A new book captures the glorious gardens at Prince Charles’s English country retreat
The gardens are the culmination of more than 30 years work - they've been transformed from a brown path and a wilted lawn into a country paradise.
The King is having a rare day off after a gruelling week
Το νυχτερινό κέντρο Cocoanut Grove, ένας πολυχώρος διασκέδασης, που συγκέντρωνε την αφρόκρεμα της Βοστόνης, μεσουράνησε στην Αμερική τη δεκαετία του ‘20, γνώρισε μια πτωτική πορεία τη δεκαετία του ’30 και απέκτησε ξανά φήμη και δόξα το 1940. Το Cocoanut Grove ήταν το δημοφιλές στέκι που συγκέντρωνε καθημερινά εκατοντάδες θαμώνες και όποιος το επισκεπτόταν αποκτούσε κοινωνικό
It’s Sunday, so I’m hoping all my readers are enjoying a lovely summer afternoon, doing the things that make this season so wonderful. You know, hiking and swimming and picnicking̷…
Extraterrestrial secrets, locked mysteries of religion, virgin wildlife and more make these forbidden places all the more intriguing.
Hey everybody! Can you believe it’s the end of October already! I know I’ve said it like a million times, but this year feels like it is just flying by! I’ve been really busy finishing up Halloween crafts and planning … Continued
On arriving at Highgrove, home of the Prince of Wales, you can't help feeling a little excited. Tickets are not easy to come by and a passport is required
London's Highgate Cemetery. Taken in January 1977. Marker for William Henry "Harry" Thornton (1883 to 1918), who was a classical pianist and played music for the troops in World War One. A photograph of this same grave marker taken in 2007 (by someone else (Andy Vortex) and posted on Flickr) shows the area is much more overgrown and the lid of the piano is completely missing. Another photograph taken in 2000 also shows the lid is missing. A photo taken in 1979 shows that lid lying flat with the arm holding the lid up still standing. Just barely visible on the lid of the piano is the name, "Harry Thornton." Mr. Thornton died during the influenza pandemic of 1918. According to "Find-a-Grave" this marker is located in the East Side of Highgate Cemetery. Two things I really like about this photograph are (1) what a great sculpture it is and (2) how many gravestones you can see in the background. This was an old color photograph that I dug out of my closet and scanned so I could post it on Flickr. Mr. Thornton's great-great-grandnephew tells me that this monument was erected shortly after Mr. Thornton passed away. For a better photograph of this gravemarker, which provides some scale as to its size and was taken in the early 1970's, go to Bill in DC's photograph: www.flickr.com/photos/65211201@N00/3446891222 For another great photograph of the gravemarker, largely intact, taken in 1962 by G Frangs: www.flickr.com/photos/69389735@N04/6309145841/in/photostream Link to photograph of the man himself and his wife, supplied by Mr. Thornton's grandniece: www.flickr.com/photos/johnncox/4743645453/in/set-72157622... On May 14, 1974, this memorial was put on Britain's Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectual or Historical Significance, Grade II. The writing on the side of the piano is, "Sweet thou art sleeping; cradled on my heart; safe in god's keeping; while I must weep apart." This is an approximate English translation of the Italian lyrics from Puccini's opera, "Madame Butterfly." (Actually the lyrics were by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, not Puccini. Puccini wrote the music. And, not that it matters, but I once played one of The Bonze's thugs in the Pittsburgh Opera's production of "Madame Butterfly." I got to hit Lt. Pinkerton and, along with another supernumerary, drag him off stage.) I am very pleased to report that as of April 2013, the Thornton Piano has been partially restored with a new lid and lid prop. I'll link a photo as soon as I find one. And in the comments section, Michiel2005 has linked such a photo.
