Does anything say “High Summer” better than Hydrangeas? In this part of the world, they bloom and bloom and bloom and bloom! They capture the sparkling sunlight like a prism and send the light shooting thru the dark shadows like bits of fairy glitter. So magical! If you’ve never grown them before, they are worth looking into as the frothy blossoms last a very long time thru the hottest days of summer and offer a cool respite from all the oranges, yellows and hot pinks we seem to have in the gardens now.
This fairy house is a bit of a chameleon. It started out with one set of flowery roof options that no doubt you will see, eventually. But when the house was nearly finished, I realized that it might look good with a live Hydrangea roof instead. My blue shrubs were just about done with their gorgeous blooms and the white one was coming on strong. I set the house up on some stilts nestled in the arms of the white hydrangea and began to decorate the house with freshly clipped blossoms and leaves… the result you have here.
The fresh phlox blossoms only last about 15 minutes before they wilt too much to be photogenic anymore. The delicate Ground Elder (aka Snow-on-the-mountain or Bishop’s weed) leaves wilt even faster. All of this means that once everything is in place I have a very short window for shooting. If a cloud comes over, or a branch shifts and blossoms drop, it can be quite nerve-wracking to get “The” shot I’m looking for…and each time I feel myself struggling with the uncooperative elements I think of the quote from Andy Goldswothy’s book : “All this effort to make something look effortless.” That just about sums it up for me as well!
Still, when it does all come together, there is such delight…. which is why, ultimately, I do this work.
May this image bring some delight to your day!
Thank you for your effort.yur work. You are truly amazing and remind us of how lucky we are. C
Thank you Charlie! It is wonderful to know that my work still can reach people and inspire them in some small way. This has always been the undercurrent of everything that I do as an artist. Thank you for seeing that and saying that…it means a great deal to me. Bright Blessings, Sally
I absolutely love your fairy houses and I feel like I want to paint them! They inspire me.🌻
Thank you Andrea! If you ever do a painting using my work, send me a photo and I’ll be very happy to share it with my readers…if that is something you’d like to do. I’m sure people would be interested to see what you create!
Bright Blessings, Sally