I cannot believe Easter is this weekend.

Though I haven’t thought at all about Easter dinner, I did spend some time playing around with the centerpiece and decorating Easter eggs.

The plastic tub in the garage entitled EASTER, produced a few themed items to add to the dinner table.

Trader Joe’s has a good selection of spring-like plants in Easter-colored containers.

When something is tried and true, why not do it again?  The successful look of the Valentine centerpiece (see it here) encouraged me to again use various smaller containers for fresh-cut flowers.

In the center of the table will be the slightly raised plank my husband made for our Valentine party (click HERE for the DIY).  With the weather being so glorious, eating outside is a must!

Mixing and matching is half the fun.

Adding candlesticks (from West Elm) gives the centerpiece some height and dimension.  The bunnies, birds and eggs are scattered among the plants and containers.

Now I just have to figure out the place setting.  These dishes were given to me a very long time ago by a friend.  I have been searching for this pattern for decades as I only have 6 dinner plates.  It’s Fondeville Ambassador Ware 6762 from England.  I don’t know the name of the pattern but it’s one of my favorites for Spring. Though I have a search for this china on Replacements and eBay, I’ve never been able to find more.

Every year, we have been coloring eggs with hot water, vinegar and food coloring. This year I thought I’d try to paint them with my acrylic paints. After boiling a dozen white eggs, I experimented with some spring colors.

It’s a bit challenging to hold the egg while painting and not smear the paint!

I still have a few to go, but I like the results.

Wishing you and yours a blessed Easter.  If you don’t celebrate this holiday, then my wishes extend to you to have a glorious spring weekend!

Over the last few months I had an obsession with anything that was blush, pink or rose gold. My friend and blogger, Gabie from Tea End blog commented that the color pink was related to nuturing and mothering.  It was during a time I had our children home for the holidays.  My motherly happiness resulted in purchasing rose gold earrings, a watch, a pink pullover….I couldn’t seem to get enough of it.

Now, I’m doing the same thing but with lavenders, purples and violets.  Really?  I’ve never been a fan of purple.  The only thing I can remember loving that was purple was my stuffed poodle FiFi back in 6th grade.

Since I don’t understand this new founded color sensitivity, I did some research on why we are drawn to certain colors.

According to energyandvibration.com  VIOLET is the channel for true balance, facilitating keeping one’s “feet on the ground (Earth)” – while the “head remains in Heaven”. Like with most things, there are positive and negative aspects to color.

Being attracted to VIOLET means having consistent difficulties with remaining grounded. When one is blocked or stuck in VIOLET they are too contemplative and often times unrealistic and impractical. 

Just prior to my purple craving, I was stressing about getting our taxes assembled, doing financial paperwork, on top of all the other responsibilities in life. I did feel overwhelmed and not very grounded.

When I am out of balance I worry needlessly.  Worrying is truly a worthless behavior because it doesn’t generate results.  Even though I try and talk myself out of worrying, I still do….back in the deep recesses of my mind. I find myself fretting over things I can’t control. 

However, not one to wallow for long periods of time, I decided to embrace the positive aspects of VIOLET. 

And purple and lavender and all shades in between.

Openness to VIOLET is knowing and being in that Truth, and total Trust in the intuition and guidance it provides. It is also the Willingness to ACT ON that Trust with complete Faith. In reading the words trust and faith, my worrying minimized.

VIOLET can help also promote inner calmness and mental peace.

My color craving also seems timely as Violet and its opposite,  Gold are Easter colors, representing the Ascension and Christ.

Color therapy and healing have been used for centuries.  I’m far from an expert, but I’ve enjoyed researching and trying to understand my purple obsession. Have you experienced a color craving and don’t understand why?

The flower photos are from my garden and Whitfill Nursery.

There is a sweet room nestled between the family room and mudroom that we call the Library.  The perimeter walls are a bit chopped up with a fireplace, 2 sets of French doors, a door leading to the back terrace and a pocket door to the mudroom.

Albeit small, this room is a working library.  I have organized the books in topics including gardening, travel, art, history, animals, health and medicine, poetry and favorite novels.  There are numerous photo albums of our early years with the children, long before digital cameras.