Biography about Emo Philips .Know Emo Philips educational, professional and personal life. Also know about , married, divorce, hair, youtube
MAJOR PERSONAL CONFESSION: Well, it happened. I got caught up in the Royal Baby fever along with the rest of the world. I haven’t really been that into the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – even their wedding didn’t engage me much... Some of my books on the Royal Family, heavy on Diana. Obsessed much? As you can see, for years I was obsessed – for lack of a better word – with Princess Diana and the Royal family. Obsessed. I read, and still own, quite a lot of books written about Diana. This mania started before her and Charles wedding and continued after her death. It was always such a fascinating question for me - was their marriage a partnership of love or of duty? I really wanted to know if they were truly in love or were they just faking it for the public? Once the truth finally came out and then poor Diana passed away, my interest in the Royal family slowly waned. Their wedding day. The final straw came with Prince Charles' marriage to Camilla - "the Rottweiler" (Diana's nickname for her competition) - I just didn't care for those two. It made me ill that another woman had taken Diana’s rightful place. Couple that with all the revelations of how a 19 year old girl had been used and abused by the Royals just so she might give them an heir, I literally closed the book on them. The Happy Mother So, when Prince William got married - I couldn't watch a lot of it, especially with Camilla playing the role of the happy mother. But then, for some reason, I started getting all excited about the baby. I started reading about the Royals again, which then got me started reading about Diana again. I reread Andrew Morton’s book – the newer edition with the actual transcripts of Diana’s taped recordings, and then I started watching old videos about her. This week, I made Elisabeth sit with me while we watched The Queen with Helen Mirren again. Such a great movie! And then, because I'm becoming all obsessed again, I started thinking about where the Royal Family lives- their castles and mansions, their country estates and the townhouses in the city. I’ve really had my head in the sand for a long while, so looking at images of Highgrove, Kensington Palace and Clarence House seemed fresh to me. I thought it might seem fresh to you as well! So – in honor of the new baby boy – (was I ever wrong about the sex!) – let’s take a few days and study some English Royal interior design! I have found some really beautiful photographs this past week to share. Enjoy!! HIGHGROVE One of the most interesting English gardens is at Highgrove – Prince Charles’ country house. While looking at estates to buy, one selling point for the Prince was that Highgrove was located a short 15 minute drive from Camilla Parker-Bowles’ own country house, which was perfect for carrying on their clandestine love affair. Another selling point was the trees, especially a 200 year old Cedar of Lebanon which shaded the back side of the house. He bought the 1794 estate right before he married in 1980 and he asked Diana, whom he was just dating at the time, to decorate it for him. He told her he liked her taste. She thought it was very strange that he would be asking her, so very young and barely a steady girlfriend, to spearhead the décor. Nevertheless, Diana hired Dudley Poplak, a designer from South Africa, whom had worked for her mother and sisters and a host of upper crust English families, to do the job. His aesthetic was the quintessential English Country Manor look. Besides Highgrove, Poplak also eventually designed their London home at Kensington Palace. After Charles and Diana’s divorce – Charles hired the designer Robert Kime to rid Highgrove of all of Poplak’s more feminine touches. In turn, Diana then rehired Poplak to come and refresh and redecorate Kensington Palace to erase her own memories of Charles. After Diana’s death, Kime was again hired by Charles to decorate Clarence House for himself and Camilla when they moved there following the passing of the Queen Mother, who had lived there for decades. There are so few pictures of the interiors of Highgrove. In fact I’ve only ever seen but a few. I wish they would open the house for a peek at Kime’s work. But in truth, it's not the interiors that make Highgrove important, rather it's the gardens that the Prince has created there. This is how Highgrove House looked when it was for sale by the son of a Prime Minister of England - Harold McMillan. The house was rather plain and it was totally exposed to the road. There was no privacy and that was a huge concern for the Prince, which he had to tackle first. As you can see, there were no gardens either. Here at the side of the house is the gorgeous 200 year old Cedar of Lebanon which was the main selling point of the house for the Prince (along with its proximity to Camilla Parker Bowles' country house.) Unfortunately, the majestic tree developed a fungus and was cut down a few years ago. During his stay at Highgrove, the Prince has planted over 10,000 trees. An early picture of the house shows the front wild flower meadow that had already been planted. The estate and the gardens are managed by the Prince to be sustainable and eco friendly. Everything is reused and organic - in the house and outside it. Pest control is natural - by predators. Rain water is collected for irrigation. Raw sewage from the estate is filtered through a series of plants and reeds and is then reused on the property. There is a walled kitchen garden where some nearly extinct fruit and vegetables varieties are grown. In this photograph, the facade of the house had not yet been changed. Over the years, the Prince added balustrades, shutters, a pediment and classical pilasters to the house to soften its exterior. A one story annex was also added for staff. Here you can see the difference in the facade with the pediment, the pilasters, the balustrade and shutters. Besides Highgrove House, the Prince's Duchy of Cornwall also owns a large nearby farm. . It's amazing how much prettier the exterior is now with addition of the classical elements. The house seems like it has always looked this way. The front gravel drives circles around. I love the front porch and portico. A view at sunset. The house is quite modest when compared to the Queen's country estate - Windsor. The big question is - when the Prince becomes King, will he turn over Highgrove to Prince William and move to Windsor? Or will he stay here instead? A watercolor that shows the layout of the garden and house. One of the first gardens planted was this one at the side of the house. The great gardener the Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury helped the Prince at first. She designed the hedges around the property to shield the house and created this rose garden with