pink peonies

I usually love all white single flower bouquets, but this time of year, pink peonies are irresistible! I put them singly in bud vases, in small bunches in glass cylinders on bedside tables, and in white pitchers or tureens for tablesettings
photos from "Summer" by Matthew Mead

hydrangeas are blooming

the hydrangeas are starting to bloom and come in the most beautiful colors...from clear blues and lilacs to vibrant pinks, but my favorites are the soft "off-colors" of pale greens and creams and whites...make sure you give them a clean cut, cross-slice the stems with scissors and add fresh water every day for big lush bouquets that last, and if it doesn't rain, get the hose out to keep your bushes watered as they are very thirsty these hot summer days...I love putting one big flower head in a glass or vase for a mantel or bedside table, and for larger spaces, harvest a lot of stems for a big single flower bouquet or use as a great base for mixed flower arrangements...
from Sailing Style, photographs by Michael Skott

summer curtains

it's time for simple cotton curtains that let the summer breezes come through...like these blue and white striped ones that allow privacy but let the light in...photographed at my friend Ellen O'Neill's summer house for the Sailing Style book.
photograph by michael skott

nantucket inspiration

this time of year, i think of early morning walks in nantucket and its design inspiration from the simple natural landscaping by the sea, whitewashed picket fences, rambling roses, weathered wood shingles and crushed clamshell walkways...

june roses

rosa multiflora alba
I know serious gardener friends see this rose as a pest as it rambles all over, but in early june on long island along roadways, in woods and gardens, this fragrant wild white rose looks beautiful to me...I love to snip long sprays of it, and put in large white pitchers or glass cylinders on big tables and cut the small ones for mantels or window sills or bedside tables...the creamy white roses are single petal in clusters and were discovered in france in 1824.

summer ironing

i love soft wrinkled linens, but sometimes love the ritual of ironing sundried linens sprinkled with lavender water...