Archives for category: Garden

This last month I have been on a pretty incredible road trip through The Alps, northern Italy, Corsica and Monaco. For the first post I’ll share some pics from Morzine and Les Laix in The Alps.

Les AlpsOne thing that really struck me about The Alps is the amazing healthiness of the place. Nature is bursting at you everywhere you look and you find yourself being super active and eating well from the land.  I loved the constant buzzing of the insects, the clear streams of water running down the mountains every hundred metres or so, and the deliciously warm sun. Because of all this the plants are absolutely thriving. I was in complete heaven with a smile I could not wipe off my face picking wild flowers and berries which covered the earth.

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Along with picking what seemed like a million wildflowers we also went to the annual méchoui (spit roast) party of a friend, spent a morning summer skiing in Tignes, hiked through the mountains, swam in the glacial streams, went mushroom foraging, fishing (not so successfully), and made delicious salads with goodies picked straight from the portage (organic vegetable garden). This place makes me happy.

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This sweet tumblr documents the little rooftop garden and indoor plants of Brooklyn resident Liz Tan, Super cute, check it out here.

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Cute puppies, markets and explosions of flowers and ivy.

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Beautiful wisteria in Venice and delicious home grown artichokes.

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Tomorrow I leave Paris to spend a few weeks in Italy, sticking mainly to the north. One of my best friends Tiffany recently took a trip around the country and took some beautiful photographs for The Secret Garden. I have based her first post on the colours red and pink, the two to follow will have a colour theme of their own. Thank you so much to the lovely Tiffany. Enjoy!

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My sister and I just got back from a few days in London visiting friends. We stayed with very good mate Sam near Broadway Market and spent a lot of time in his jungle of a garden. Here are some pics of us arranging flowers and planting roses bought at the Columbia Road Flower Market, while eating raspberries and playing with little Iola and Jobie.

SamSamSamSamSamSam9All photographs by Olivia & Sophia Kaplan.

Broadsheet did a write up earlier this week about community gardens in Sydney, with some great pics of Charlie’s Garden in Darlington. The gardens make use of forgotten parcels of land and are a great way of bringing communities together, recycling food waste and providing delicious fresh produce for those involved.

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All photographs by Luisa Brimble.

And thanks to Janey for sharing this with us!

My first weekend in Paris we went to the Parc de Bagatelle, a beautiful picnic spot in the wider Bois de Boulogne. The Bagatelle was built in 1777 by the Comte d’Artois, who managed to complete the project in 64 days, winning a bet against Marie Antoinette who wagered that it could not be completed in under three months. It’s changed hands a few times since then and is now open for the rest of us to enjoy.

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I have to apologise for the lack of posts, it’s been an incredibly busy first couple of weeks in Paris. I will try and get to you a little more often I promise!

Since I left you we have visited a bunch of amazing private gardens, cycled all over the city, had a couple of BBQs, gone kayaking, horse riding, had lunch with a donkey, overloaded on fruit and veg at the market and I even managed a few hours actual work for a friend.

Tomorrow I will share some photographs of the Parc de Bagatelle.

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Paris is the city of my dreams and I am so incredibly happy to be back here again.

Keeping our priorities straight, on the day of my arrival my sister and I went to the Marché aux fleurs on Ile de la Cité to get some plants and herbs for our apartments. Walking back with our arms full of green we could not stop smiling.

ParisParisParisParisParisToday the sun came out so we cruised around town in Pierre’s little 1984 Volkswagen and then took a stroll through the Jardin du Luxembourg. Plenty more Paris to come!

ParisParisParisParisParisAll photographs by Sophia & Olivia Kaplan.