Seafoam Blue and Brown

The seafoam hue on the walls is continued on the ceiling for a seamless effect in this living room. A coat of brown on the bookshelves adds depth. Opt for a gloss or semigloss finish here for durability. Ceiling and walls: seafoam blue Eurolux AR5 from Fine Paints of Europe and bookcase: brown Rockies Brown from Benjamin Moore.

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Cafe au Lait & Robin's-Egg Blue

A new way to do neutral? Pale, creamy walls uplifted by a dreamy blue ceiling. Moldings and walls painted the same color create a modern look. Turquoise makes a great accent color. In this dining room, walls and trim: cafe au lait Lambswool and ceiling: robin's-egg blue Skylit, both from Pratt & Lambert.

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Shades of Gray

A pair of deep, gentle hues, combined with bright-blue accents, create a dreamy, restful retreat for this bedroom. Decked in glossy charcoal, the radiator practically disappears into the wall. The use of bright cobalt accessories harmonize with the paint's undertones and bring them to life. walls: gray Rushing River #1574 from Benjamin Moore.

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Late again ...

Why am I always late for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day? Probably for the same reason that I'm always late for everything else - deadlines are not my strongpoint. But I have to admit that this month I actually forgot, and only remembered when I started seeing other people's posts.

Most of the balcony is covered up now. Low winter temperatures mean that over December, January and sometimes February, most of the plants need protection. So they get moved back close to the walls of the house, with the most delicate backing onto radiators, and covered in fleece.

But some just won't give up. What's that showing through the fleece? The salmon pink pelargoniums of course, now blooming uninterruptedly for two and a half years. And as you can see from the buds, they have no intention of being beaten - January temperatures or no January temperatures. And their enthusiasm seems to be catching. My red pelargoniums have been keeping pace with them all winter, and they too are full of buds.

Other blooms - the pansies which I planted last autumn have been blooming all winter, and the "freeby" cyclamens I got a week ago seem to be recovering from their overwatering and are looking far more perky. So I think they'll make it. And the antirrhinums are still with us too.

Not bad for January.

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Serene Azu Villa

These photos are from Azu Villa located on the island of St. Barths. The absolutely gorgeous color scheme perfectly captures the mood of the turquoise sea which can be seen outside all of the windows. The final look is serene, harmonious and comfortable...just perfect for a relaxing beach getaway.

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Tranquil Bedroom

Layered patterns can feel calm rather than chaotic. Just choose simple repeats in soothing shades that share a background color (here, white) and harmonize with walls.

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Flowers for Andee

Like me, I'm sure many of you were readers of Andee's Gardener in Chacala blog, and possibly also of her other blog My Life in Chacala. When I think of Andee's posts the first thing that comes to mind is an explosion of colour, photos with bright vibrant reds and oranges, and posts full of a curiousity about and love of people, places, plants and just life in general.

So it was a shock yesterday to discover that Andee has died. I don't know the hows and whys, and they hardly matter, but Sparks contacted me after he'd seen a comment I'd left on Gardener in Chacala telling Andee she'd been nominated for the next carnival. Later, I received another message from Ginger with the same news.

How sad. I'm sad for her, for her family and for us, who will no longer have the joy of reading her posts.

You'll find other tributes to Andee on Thorntree Lonely Planet and on La Gringa's blog. Most of us didn't know her as well as La Gringa, but I think we can still show how much we appreciated her by sending flowers. If you enjoyed her blog and are sad at her passing, join me in republishing one of the flower photos you like best in her memory. I think she would appreciate it.

Andee's last post, on January 5th, included a photo that has stayed in my memory - a palm tree in the light of the full moon. Next time I see a full moon Andee, I shall think of you.

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