a sundial at its center. The garden later was changed into a black and white theme, and still even later, more colors were added by the new gardener Debbie Goodenough. One the most spectacular gardens installed by the Prince leads off the back side of the house. It's the Thyme Walk with the large golden yew bushes that are trained into strange shapes. Here is a very early photograph of the Thyme walk garden when the yew bushes were not shaped. The yews were one of the only garden elements that came with the house. The Prince was advised to cut them down, but he refused and ended up creating the most iconic garden at Highgrove based on these yews. And another early view when the yew bushes were first being clipped into their wonderfully odd shapes. Leading into Thyme Walk is the Terrace Garden that is off the Prince's office. Here French doors are held open to the Terrace by a pair of blue and white garden seats. This is one of the few interior pictures of the house published, though it's not even an interior! The prince explains that once he was settled into the house he realized how flat the land was - and thus, the gardens needed to have vistas, a place for the eye to travel along. Many of his gardens are built along sight lines, such as this one. A close up of the beautiful fountain at the Terrace Garden that leads to the Thyme Walk. Gorgeous. At the Terrace Garden, the great Cedar of Lebanon was cut down a few years ago after it developed a fungus. In its place the wooden pavilion was erected over the stump. The Wooden Pavilion from the other side of the garden. A close up the structure with the hole at the top that will allow plant growth to come through it. One branch remains from the cedar which is seen to the left of this structure. Winter view of the Terrace Garden and the Wooden Pavilion. In this beautifully atmospheric photograph, you can see the two matching garden summer houses that sit on each side of the Terrace Garden. The Cedar of Lebanon is still alive here. The Terrace Garden leads to the Thyme Walk, the most popular and well recognized garden at Highgrove. The hornbeams planted around the yews are still quite young in this photo. This is the view taken from the Prince's bedroom window. A rare photograph of the only landscape that came with the house - the pudding balls - or yellow yews. From this boring design, he created a masterpiece with the Thyme Walk. This looks like a late fall view of Thyme Walk. Notice you can see the blue and white garden seats at the French door!! A more recent view of the Terrace Garden and the Thyme Walk in the back. Again, the two charming summer houses are seen here. The hornbeams have finally grown out and display a very rectangular shape when seen from above. Here in this Google Maps view, you can see the hornbeams - how rectangular they are in shape, along with centered square shapes. The yellow yew bushes are barely seen. The shapes are quite amazing. The gardeners were told to let their imaginations run wild when they were clipping the shapes. Something to try at your own house if you have a large yard? There are over 20 varieties of the scented thyme planted in the stone walkway. The yews are over six feet tall and this photograph gives you an idea of how tall they must look when actually walking down the path. This is the only photograph I could find of the small garden with a water fountain that sits at the end of the Thyme Walk. Past the small enclosed garden with the water fountain that lies at the end of the Thyme Walk is this statue, which opens onto the Meadow Garden. The Meadow Garden is another popular part of Highgrove. The meadow lies from the front of the house to the side. It blooms in spring and in summer is mowed down by hungry sheep. The meadow changes over time. Different combinations of seed have been developed over the years. A recent photograph of the Meadow Garden. Sheep are brought in to cut the meadow down during the summer. Leading up to the side Rose Garden, a pathway is mowed in the Meadow Garden. Love the wisteria growing on the house. The seeds from the various meadows are sold at the Highgrove shop and online. Over the years the meadow has changed and evolved. Order the mix here. A close look at the gates the lead to the Rose Garden with the Prince of Wales Feathers heraldic badge atop it. Notice how the hedges have half ovals cut into the tops of them. Throughout the gardens there are surprises everywhere, like this small gate. Past the Meadow Garden is the Walled Garden where vegetables and fruits are grown, organically, of course. Many of these apples are quite rare and some were near extinction. The brick wall warms in the sun and provides needed heat for the pears and apples that climb on it. The Italian Fountain in the Walled Garden. Seen from above the Walled Garden's beds were designed to look like the Union Jack flag. Close up of the moss covered fountain. Throughout the gardens are busts and statues. Many busts are of the Prince, given as gifts, and some are of people that he admires. Here is a statue of Prince Charles beloved dog Tigger. See, he does have a heart after all! Prince Charles hired the famous gardeners Julian and Isabel Bannerman to create the moody and dark Woodland Garden, along with the Victorian Stumpery. Here the team designed two temples out of green oak, made to look like stone. The Stumpery is filled with....stumps and hostas and ferns which grow from the stumps themselves. When Prince Philip first saw this garden he asked Charles "when are you going to set fire to this lot?" But, the recycling of tree stumps which create new life is at the heart of his gardening principles. The stumps come from felled trees and the rare hurricane. Flowers growing in the dark garden. In the background is a tribute to the Queen Mother. The swampy, boggy pond in the Woodland Garden with a stone fountain where gorgeous gunnera leaves grow out of the top. Another view of the boggy pond. The little princes William and Harry played in this treehouse which originally was the Prince's from Hollyroodhouse. Inside the treehouse is a tea set. A newer garden is the Carpet Garden, designed by the Prince whose inspiration came from Turkish carpets found inside Highgrove House. The garden was first exhibited in the prestigious 2001 Chelsea Flower show. It was then dismantled and permanently installed at Highgrove. Another early garden is the Cottage Garden which has evolved over the years. The catalpa tree found here was given to the Prince for the 50th birthday by Elton John. A new addition to the Cottage Garden is this summer house designed by the Prince and built at Highgrove using felled oak trees. To the east of the house is the Arboretum built in 1999 to mark England's Millennium. There stands a Cotswold stone tiled roof cottage where the Prince goes to water color and think. No one is allowed in this house except for him. It's