Unlike designer-staged shelves, ours are filled with cherished items. The painting below was done by my friend and artist, Jane Horn.

Each shelf has a remote controlled candle, which is a fun way to add ambiance to the room at night. Candles are from Costco .

The two reading chairs are covered in a bird print in grayish-blue ~~ Olana Bayleaf Waverly fabric.  Between is a glass topped garden table. The walls are painted a lovely blue.

In one corner, we repurposed an 1820s English mahogany wash stand as a bar. The painting of the street scene below reminded me of our trip to Italy, where we had many dinners on the sidewalk.  The artist, who has many of her pieces for sale online through Etsy, is Cecilia Rosslee.

I am a fan of gilded framed antique oil paintings, and two of my favorite hang above the bar. The artist is W.T. Fisher and they are from late 1800s.

Getting pictures of the fireplace was a bit difficult due to the light and too many reflections.  The mantle has an inlaid wood pattern that is delicate and intricate.

The glazed deep garnet colored tiles are from Waterworks.

As always, I had my animal helpers nearby~~Sox, our beagle and Tippy, our rescue cat.

My favorite time of the year in this room is the winter.  When there is a fire going, the room is so warm and cozy. It’s a wonderful space to sit and chat with a glass of wine or cup of coffee, or read a book.  Do you have a small, special place in your home?

The love of gardening is a seed once sown never dies.   Gertrude Jekyll

Someone recently asked me if gardening takes a great deal of time…and I’ve been pondering the question ever since.

I’ve been gardening for as long as I can remember.   Having a garden was a way to teach my children to understand food doesn’t just appear on a styrofoam tray.  Growing something from start to finish takes time, love and is often unpredictable.  Many nights we would forage the garden to prepare dinner.   My two (now adult) children will be mortified that I am posting this picture of them!  Gardening became a family affair.

The hardest part of gardening is GETTING STARTED. I recall feeling intimidated and overwhelmed at first. But it’s really not hard and ANYONE can do it.  Plants need 3 things~~food, water and light.

You can start a garden in virtually any container or, if you love it as much as I do, you can set aside a designated area.  My garden inspiration was from Susan Branch’s The Summer Book. If you are not familiar with Susan Branch, her books are filled with sweet artwork, stories and recipes.

After years of loosey- goosey gardening, I decided to get serious.  I purchased a garden organizer, My Green Thumb by Gail Holmen….a big binder that helped walk me through the planning process. In digging through my notes, I found my original drawing for the garden layout.

We designated a 16′ x 20′ fenced space adjacent to the hen house (a great place to toss excess greens). In designing our garden, I wanted raised bed planters for ease of planting and harvesting~~less strain on my back.  There are 5 planters in total made of concrete block, topped with a brick edge.

The garden gate entrance has a rebar arch with grape vines growing above.

Depending on the time of year, the PVC pipe arches support bird netting, shade cloth or plastic covers. By inserting a 12″ rebar post into the ground, you can bend the PVC pipes to whatever size or height you need and slip it over the rebar.

Due to the high heat in Phoenix, a watering system is critical. Alternately, there are drains in each raised planter so the beds don’t get water logged.

Once the infrastructure of the garden was established, then soil was added.  We compost all our natural scraps but sometimes we need to amend with commercial garden soil. Some people don’t turn their soil, but I do ~~this time I found an old garden glove, a plastic pot and previous plastic planting markers buried beneath the surface. Go figure.

It takes a ruthless spirit to yank older plants to make room for a new crop.

Depending on the time of year, I use a combination of seeds and starter plants.  Though seeds are less expensive, they do require a bit more maintenance (thinning).  Radishes and carrots I grow from seeds; tomatoes from starter plants.

If your plants are root-bound, make sure you break the ball apart and give the roots a fighting chance to spread out. The roots on this plants were so congested that I had to use a knife to loosen them.

Please make sure to take into account the lighting available to your garden.  It took me a few years to figure out the best raised planter to raise tomatoes because they require full sun.

I generally try a new plant or variety each year.  This planting season I focused on heirloom tomatoes. Whitfill Nursery has a great selection.

For larger plants, cages or support structures are very helpful. I purchased these resusable cages years ago from Burpee. By the end of the season, you won’t even see the cages! Plus they collapse for storing.

