Hermes Scarf and Pyrrha Necklace ~ A Silent Auction fund raiser for Fort McMurray victims...

In my previous post I mentioned that my daughter Jennifer and I were going to be putting together a fundraiser to help the people from the town of Fort McMurray...we are ready and the auction is live!

Darling daughter has put together the silent auction post on her Instagram feed @thing _finder
and she is ready to accept bids by private message on these two lovely items. I donated the silk Hermes scarf which is made in Paris and she added the Pyrrha necklace which is made in Vancouver BC.

Fort McMurray is a town in Alberta where a wildfire has been burning for days. 88,000 people have fled, many with just the clothes on their backs and are currently living in camps or have joined family and friends elsewhere. Many homes burnt to the ground as well as buildings in the city.

After watching the news I have not been able to get the images out of my mind...so many people have been affected by the fire and the scale of the destruction is huge. I had just made a donation to The Red Cross and now I felt that I needed to do more to help.

Thank you...

                                ~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Garden daze...and a plea for help.

This unseasonably warm weather continues to be sunny and the garden is putting on quite the splashy show.

We have several different varieties of clematis in The Humble Bungalow Garden.

Incredibly lush blooms on this clematis which is only a few years old.

I think it might be Clematis Jackmanii.

Our Pink Lewisia Cotyledon grows in a pot in the garden outside the back door.

It puts on a lovely display for most of the summer and asks very little except for the occasional drink of water and a sheltered spot out of the wind.

The  McCartney rose seems happy and is incredibly fragrant...

perfect for picking and bringing inside the Humble Bungalow.

The Rothschildianum Azalea was beautiful but sadly the deer have eaten most of the flowers.

I have suggested to Mr. HB that we look into erecting some fencing out in the front yard!

I observed the doe munching happily on these flowers and thought well...

she is probably expecting fawns and needs a sweet treat.

And Today Is Mother's Day!

Joesph's Coat of Many Colours climbing rose

Madame Gregoire Staechelin climber

closer look at Madame

her flowers are drooping and heavy as she is fully laden with buds and blooms

alliums

The bees love these...

On our Instagram feed 

Darling Daughter  @thing_finder and I are putting together a silent auction to help raise funds for more than 88,000 people who live in Fort McMurray Alberta who have had to flee their homes because of a fast moving wild fire...

It is horrific to think that many of these people had to leave their homes 

and left with nothing but the clothes on their back...many driving through flames and heat to escape.

The news is very graphic and scary that I fear that many will be traumatized.

I purchased this scarf new from the Vancouver Hermes shop and have the wee booklet and original box that it came in...

it is a white with grey 

a very "painterly" scarf 

 is so neutral that I feel anyone could wear it

you could buy this scarf and help someone in need.

I am offering my 2012 Hermes silk scarf and our darling daughter is offering a Pyrrha necklace

we both hope that you will help us raise funds for the people of Fort McMurray.

The Canadian government will match all the donations received...

so let's do our bit.

Please help.

So please stay tuned for details of the auction.

Hope all the Mother's out there had a great day!

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Lilacs ~ an unexpected "windfall"

Thank you all for your kind messages on the previous post...

Yesterday we gathered at the church for a memorial Mass
to honour a lovely, gracious and kind woman...
the mother of my closest and dearest friend.
I have known this amazing lady since I was 8 years old.

Many years of wonderful memories ~ she will never be forgotten.

The vintage white floral wicker baskets were purchased from an antique shop almost 10 years ago.

Our son was getting married and having a garden wedding at my friend's home and I was in charge of the flowers and when I spied these I knew they would be perfect.

These have been used for several other weddings and they were used yesterday at the church service.

I offered to help with the flowers because it is something that I really enjoy...

I picked flowers from our Humble Bungalow garden...

lily of the valley, pink roses, fern fronds, hosta leaves and some blue bells popped them in a bucket and drove to my friend's home.

These went into vases and were placed around the house in various rooms.

The lily of the valley was placed on the table at the church between pictures, her rosary and some personal mementos 

We used the crystal vase that she had given me at my wedding shower almost 42 years ago.