the only place on earth where he has complete and utter privacy. Another view of the Arboretum Garden taken during fall. The Orchard House were events are held and guests are entertained. For many years, the house and gardens were a favorite family getaway from London. Eventually Prince Charles started spending most of his time here alone - away from Diana and close to Camilla, who acted as the hostess of Highgrove, years before the divorce. There was even a swimming pool for the boys - charmingly set behind a picket fence. There are very few published photos of the inside of Highgrove House- unfortunately! After the divorce, Prince Charles hired Robert Kime to come and redecorate everything that Diana's designer Dudley Poplak had installed. Gone were all the pastels and instead the more masculine vibe from Kime took over. In this small picture from a video, you can see Prince Charles study. The French doors open to the Terrace Garden which leads to the Thyme Walk. This is where the doors are held open by the blue and white garden seats. I'm sure that the curtains are a Kime fabric, but I can't get a close enough view to see it in order to name it. In this awful photograph - you can see the sofa, typically Kime, with an ethnic array of fabrics installed on it. Beautiful oil above the sofa. From this video, it looks like the decor is typical English Country Manor. Lots of blue and white porcelains with ethnic fabric and linen prints. There are oil paintings on the yellow walls and Oriental carpets on the floors. On his messy desk, he uses baskets to hold his papers. This terrible photograph from another video was taken in aaa ground floor room. This room is pretty awful looking. Not sure what that wall hanging is???? But the bones of the room are lovely with the paned window door, stone fireplace, and wood floors. But in this closeup of the curtains - so exciting! Robert Kime's Tree of Life fabric hangs in the window. I love this fabric - here shown in small, medium and large detail. And it is online, if you wish to have your designer order it for you HERE. This linen fabric is based on an original 17th century Edwardian specimen. You know the old adage - if you have to ask how much Kime's fabrics are, you can't afford them. Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are expensive!!!!! Still, it gives me a tiny thrill to know that Prince Charles and I like the same fabric. Unless Camilla picked it out and then - well, forget it! I hate it!!! I had originally planned to show more royal residences in this story, but it just got too big. So...bear with me. I'm going to spend a little time and break the stories up a bit. I hope you enjoyed this first installment on Highgrove House. As for the new baby! How many guessed the sex right? I was totally wrong, though I did say Kate looked like she was carrying a boy. Now just waiting to see how wrong I was on the name! To me, the baby looks exactly like Queen Elizabeth. I got the giggles looking at the new baby - he really looks like his great-grandmother! Don't believe me? Look here: I mean - dead ringer. The Windsors must have some strong genes - which obviously they do! The Queen looks exactly like another great grandchild - her son Prince Edward's daughter Lady Louise. Lady Louise on the left and her great grandmother Queen Elizabeth at the same age on the right. Dopplegangers! All I can say is I'm glad I don't look like my great grandmother!!
Singapore's marina bay
Hi there! My name is Nate Ridgway and I am a history teacher at Beech Grove High School in Indianapolis, IN. This will be my 5th year in the classroom: I
MAJOR PERSONAL CONFESSION: Well, it happened. I got caught up in the Royal Baby fever along with the rest of the world. I haven’t really been that into the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – even their wedding didn’t engage me much... Some of my books on the Royal Family, heavy on Diana. Obsessed much? As you can see, for years I was obsessed – for lack of a better word – with Princess Diana and the Royal family. Obsessed. I read, and still own, quite a lot of books written about Diana. This mania started before her and Charles wedding and continued after her death. It was always such a fascinating question for me - was their marriage a partnership of love or of duty? I really wanted to know if they were truly in love or were they just faking it for the public? Once the truth finally came out and then poor Diana passed away, my interest in the Royal family slowly waned. Their wedding day. The final straw came with Prince Charles' marriage to Camilla - "the Rottweiler" (Diana's nickname for her competition) - I just didn't care for those two. It made me ill that another woman had taken Diana’s rightful place. Couple that with all the revelations of how a 19 year old girl had been used and abused by the Royals just so she might give them an heir, I literally closed the book on them. The Happy Mother So, when Prince William got married - I couldn't watch a lot of it, especially with Camilla playing the role of the happy mother. But then, for some reason, I started getting all excited about the baby. I started reading about the Royals again, which then got me started reading about Diana again. I reread Andrew Morton’s book – the newer edition with the actual transcripts of Diana’s taped recordings, and then I started watching old videos about her. This week, I made Elisabeth sit with me while we watched The Queen with Helen Mirren again. Such a great movie! And then, because I'm becoming all obsessed again, I started thinking about where the Royal Family lives- their castles and mansions, their country estates and the townhouses in the city. I’ve really had my head in the sand for a long while, so looking at images of Highgrove, Kensington Palace and Clarence House seemed fresh to me. I thought it might seem fresh to you as well! So – in honor of the new baby boy – (was I ever wrong about the sex!) – let’s take a few days and study some English Royal interior design! I have found some really beautiful photographs this past week to share. Enjoy!! HIGHGROVE One of the most interesting English gardens is at Highgrove – Prince Charles’ country house. While looking at estates to buy, one selling point for the Prince was that Highgrove was located a short 15 minute drive from Camilla Parker-Bowles’ own country house, which was perfect for carrying on their clandestine love affair. Another selling point was the trees, especially a 200 year old Cedar of Lebanon which shaded the back side of the house. He bought the 1794 estate right before he married in 1980 and he asked Diana, whom he was just dating at the time, to decorate it for him. He told her he liked her taste. She thought it was very strange that he would be asking her, so very young and barely a steady girlfriend, to spearhead the décor. Nevertheless, Diana hired Dudley Poplak, a designer