It’s important to select the right plants for the right time of year.  Consult your local cooperative extension or nursery to determine your growing zone, plant selection and whether to plant seeds or starters.

Once your garden is started, maintaining it is fun.  For me, I spend a few hours at the beginning of a new growing season, but for the most part, it doesn’t require much work.  My garden angel takes care of the rest!

And if you think you cannot grow anything and you have a black thumb, see the picture below.  This is red lettuce, growing in my gravel path.  No water, not much direct light and it’s growing all by itself!

Gardening for me, is a form of relaxation.  When my hands are in the dirt, my mind is quiet and calm.  I’m not thinking of ANYTHING else.  Connecting with the earth is always good for the soul.  So if you have the desire to garden, whether it be in a small container or a plot in your yard, take the leap.  There is such satisfaction in picking your own vegetables, fruit or flowers.

Happy Gardening!

P.S. My garden shoes are Sloggers~~best gift ever from my friend, Janie! They are SO comfortable too.

On Saturday, March 17th we are hosting a charitable tea party at Bella Terra and have a few seats left! Our guest of honor will be Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author.  The event is from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Bella Terra, which gives you plenty of time later to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!!

Please email me asap (hopefully today or tomorrow, as we need to plan for food/beverage) if you are interested in attending at mary@bella-terra.moseke.com. The cost is $60.00 and goes to a wonderful charitable organization, Family to Family.  Once I receive your email, I will provide further details. For more information about Family to Family, click here.

We had this tea 2 years ago and it was wonderful!  Here are some photos of the event.  Having tea and discussing books? What could be better!

So don your prettiest hat and come for tea!

For more information about our author, Rhys Bowen, please click here.

I hope you are able to join us!

In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours. Mark Twain

As I watch the effects of snow storms, nor’easters and bomb cyclones in other parts of the country, I am grateful to live in an area with a more mild winter.  Though I do miss the stillness and peace a new fallen snow brings, I remember not liking the variations in weather between winter and spring.

Here at Bella Terra, we are just now noticing the changes that spring brings. Our morning temperatures are out of the 30s and into the 40s.  Duck dating has arrived at our pool.

Last week there were 6 gorgeous mallards vying for the lone female’s attention.  She appears to have settled on the last two.  Who will be the lucky guy?  Her suitor will stay by her side for the next few months.  Soon she will bring her little ones, teaching them how to swim here.

When I walked into our living room yesterday morning, I noticed how the eastern light has changed.  Bathed in softness, the subtle difference is a reminder that spring is on its way.

There is evidence of spring in the yard.  Stretching along the eastern side of our property, we planted Lady Banks Roses, R. Banksiae Lutea.  These roses can vigorously grow to a height of 25 feet and produces pale to deep yellow flowers.  It is not strongly perfumed and the wood is almost thornless. This makes the perfect privacy fence.

Just this week, we are seeing the very first of its blossoms. These roses only bloom once a year, but shortly will provide a stunning wall of yellow.

In the orchard, it is nearly time to glean all the citrus fruit from the tree.  We are prodded to do so when we start seeing the early blossoms for the next cycle of fruit.

The apple and apricot trees are budding and even though I am tempted to cut these gorgeous branches to display inside, I leave them alone and let nature takes its course.

Due to our extreme summer heat, I have only had success in growing Anna apples, which will be ready to pick in June.

The apricot tree is in its 3rd year of production, so I am hoping for a great yield this year. Look at how delicate these blooms are!

One of our peach trees is just starting to show spring growth, due to its “less sun” placement in the yard.

Even the chickens are sensing the change in season.  Our Araucanas have started laying their blue-green eggs again.  Chickens need 14 hours of daylight in order to have egg production.  Some chicken breeds lay more than eggs others.

In front of the guest cottage, the first jonquil has shown its beautiful trumpet.  A member of the daffodil family, the jonquil has six outer petals and slender, hollow foliage.

The flower beds in the front of the house are just starting to come to life. Here the lavender flowers are showing off.

March 20th is the official start of Spring, only 2 weeks away.  I am looking forward to a spring of hope and renewal, and more time to enjoy the great outdoors.