Spring?

Currently, the village looks like this. 

We're expecting a top day-time temperature of -2 today. And snow. Lots of snow. It seems strange that as the daffodils emerge with their bright yellow trumpet faces, snow will sweep in, bringing a Siberian wind chill with it. 

Much of the UK is being battered by blizzards and freezing temperatures. Poor Scotland has been placed on a 'red weather alert'. Here in the Cotswolds the snow flurries have been coming and going for much of the week, never lasting long, but sending fat flakes swirling through the village just to remind us that it is in fact still winter for a couple of weeks yet.

To counter the frigid temperatures outside, indoors vases are filled with any and all spring flowers I can get my hands on. Now that the snowdrops in the garden have finished flowering and flopped over there is a lull before the next spring bulbs will bloom. Cheap and cheerful supermarket flowers fill the temporary void quite nicely.

How severe this cold snap will be, and how long it will last is anyones guess. I hope it's not too long though, I'm starting to need to ration the firewood.

Stay warm,

Kate  x

Parrot tulips

Just when all of the spring flowers started to appear, the weather regressed back to its wintery ways.

These peachy, coral coloured parrot tulips have brought with them some spring cheer in between the gale force winds and the rain lashing down.

The winter revival can't last forever, St David's Day is almost upon us, and right on cue the daffodils are opening at a spring-like rate now.

It's so wonderful how the seasons unfold, time after time, bringing their own bounty with them.

Kate  x

I see red

There is only one time of the year that I willingly embrace red...

Christmas time!

Even so, last week I was at the flower stand picking out my weekly blooms and for some reason I impulse bought red tulips. I must have been feeling especially festive because I don't do red in my decor (not counting our vintage cherry leather chesterfield of course). I think the last time I had red flowers at home was when I was training to be a florist!

I have plonked them in a make shift vase (all our possessions shipped over from Australia are still in storage) on the kitchen bench. As gorgeous as they are, the red still has me conflicted. I love them and their deep, rich colour. But I'm not sure I love them in my decor...

Decor I do love? Christmas at Stonor Park

We visited Stonor when it was opened to the public to celebrate the festive season. Think grand old home filled with priceless art and antiques all jazzed up with a truckload of Christmas greenery. My kind of decor!

I think red touches will continue to be a theme for the next couple of weeks at least.

Kate  x

The tulip series

When they were tight and fresh, the colour of these tulips looked so promising, I had to buy them. Unfortunately that beautiful pink blush colour faded as the days went on. I have enjoyed their presence in my home none-the-less. Fading flowers also have a certain charm.

Day 1.

Day 3.

Day 5.

Tulips continue to grow even once they've been cut. It can be necessary to keep cutting the stems so they don't outgrow their vase (cut flowers should be re-cut every other day anyway), but just quietly, I love what I call the 'drunken tulip' look that happens when they start to tumble from the vase. 

How stunning can yellow tulips en masse look? VERY stunning.

My favourite variety of tulips? LA BELLE EPOQUE.

See them this spring at TULIP TOP GARDEN IN HIDDEN VALLEY.

Kate  x

Styling and photographs by Moss & Vine

Another reminder, my personal suggested links are CAPITALISED, lowercase links are not designed and embedded by me. You may, or may not find them useful.

Best, Kate  x

Travels, tulips and time zones

I have recently returned from a trip to New York and Washington DC. I was in the US just long enough to make my body believe it was time to wake up for the Northern Hemisphere morning when it was actually night time back home.

Then I came back, and had to reverse the process. All part and parcel of travelling.

What was special about travelling in April and May was getting to enjoy some of Americas best known tourist hot spots when they were (arguably) at their prettiest. Central Park in Spring? Yes, please. With cherry blossom on top.

We arrived to unexpected chilly temperatures. But below zero wind chill became a blessing to us. We headed in to Central Park to make the most of the dry, albeit cold, weather. We almost had the park to ourselves. No other tourists seemed keen enough to pop on a coat and get out and about. There seemed to be just locals, running and dog walking. And many Spring flowers.


I'm not sure I've seen so many daffodils in one
place before.

Or grape hyacinths.

Tulips.

And jonquils.

Conservatory Garden on the upper East side of the Park was particularly stunning. Every pathway seemed to be lined with cherry trees in blossom.

We busied ourselves taking what seemed like hundreds of photographs. None of which truly capture the incredible size and hidden treasures of Central Park. There is so much held within the park.

You could spends hours in there every day for months and still not experience everything the space has to offer.


It is such a sanctuary in the middle of a loud, bustling, forceful city.

The care taken over keeping the park beautiful, is in itself, a beautiful thing. On this particular morning, I'm beyond any doubt, the number of caretakers in the park exceeded leisure seekers. Possibly 2:1.

And the floral wonderland continued outside the park on the busy sidewalks. This (second bottom pic) street scape is 5th Avenue. Every garden bed, on every street, around every tree on the kerb was filled with tulips, daffodils, jonquils, hyacinth, and/or hydrangea. Not. Even. Exaggerating. The beautifying of the city for the Spring months was incredible.

Washington DC was similarly beautiful. All wide spaces, lush lawn, and warm sun.

I feel a little like I have brought a touch of Spring home with us. We have some stunning tulips in the bedroom this week. Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere feels a lot like Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The flower growers know this means it can be easy to trick Spring bulbs into flowering early. So, we lucky flower lovers get an early taste of Spring to keep us cheery as the weather becomes chilly.


I'll leave this post with some tulip tid bits.

Tulips continue to grow once cut.

And they grow in the direction of light, towards the sun if possible.

Tulips are not native to the Netherlands, tulips have their origin in what was Persia, now collectively the Middle East.

'Tulip' is derived from the Persian word 'tulban' which translates as turban.

Tulips have many meanings, including: True love, passionate love, innocence, forgiveness, perfect happiness, friendship, and desire. The colour of the tulip can alter meanings in subtle ways. As can how they are arranged.

The colour pink means perfect happiness. I'm very happy to have increased the levels of perfect happiness that already exists in our bedroom.

K xx