from South Africa, whom had worked for her mother and sisters and a host of upper crust English families, to do the job. His aesthetic was the quintessential English Country Manor look. Besides Highgrove, Poplak also eventually designed their London home at Kensington Palace. After Charles and Diana’s divorce – Charles hired the designer Robert Kime to rid Highgrove of all of Poplak’s more feminine touches. In turn, Diana then rehired Poplak to come and refresh and redecorate Kensington Palace to erase her own memories of Charles. After Diana’s death, Kime was again hired by Charles to decorate Clarence House for himself and Camilla when they moved there following the passing of the Queen Mother, who had lived there for decades. There are so few pictures of the interiors of Highgrove. In fact I’ve only ever seen but a few. I wish they would open the house for a peek at Kime’s work. But in truth, it's not the interiors that make Highgrove important, rather it's the gardens that the Prince has created there. This is how Highgrove House looked when it was for sale by the son of a Prime Minister of England - Harold McMillan. The house was rather plain and it was totally exposed to the road. There was no privacy and that was a huge concern for the Prince, which he had to tackle first. As you can see, there were no gardens either. Here at the side of the house is the gorgeous 200 year old Cedar of Lebanon which was the main selling point of the house for the Prince (along with its proximity to Camilla Parker Bowles' country house.) Unfortunately, the majestic tree developed a fungus and was cut down a few years ago. During his stay at Highgrove, the Prince has planted over 10,000 trees. An early picture of the house shows the front wild flower meadow that had already been planted. The estate and the gardens are managed by the Prince to be sustainable and eco friendly. Everything is reused and organic - in the house and outside it. Pest control is natural - by predators. Rain water is collected for irrigation. Raw sewage from the estate is filtered through a series of plants and reeds and is then reused on the property. There is a walled kitchen garden where some nearly extinct fruit and vegetables varieties are grown. In this photograph, the facade of the house had not yet been changed. Over the years, the Prince added balustrades, shutters, a pediment and classical pilasters to the house to soften its exterior. A one story annex was also added for staff. Here you can see the difference in the facade with the pediment, the pilasters, the balustrade and shutters. Besides Highgrove House, the Prince's Duchy of Cornwall also owns a large nearby farm. . It's amazing how much prettier the exterior is now with addition of the classical elements. The house seems like it has always looked this way. The front gravel drives circles around. I love the front porch and portico. A view at sunset. The house is quite modest when compared to the Queen's country estate - Windsor. The big question is - when the Prince becomes King, will he turn over Highgrove to Prince William and move to Windsor? Or will he stay here instead? A watercolor that shows the layout of the garden and house. One of the first gardens planted was this one at the side of the house. The great gardener the Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury helped the Prince at first. She designed the hedges around the property to shield the house and created this rose garden with a sundial at its center. The garden later was changed into a black and white theme, and still even later, more colors were added by the new gardener Debbie Goodenough. One the most spectacular gardens installed by the Prince leads off the back side of the house. It's the Thyme Walk with the large golden yew bushes that are trained into strange shapes. Here is a very early photograph of the Thyme walk garden when the yew bushes were not shaped. The yews were one of the only garden elements that came with the house. The Prince was advised to cut them down, but he refused and ended up creating the most iconic garden at Highgrove based on these yews. And another early view when the yew bushes were first being clipped into their wonderfully odd shapes. Leading into Thyme Walk is the Terrace Garden that is off the Prince's office. Here French doors are held open to the Terrace by a pair of blue and white garden seats. This is one of the few interior pictures of the house published, though it's not even an interior! The prince explains that once he was settled into the house he realized how flat the land was - and thus, the gardens needed to have vistas, a place for the eye to travel along. Many of his gardens are built along sight lines, such as this one. A close up of the beautiful fountain at the Terrace Garden that leads to the Thyme Walk. Gorgeous. At the Terrace Garden, the great Cedar of Lebanon was cut down a few years ago after it developed a fungus. In its place the wooden pavilion was erected over the stump. The Wooden Pavilion from the other side of the garden. A close up the structure with the hole at the top that will allow plant growth to come through it. One branch remains from the cedar which is seen to the left of this structure. Winter view of the Terrace Garden and the Wooden Pavilion. In this beautifully atmospheric photograph, you can see the two matching garden summer houses that sit on each side of the Terrace Garden. The Cedar of Lebanon is still alive here. The Terrace Garden leads to the Thyme Walk, the most popular and well recognized garden at Highgrove. The hornbeams planted around the yews are still quite young in this photo. This is the view taken from the Prince's bedroom window. A rare photograph of the only landscape that came with the house - the pudding balls - or yellow yews. From this boring design, he created a masterpiece with the Thyme Walk. This looks like a late fall view of Thyme Walk. Notice you can see the blue and white garden seats at the French door!! A more recent view of the Terrace Garden and the Thyme Walk in the back. Again, the two charming summer houses are seen here. The hornbeams have finally grown out and display a very rectangular shape when seen from above. Here in this Google Maps view, you can see the hornbeams - how rectangular they are in shape, along with centered square shapes. The yellow yew bushes are barely seen. The shapes are quite amazing. The gardeners were told to let their imaginations run wild when they were clipping the shapes. Something to try at your own house if you have a large yard? There are over 20 varieties of the scented thyme planted in the stone walkway. The yews are over six feet tall and this photograph gives you an idea of how tall they must look when actually walking down the path. This is the only photograph I could find of the small garden with a water fountain that sits at the end of the Thyme Walk. Past