May In Full Bloom: The Scent of Love

Van Gogh's Garden in Bloom
Arles, c. 1888

You know that old expression,

 "The nose knows"?  

It turns out that is really true. 

"When you smell things, you remember emotions."

Take LOVE, for example.

Who wouldn't want to remember the exhilaration of early, or any for that matter, LOVE?

What does LOVE smell like?

It smells like May ...... 

A Mississippi/Arkansas Delta 

May in FULL BLOOM.  

Delta Bohemian Garden
with the famed Spitting Frog Fountain

The scents are intoxicating, heady.  

The promise for the upcoming,

 long, hot, barely unfolding summer reverberates in the sunshine. 

 Excitement can't help but

 course through your veins 

and cause your heart to leap 

at least just a little. 

The earth has warmed, the temperature is rising, and there is a cacophonous intermingling of delicious smells everywhere, a 'Flower Bomb' if you will.  

"Flower Bomb" is my au courant scent

You can lose yourself in the scent,

 get totally carried away 

by the love in the air.  

The scent of this time,

 of May in FULL BLOOM, 

the scent of LOVE, 

will always remain in your memory.... 

I don't design that many weddings,

 but this May I have been working 

on two Delta weddings, 

an elegant, gilded, streamlined, formal affair in Clarksdale, 

and an earthy, colorful, outdoorsy 

fete in Helena. 

Both weddings of course are laden with flowers and scents.......

My beautiful Clarksdale Delta bride 

chose a crisp, modern white and golden palette with lots of vibrant green

 for her wedding day. 

My longtime friend and right hand floral man Chris Morrow and bride Ashley Britt

Her memories of LOVE

 will be tied to the scents of 

Peonies (Bashful)

Roses (Happy Love, Beauty)

Freesia 
Tulip (Love, Fame)

My fresh and lovely Helena bride

has chosen a palette of what I like to call

classic French countryside,

orangey red, turquoise, and golden yellow

with touches of bridal white,

 raspberry pink and lavender.

Her memories of LOVE will be tied to the scents of

Roses (Happy Love)

Rosemary (Remembrance)
Sunflower (Pride and Appreciation)

Lavender (Serenity and Grace)

My wedding wasn't in May, but May holds many scent memories of those I love .....

The pungent smell of marigolds reminds me of my grandmother Nanny's house, 

for each May she planted them down the sides of her driveway. 

 I spent many fun hours playing in her big, sloping yard on Main Street 

or Darby Avenue in Lambert. 

In the Language of Flowers
Marigold means
"Despair and Grief".I love the color for a wedding, but not the sentiment!

I think this marigold colored wedding looks so crisp.
I am betting Madge would love this.
It's her favorite color!

Nanny's yard was also home to a gloriously huge, May blooming Magnolia Grandiflora. 

 Susan and I spent hours playing under its ground hugging branches and 

loved its buds wrapped in greigey, 

velvet like outer leaves, 

its huge full blown flowers with their light, creamy, slightly citrus scent, 

 and it's pineapple like cones.  

Delta Bohemian Garden

Delta Bohemian Garden

Delta Bohemian Garden

Delta Bohemian Garden

A perfect bouquet for a Delta wedding:
Magnolia leaves with tulips and tallow berries

In The Language of Flowers
Magnolia Grandiflora means
"Dignity and Love of Nature".

The delicious, sweet smell of roses reminds me of my play yard on our farm on the Coldwater River in the Delta. 

 My Mother espaliered the first roses I ever remember on the play yard fence. 

Delta Bohemian Garden

And on one of my early Mother's Days,

in May of course, 

 we went out and cut red roses

 to wear to church. 

 I was a tiny bit sad that we had no white rose for Nanny to wear for long passed great-grandmother Mammie.

 To this day, red roses are one of

 my very favorite flowers.  

In the Language of Flowers,
roses mean
"Happy Love".

Another beautiful Helena Bride
and her bouquet of all white roses, Eskimo and Vendela.

The funny, earthy, acid smell of tomato vines reminds me of my Uncle Raymond and his many May plantings of tomatoes.

 His tomatoes are some of the most delicious I have ever eaten.  

Delta Bohemian Garden

I DO love this unusual scent!
Do you?