My friend and I wandered around their garden looking for flowers for the wicker urns and discovered that a limb had snapped off the lilac bush in the wind that blew up the night before.

So we wasted no time and started cutting them, then plunged the fragrant lilacs into cold water.

They looked lovely at the church and were taken back to the house for the reception.

The private memorial Mass and afternoon gathering was mostly family...

we felt honoured to be included.

Here are a couple of pictures of their gorgeous garden 

which is large, lush and incredibly beautiful.

Purple Potato Vine looks so pretty mixed in with the chartreuse green Euphorbia.

Wisteria by the front entrance.

Dogwood Tree

Yellow Rose

I love how pretty this yellow rose looks contrasted against the red door.

I had a fairly quiet day today...

I met with the orthopedic surgeon who is treating my frozen shoulder and she seemed pleased with my progress...she is the first female orthopedic surgeon in Victoria...

looks very young and has a lovely "bedside manner."

I indulged in a relaxing pedicure at my favourite place

 Bliss Spa...

 Sipping and savouring a cup of hot tea

and looking at the clock

it is almost time to get dinner started...

Thank you for stopping by.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~ 

Au revoir....

Relaxing because
it is so difficult

I crave quiet and calm

it has been an emotional few days

I brewed a pot of tea and took a mug outside in the sunshine

and sat in one of the new red chairs

I needed to listen to the birdsong

look at the flowers

soak in all the beauty that I could

to refuel my spirit

soft greens and whites mingle together

the red chairs are comfy

I think they will be one of my favourite spots when I need to take a break in the garden

our Iceberg rose is in bloom

love the purity that white flowers exude

the new pot of geraniums will last all summer

 sunshine and water

and a little TLC

a lovely and gracious woman has left us...

she lived a full life

inspired and nurtured a family

  great grandmother

she was an important woman in my life

she was gracious

loving

giving

always put her family first

she leaves behind

family

friends

years of memories and events that can be recalled 

whenever we choose to do so

She will hold a special place in my heart forever

and I am honoured to have known her

I have wept...

my goodness we are all weeping

we cannot stem the tide...

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there." 

~ Ray Bradbury ~

Take care and thank you for stopping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~

Wisteria I want you!

On one of my recent walks I decided to explore Rockland.
It is a well established area that was developed early on in Victoria's history.
Many of the lovely heritage homes occupied large tracts of land, which have, in more recent times been subdivided and infill houses have been built.
There is a magnificent canopy of mature oak trees, streets have wide boulevards and you need not look too far to see gorgeous gardens.
It is lovely to meander up and down the streets and lanes...you never know what you'll see or who you will meet.
Be aware as there are a few very large bucks and families of deer living in this part of town.

This lush wisteria with it's delicate drooping clusters of flowers is stunning!

such a delicate flower

how pretty it looks against the blue sky

even more lovely as it drapes over the wrought iron railing onto the granite wall.

I am having a "greedy gardener" moment

"I want one!"

Lusting after plants is something that I do often.

Wisteria's require something sturdy to climb on and they can such vigorous climbers that can pull down a trellis...

I am considering where could I find room for one of these.

If I did find a spot 

then I would need to install 

(have someone install!)

something super strong for the wisteria to grab onto and grow up.

In the meantime, I can dream...

 I am imagining the scene will be set in soft mauves and vivid purple.

 Oh and that fragrance is exotic...sweet, almost a tropical scent.

Gardens evolve...

and change at the whim of the gardeners who work in them.

Some gardeners, myself included, are never quite satisfied with how their gardens grow.

We can always do better.

Find more beautiful plants and arrange them in a pleasing design.

Like a work in process 

a garden is always in flux.

We are plotting our next moves

our next acquisitions

how to make our little patch sparkle with beauty.

Books, lectures, garden tours, TV shows, 

all play a role in fuelling the creative process

that is felt deeply by gardeners alike across the globe.

"The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, 

always enterprising, and never satisfied.  They always look forward to doing 

something better than they have ever done before."

~ Vita Sackville-West ~

So with those thoughts on a sunny Sunday afternoon I will take my leave.

Until the next post from this Hostess of  The Humble Bungalow Blog

Please

~ Be Well and Be Kind ~