the small enclosed garden with the water fountain that lies at the end of the Thyme Walk is this statue, which opens onto the Meadow Garden. The Meadow Garden is another popular part of Highgrove. The meadow lies from the front of the house to the side. It blooms in spring and in summer is mowed down by hungry sheep. The meadow changes over time. Different combinations of seed have been developed over the years. A recent photograph of the Meadow Garden. Sheep are brought in to cut the meadow down during the summer. Leading up to the side Rose Garden, a pathway is mowed in the Meadow Garden. Love the wisteria growing on the house. The seeds from the various meadows are sold at the Highgrove shop and online. Over the years the meadow has changed and evolved. Order the mix here. A close look at the gates the lead to the Rose Garden with the Prince of Wales Feathers heraldic badge atop it. Notice how the hedges have half ovals cut into the tops of them. Throughout the gardens there are surprises everywhere, like this small gate. Past the Meadow Garden is the Walled Garden where vegetables and fruits are grown, organically, of course. Many of these apples are quite rare and some were near extinction. The brick wall warms in the sun and provides needed heat for the pears and apples that climb on it. The Italian Fountain in the Walled Garden. Seen from above the Walled Garden's beds were designed to look like the Union Jack flag. Close up of the moss covered fountain. Throughout the gardens are busts and statues. Many busts are of the Prince, given as gifts, and some are of people that he admires. Here is a statue of Prince Charles beloved dog Tigger. See, he does have a heart after all! Prince Charles hired the famous gardeners Julian and Isabel Bannerman to create the moody and dark Woodland Garden, along with the Victorian Stumpery. Here the team designed two temples out of green oak, made to look like stone. The Stumpery is filled with....stumps and hostas and ferns which grow from the stumps themselves. When Prince Philip first saw this garden he asked Charles "when are you going to set fire to this lot?" But, the recycling of tree stumps which create new life is at the heart of his gardening principles. The stumps come from felled trees and the rare hurricane. Flowers growing in the dark garden. In the background is a tribute to the Queen Mother. The swampy, boggy pond in the Woodland Garden with a stone fountain where gorgeous gunnera leaves grow out of the top. Another view of the boggy pond. The little princes William and Harry played in this treehouse which originally was the Prince's from Hollyroodhouse. Inside the treehouse is a tea set. A newer garden is the Carpet Garden, designed by the Prince whose inspiration came from Turkish carpets found inside Highgrove House. The garden was first exhibited in the prestigious 2001 Chelsea Flower show. It was then dismantled and permanently installed at Highgrove. Another early garden is the Cottage Garden which has evolved over the years. The catalpa tree found here was given to the Prince for the 50th birthday by Elton John. A new addition to the Cottage Garden is this summer house designed by the Prince and built at Highgrove using felled oak trees. To the east of the house is the Arboretum built in 1999 to mark England's Millennium. There stands a Cotswold stone tiled roof cottage where the Prince goes to water color and think. No one is allowed in this house except for him. It's the only place on earth where he has complete and utter privacy. Another view of the Arboretum Garden taken during fall. The Orchard House were events are held and guests are entertained. For many years, the house and gardens were a favorite family getaway from London. Eventually Prince Charles started spending most of his time here alone - away from Diana and close to Camilla, who acted as the hostess of Highgrove, years before the divorce. There was even a swimming pool for the boys - charmingly set behind a picket fence. There are very few published photos of the inside of Highgrove House- unfortunately! After the divorce, Prince Charles hired Robert Kime to come and redecorate everything that Diana's designer Dudley Poplak had installed. Gone were all the pastels and instead the more masculine vibe from Kime took over. In this small picture from a video, you can see Prince Charles study. The French doors open to the Terrace Garden which leads to the Thyme Walk. This is where the doors are held open by the blue and white garden seats. I'm sure that the curtains are a Kime fabric, but I can't get a close enough view to see it in order to name it. In this awful photograph - you can see the sofa, typically Kime, with an ethnic array of fabrics installed on it. Beautiful oil above the sofa. From this video, it looks like the decor is typical English Country Manor. Lots of blue and white porcelains with ethnic fabric and linen prints. There are oil paintings on the yellow walls and Oriental carpets on the floors. On his messy desk, he uses baskets to hold his papers. This terrible photograph from another video was taken in aaa ground floor room. This room is pretty awful looking. Not sure what that wall hanging is???? But the bones of the room are lovely with the paned window door, stone fireplace, and wood floors. But in this closeup of the curtains - so exciting! Robert Kime's Tree of Life fabric hangs in the window. I love this fabric - here shown in small, medium and large detail. And it is online, if you wish to have your designer order it for you HERE. This linen fabric is based on an original 17th century Edwardian specimen. You know the old adage - if you have to ask how much Kime's fabrics are, you can't afford them. Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are expensive!!!!! Still, it gives me a tiny thrill to know that Prince Charles and I like the same fabric. Unless Camilla picked it out and then - well, forget it! I hate it!!! I had originally planned to show more royal residences in this story, but it just got too big. So...bear with me. I'm going to spend a little time and break the stories up a bit. I hope you enjoyed this first installment on Highgrove House. As for the new baby! How many guessed the sex right? I was totally wrong, though I did say Kate looked like she was carrying a boy. Now just waiting to see how wrong I was on the name! To me, the baby looks exactly like Queen Elizabeth. I got the giggles looking at the new baby - he really looks like his great-grandmother! Don't believe me? Look here: I mean - dead ringer. The Windsors must have some strong genes - which obviously they do! The Queen looks exactly like another great grandchild - her son Prince Edward's daughter Lady Louise. Lady Louise on the left and her great grandmother Queen Elizabeth at the same age on the right. Dopplegangers! All I can say is I'm glad I don't look like my great grandmother!!