OK, this photo of a quintessential tomato sandwich.
white bread, vine ripened tomato, Hellman's Mayonnaise, salt and pepper,
is off topic, I admit, but foodies and tomatoholic that I and someone are,
I could not resist!

Is this wedding too tomatoey for you?

I LOVE to use the unexpected in wedding arrangements.
VOILA, ripe and green tomatoes!

Heavy and sensuous, 

the scent of gardenias 

is one of my favorites. 

Delta Bohemian Garden

One of the first perfumes 

I ever wore was Jungle Gardenia

 in junior high school for a

 Lausanne May Day celebration. 

I felt so grown up!

I still love all those Lausanne Ladies. 

A beautiful wedding gown called "Gardenia".

I can still smell the cut honeysuckle my Mother placed on my dresser 

my senior year in high school 

just before my May graduation.  

In the Language of Flowers,
honeysuckle means
"Bonds of Love".

I love the touch of Art Nouveau in the honeysuckle artwork
 on this wedding invitation
I could definitely use the leaves and honeysuckle as inspiration
in designing this wedding.

And when I smell fresh herbs, 

the memories of my first house in 

Charlotte, North Carolina,

 where the first May I lived there, 

 I planned, planted, and daily cared for my first herb garden.  

Rosemary means "Remembrance".
Delta Bohemian Garden

Basil means "Hatred".
Delta Bohemian Garden

John McKee's Mint
Mint means "Virtue".
Delta Bohemian Garden

Chives
Thyme means "Activity".
Delta Bohemian Garden

Sage means "Long Life, Esteem, Health"
Delta Bohemian Garden

Curry
Delta Bohemian Garden

I hostessed the main course of a fancy progressive dinner party alfresco

 in my herb and rose garden late that May.

 I was so proud. 

 Memories of all my Charlotte friends I love come flooding back. 

Peonies and fresh herbs for a scent-ual bouquet.

Earlier this May week, I rode out to

 Moon Lake with my dear friends

 Madge and Billy. 

 We shared this beautiful view of the lake and the totally intoxicating scent

 of mounds of glorious jasmine 

growing on the fence and dock. 

In "The Language of Flowers"
jasmine means
"Cheer and Grace"

Perhaps a lovely scent for a bride and a scent memory for her groom?
I have not tried this, but I want to.

Truly the scent of LOVE!

I am making new scent memories 

with those I love this May in

 Clarksdale, Helena, and their environs, where everything is indeed in 

FULL BLOOM.....

And SOMEONE smells really good.....

I won't forget......

LOVE smells like May.  

May smells like LOVE. 

What is your favorite scent memory?

photo credits: Marilyn Trainor Storey, Pinterest, SOMEONE who smells good

MUCH MORE WEDDING TO COME!

Kudos to Billy Howell and
 his beautiful Bohemian Garden 
which delights the eyes and the nose.

For more on Billy, Madge and the
 Delta Bohemian

GO HERE

Paris in April, A Symphony of Art

Whew!

Where does the time go?

April was a spring whirlwind for me!

(And I MUST now say May, 
oooooh and June as well!)

(To listen to Stravinsky's 
Rite of Spring 
which the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra recently performed, click HERE)

In case you didn't hear,

late last year, 

I was asked by my good friend and client 

Lisa Rotolo
to chair the 

Jackson Symphony League Luncheon,
which is in itself a rite of spring,

and of course I said "YES"!

My fascinating friends and clients Suzannah McGowan and Lisa Rotolo at the
2012 Jackson Symphony League luncheon at The South.
Everyone was invited to wear a Fascinator!

My brain immediately kicked into creative overdrive trying to come up with a theme, decorations, and a guest speaker of unparalleled wit and interest.

I have been really been 

contemplating and concentrating on creativity and art this year, 

so somehow my theme 

just seemed to jump right out at me

"A Fascination with Art: Making It Your Life."

And since I am blessed to be surrounded by artsy, creative friends, 
the Decorations Chairman and the speakers were not a tough decision either. 
 I chose my artist friend, and many times helper and floral aficionado
Chris Morrow for decorations.

(I love the artist's palettes that Chris 
designed for the centerpieces!)

Thank you my dear Chris!

And I chose two people whom I have known for years and years and love dearly, 
both of whom have absolutely
 made art their lives, 
the irreverent and uber talented John Lyle as 
my featured speaker and the magical and fascinating Madge Marley Howell.

