decrepit bing cherry. Only one japanese maple, the glorybower and the bing are actually in the ground. The rest have been making do in pots, some for years! This is a bad habit inherited from Dad.
4. Wall - temporarily on hold. No money!!!!
Can you believe we've lived in this house over 25 years and the back yard is only now becoming a project???? Procrastination at its finest!