Glamour Grove: A chic name that rolls off the tongue and imparts a high class, bespoke vibe. Possible uses: A party planner. A beauty brand. A talent agency. A retailer.
Hello everyone, I just stopped in to let you know our Downton Abbey Tea was a big success with more then 45 people enjoying a stroll through the gardens,the boathouse, Gardener's Cottage and High Tea. We had a beautiful sunny afternoon for the tea and I have had several requests to make it an annual event-sounds like a good idea but your turn next year! We served sandwiches,scones, devonshire cream, lemon curd ,strawberry preserves,mini quiches,sweets and dessert as well as Lady Baker's tea ~ both iced and hot. Can I pour you a cup of tea? I loved seeing everyone all dressed up for the occasion and I will share more of that later. I had lots of good help from family and friends -so thankful for all they did to help out but a few days of down time are looking good so I will be back soon with lots more photos of our Downton Abbey Tea. Thank you for stopping by, Carolyn
retro-vintage-photography.blogspot.com/
Lost for more than 50 years since they were featured in Life magazine, Gordon Parks’s stunning images show daily life for one Alabama family in the shadow of race riots, bus boycotts and the fight for civil rights
ICONIC female drummer Dottie Dodgion has died aged 91. The high-profile jazz drummer passed away on September 17 in a hospice center in Pacific Grove, California. Dodgion passed away following a st…
Exclusive elite club Bohemian Grove, one of the most secretive societies in America, is facing a bombshell lawsuit from former staff alleging a series of shocking labor law violations.
Or, “Letting Go of Other People’s Emotional Garbage” I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the 7 Chakras lately. My favorite book right now is The 7 Healing Chakras by Brenda Davies. Whether or not you’re skeptical about Chakras, there’s some powerful concepts, exercises and meditations folded into this model which I think have pretty significant application. Most especially for Highly Sensitive People who deal with other people’s emotional garbage all the time. If you fall into the category of a Highly Sensitive Person and think Chakras sound too woo-woo for you, pretend they don’t and read this blog post anyway. It’s going to have some good stuff for you. I’ll probably write in more detail about Chakras soon when I feel intellectually ready to, so this isn’t intended to be a full breakdown of the model. I simply couldn’t wait to share what I suspect is going to a very helpful exercise for many Feelers in our audience, whether they be iNtuitive or Sensory. (Though I’m looking mostly in your direction, INFJs and ENFJs.) At the very base of your spine between the coccyx and the pelvic bone is where the first of the 7 main Chakras is located. It’s called the Root (or Base) Chakra, and its main function is to keep you grounded in the physical realm. The energy of this Chakra is pointed downward, toward the ground, and its purpose is to keep us alive no matter what. While it’s connected with many things in the physical realm (how we take care of ourselves, the food we eat, our motivation for living, etc.), there are more abstract implications that stem from this Chakra. Things like our self-esteem, our sense of balance and well-being, and our ability to appreciate our innate beauty and unique worth are impacted by the health of this Chakra. And though it’s connected to so much in the physical realm, if your Root Chakra isn’t robust it will impact your ability to sustainably connect to the spiritual/metaphysical. When we’re assaulted (or feel assaulted) by other people’s ‘stuff’ – their emotional or psychic garbage, whether they intended to dump on us or not – it’s very easy to hide ourselves away, slowly letting go of this toxic energy until we feel good enough to reenter society only to have it happen again. For those of you who have these sensitivities it’s also very easy to see it as a curse, especially since there’s very few resources available 1) acknowledging that this happens to you, and 2) sharing strategies for dealing with these sensitivities. People like you become human dialysis machines for the rest of humanity, and other people unconsciously take advantage of this. They don’t know they’re doing it. In fact, if you explained to other people what they were doing they’d dismiss you. (As you may have actually experienced in the past.) What our conscious minds can accept as real is a very different thing than what our unconscious minds take for granted. We’re compelled by unconscious motivations even when they make no ‘logical’ sense. Utilizing you to purify icky emotions isn’t something another person is intending to do, it’s something they’re unaware of themselves. Lūpų putlinimas hialurono rūgštimi gera kaina Vilniuje, PRP ir mezoterapija https://oblakasalon.lt/mezoterapija/ Knowing there’s no ill intent can cushion the blow, but it doesn’t remove the result of the transaction: you’re still dealing with their ‘stuff’, and you still need a strategy to process it (since you just caught the ‘hot potato’ of their emotional garbage). This is where an understanding of the Root Chakra can be helpful. According to the theory, this Chakra gives us a direct, rooted connection to the earth. That’s why it’s ‘grounding’ – it is connecting you to the ground. The earth can bounce back from some pretty major damage. We see this all the time in areas of environmental ravage, and the surprising quickness of the earth’s ability to heal itself. When you’ve absorbed (or taken on in any other manner) someone else’s ‘stuff’, the earth now provides for you the same service you consciously or unconsciously serve for others – it can absorb the poison inside of you, and you can rest assure that it will deal with it. Chakra Exercises Exercise #1 – Letting go of bad energy: Sit or stand with your back