 Both John and Madge 
are native Mississippians.

John, based in New York since the '80's and owner of John Lyle Design 

and INOX New York,

 is designer extraordinaire of all things beautiful including furniture, 
fireplace equipment, 

objets, and rugs.

(See more of John on 

MS Design Maven HERE.)

Me with John Lyle my featured speaker at the luncheon and my sister Susan.
Susan, by the way made her own fascinator!
Read more about my sister Susan HERE.

Madge, the older sister I never had, is the owner, publisher, and creative genius 
behind the blogazine

"The Delta Bohemian".

(See more of Madge on 

MS Design Maven HERE.)

The Symphony Woodwinds Quartet Plays for Me and Madge 
as we unexpectedly channel Bonnie and Clyde

Both of these fascinating friends were indeed fascinating at the Symphony luncheon, 

but I have alas digressed a bit from talking about what I originally intended, as I soooo often do.

Well anyway,

thinking about Art and The Symphony got me to thinking about another 

fascinating and inspiring artsy friend of mine, and fellow Delta native I might add, 

Lisa Paris.  

So right smack dab in the middle of preparations for the luncheon, 

I paid a visit to Paris in April.

  

No, not THIS Paris!

Lisa welcomed me into her beautiful and artfully decorated home.
She was wearing some of my very favorite hand knotted silk beads in amber.
I used to import them from Sweden, and I was honored that she had them on for me. 

THIS Paris!

Lisa is the epitome of a gracious southern lady and hostess.  She is a seventh generation Mississippian and a talented third generation artist and strong arts and symphony supporter,
 not to mention fun, charming, and endearing.

Lisa Paris at the Symphony League luncheon.
Lisa has served the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and Jackson Symphony League
as Vice President of Ways and Means, 
Chairman of the Symphony Ball, and Chairman or Sub Debs.

She welcomed me into her restored and
 art filled A. Hays Town designed home 

one April morning to show me around. 

A. Hays Town signed and presented the original house plans to Lisa and her husband when they purchased the house.




Art, color, and artful touches are everywhere in Lisa's home.

Lisa, like me, loves and collects birds.
One of the little handmade red birds she
introduced me to several years ago was nestled in a beautiful orchid and greeted me just inside the door.

And so did one of Lisa's newest paintings!
Lisa paints in oils and has traditionally been primarily a representational artist, but recently has been 
painting more abstracts.

I think this may be my favorite Lisa Paris painting.
I love the bold color and scale.

I loved this little pillow on the settee in her entry hall
"My Crown is Called Content
A Crown It Is That Seldom Kings Enjoy (1590)"

Lisa had two other abstracts fresh off her easel and waiting to head out the front door for display.









Lisa's  foyer and front hallway 
are a fabulous gallery of her work and
that of other artists she loves.

Lisa took me up to her studio.
I was immediately struck by the 
two tiered chandelier that hangs there
 over her easels. 

She paints to music (ancient cello is particularly thrilling to her soul)
 and often paints on dual canvases 
using the same color palette.

Lisa has a current penchant in particular for 
cadmium red light. This painting with lots of that happy, bright orangey red color is currently on her easel.

And of course, I love that
 her fingernails match!

Lisa has also been painting with lots of soothing blues lately.  It's no surprise that these 
blue paintings of Lisa's
have been hanging at my friend
Nancy Price's design studio.

At Nancy Price Interior Design

"Azure"
At Nancy Price Interior Design

"Aegean"
At Nancy Price Interior Design

And back downstairs in her breakfast room, 
I spotted more birds, these blue.
(Of course the red was close by!)

And there are lots of other collections artfully displayed. 

I always love interesting plates!

Lisa and I could have visited all day, but it was time for me to say goodbye and get back to work on planning 
the Symphony luncheon.

Of course we had one more discussion on color as I was heading off the porch,

 this time about lovely, lemon yellow. 

Don't you love her cadmium red nails
WITH
the lemon yellow?

To see more of Lisa's work,
visit Interiors Market
 in Jackson's Fondren District or
Lisa's website.

 ART is fascinating!

I have just made a note to ask Lisa
about the ancient cello music
 next time we talk.


P.S.

Guess who has been recently seen frolicking in the Big Apple without ME?

ART?