The 5 senses of Summer

  Every season is evocative in it's own right, I love to celebrate them all. Each has seasonal traditions,     memories and always the potential for new ideas, enticing all five senses.

sight........

The color turquoise conveys, to me.........summer

A stunning chandelier in our Chicago shop

sounds.......

secrets

the pitched clank on the metal mast......whipping of the sails

the lapping of waves and distant sea gulls

My dear friend Marsha Engle, has been on a life changing journey, she is losing her hearing. What a devastating diagnosis in adulthood. Marsha, a local Geneva, Il. woman, whose hearing loss is nearly complete, remembers her favorite sounds. One can gauge this loss and appreciate our "gifts" with her newly published book. Stunning photography by Bill Huber.

see here

smell........

For a client in a farm-like setting I installed a big square of lavender, a bit larger than a king sized sheet. In the summer sun she could and did dry her sheets on the lavender, sun baking the essential oils into the weave of fabric

Suntan lotion and the scent of salt

  freshly laundered clothes

Heirloom plant; Nicotiana 'sylsvestris'. This old fashioned plant is pollinated by moths, not bees. By evening the evocative scent of jasmine fills the garden. Plant under a window

The Lily 'casa blanca', it too releases the scent of jasmine in the daylight hours.

freshly mown lawn......how about a patch of freshly mown chamomile lawn?

Antique or heirloom roses are the scent queens of the garden. Some varieties can be detected a half block away. (damask)

I am crazy for this line of candles we represent; NEST.......and the best is Bamboo

taste..........

Summer on a bun........fresh garden sliced tomatoes, just picked basil, real mozzarella........on a great bread, drizzled with virgin olive oil and sea salt

The grill, usually a man loves to take over, just fine with me!

here are two corn on the cob suggestions, keep husks intact

- sprinkle with chili powder (best you can find), sea salt and drizzle with lime when served

-spread the cob thickly with peanut butter, seal with husks, that is it, no butter, no salt.......great flavor (really!) and better for you, really! No surprise that children also love this!

A drink I have to come to love, compliments of my friend Eddie Ross.

Fresca soda, vodka and lime.....delish!

Just picked juicy cantaloupe with prosciutto...yum!

the winner of the peony giveaway is Mary Casey.........need your address Mary!

Have a splendid week!

debra