erect and your feel flat on the ground, a little apart to create balance. Let your body’s weight sit in your pelvis and distribute equally down your legs with your knees slightly bent. Close your eyes if you’d like. Take a few deep breaths and relax as much as you can. With a single thought send a beautiful golden root from the sole of each foot deep down into the earth. Send another from the tip of your spine so that you are now sitting on a tripod of golden roots. Just as a lightning rod grounds electrical energy, if there’s anything you don’t need, allow it to discharge now into the earth. Just let it go. The earth can handle anything, neutralize and recycle it. Now with each breath draw up the wonderful energy of the earth. Feel it hold you and cherish you as it comes up through those roots in to your body. See it begin to fill you with wonderful golden light. Strong, earthy, robust energy. Feel held by the earth. Like a wonderful strong tree, know that you too are strong and that you’re fine. Stay as long as you like. When you’re ready, gently withdraw the roots, but know that you remain in constant, intimate contact with the earth through the soles of your feet and Root Chakra, which should remain open. Exercise #2 – Filling the self with empowered energy: With bare feet on the earth, repeat Exercise #1. Now put your hands up to the sky and draw the energy of the sun and the sky through the palms of your hands and the top of your head. Let this wonderful silver energy fill you, streaming in and down to your heart where it mingles with the energy of the earth. Silently or aloud give thanks for all the good there ever was, for the good there is and for all the good that’s to come. Feel the strength from both earth and sky flow into you and hold you, mingling the earthly and the spiritual, the perfect marriage of your human self with your soul. Feel with wonder the current of energy flow through you. Enjoy it. Feel the strength. Feel the power. Feel refreshed and renewed. Know that you are a powerful being, your physical self enriched by the spiritual and your spiritual self humble in its human form. Feel the magic of that amazing union. Feel whole, be aware of your immense potential. Feel energized. When you are ready, bring down your arms and cup your hands around your heart. Say whatever you need to say in thanks. Holding on to the wonderful energy of both earth and sky, withdraw the roots from the earth, but know that you always remain in intimate contact with it through your open Root Chakra. Protection Exercise: If you anticipate being in a toxic environment or if you’re spending time with someone who ‘drains’ you, take a moment to protect yourself and your Chakras. Take a couple of deep breaths and as you do so relax as much as you can. Imagine a beautiful white flower at the top of your head with its petals wide open. With a thought see them close. Let the flower become a tight bud. Let your focus drop now to your brow. See there a beautiful deep blue or purple flower and, with a thought, allow its petals to close into a tight bud. Drop your focus now to your throat. See here a sky-blue or turquoise flower. Allow its petals to close and then allow your focus to drop to your heart. Here there is a beautiful green flower. Let its petals close also. Now to your solar plexus. Here there is a yellow flower. Let its petals close to a very, very tight bud. Now focus on your Sacral Chakra. Here is an orange flower. Let its petals close also. Your Root Chakra stays open to keep you constantly grounded and nourished by the earth. Cross your arms across your chest. Bow your head slightly. Now imagine that there is a beautiful midnight blue cloak beside you. Allow it to drape around you and over your head to fully protect you. Breathe. Know that you are protected. Again, it’s not really about ‘believing’ in the Chakra model. It’s more about utilizing a strategy that has helped many sensitive people protect themselves from toxic energy as well as ‘let go’ of energy that has been thrust upon them. Do you have any great exercises, meditations or visualizations that have helped you? Share them in the comments section so others can benefit! -Antonia p.s. I took these exercises directly from Brenda Davies book The 7 Healing Chakras. If you’re interested in learning more about this model, I recommend checking out her book! Want to learn more? Discover Your Personal Genius
Martin Schoeller is a highly successful German portrait photographer who just finished a show called Portraits at the prestigious Hasted Kraeutler Art
Eric Hooper, 72, from Stockwell, London, said fitting the escape tube on the 21-floor Grenfell Tower could have saved countless lives when it was ravaged by the inferno in June.
Sunspear, also known as the Old Palace,[2] is the seat of House Nymeros Martell and the capital of Dorne. The castle is located on the Broken Arm, north of the Greenblood on the far southeastern coast of Westeros and is surrounded on three sides by the sea, and by the shadow city on the fourth side.[3][4] The palace of the Water Gardens lies three leagues away on the coastal road.[5]
Miami born chef Danny Ganem leads the kitchen at Michelin recommended luxury Italian restaurant Fiola in Coral Gables, will move to Grove Isle spot
This edited article about the Order of the Garter originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 337 published on 29 June 1968. Edward III returning the Lady's garter at a ball in Calais by Howard Davie H.M. the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh walk in procession to the formal installation service for new […]
A lovely picture taken at the junction of Bruce Grove railway station with Tottenham High Road. Note the early version of Morris Minor following the bus with, what looks like, a slightly later model immediately behind. And what's the provincial type bus in the distance? Eastern National? Photo - Fred Ivey
