Hey folks. It’s been a while since I shared some of the things that have entered my home as of late, so I thought I would do that today since I’ve got some extra time thanks to the long Easter weekend. (Happy Easter to you all!) I’ll start with some of the things that have been gifted to me, and most of the purchases I made on my Mexican holiday (my carry-on suitcase with filled with only ceramics and glass LOL).

To start, the folks at Tuttle Publishing sent over some of their new gardening titles they launched for spring. These were timed perfectly as I have gardening/landscaping on the brain these days. Very inspirational, and educational as well!

I loooooove air plants but have killed every one I have ever bought. This book is perfect for for people like me. Living with Air Plants (by Yoshiharu Kashima (Protoleaf), a horticulturalist from Japan): These endearing plants are friendly to seasoned gardeners and beginners alike, and easy to grow and care for, once you know how. This reference and growing guide covers over 100 different Tillandsia varieties, and gives you all the information you need to select your plants and make them thrive. In this book, you’ll learn about the various types of Tillandsia plants and their characteristics, growth cycles and preferred environment, air plant care and selection, propagating/dividing plants from cuttings.

I am also fairly unskilled at keeping succulents alive. This book is also a wonderful resource and gives lots of ideas on how to make beautiful succulent arrangements.

A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening is a friendly guide to popular succulents, walking novices through all the basics, like choosing your succulents—from Hens and Chicks (Echeveria) to bristly flowering cactus varieties, mixing the right soils for your succulents and preparing the growing environment, easy potting and transplanting techniques, succulent care—including watering, fertilizing and providing the right amount of sun for each variety, understanding peak periods as well as seasonal traits and needs, so you can have a beautiful succulent garden year-round. This book also contains all sorts of helpful tips on what to look for when buying a plant, how to troubleshoot when your succulent shows signs of distress, how to trim the leaves and stems, and how to start new plants from cuttings. Clear diagrams and at-a-glance fact sheets for each variety, as well as inspirational photos of attractively and happily-housed succulents, fill the pages of this book. 

I also received 2 books specific to Japanese Gardens. The Japanese show unbelievable talent in this field and I was excited to devour these.

100 Japanese Gardens: A celebration of Japanese landscape design, this book features gardens from Kyoto and Tokyo, as well as from the sub-arctic island of Hokkaido and the semi-tropical islands of Okinawa. Author Stephen Mansfield traveled the length and breadth of Japan on a quest to identify the most impressive gardens in this vast and culturally varied archipelago. His erudition and love of the Japanese garden shines through on every page, making this the perfect primer for travel to Japan or an enjoyable armchair read for gardening enthusiasts. 

This book I really liked because it shows some less elaborate gardens than in the book above and many of the elements can be translated to our own gardening projects.

The Art of the Japanese Garden is a comprehensive collection of the most notable gardens in Japan—including graveled courtyards, early aristocratic villas, palace gardens, esoteric and paradise gardens, Zen gardens, warrior gardens, tea gardens, and stroll gardens. Japanese gardens are rooted in two traditions: an ancient one in which patches of graveled forest or pebbled beach were dedicated to nature spirits, and a tradition from China and Korea that included elements such as ponds, streams, waterfalls, rock compositions, and a variety of vegetation. This book traces the development and blending of these two traditions, while also providing insight into modern Japanese gardening trends.

That’s it for new books. Some other items I received included some goodies from Farrow & Ball Canada. My favourite paint brand used in every room in my house, this was exciting because they sent over a book of theirs I had not read before called Decorating with Colour by Ros Bryam Shaw, a colour fan of their archived colours and a colour card with all of their new colours included in it. Sweet!

Stephanie Beebe and her husband Jonathan Caldwell of Tiverton, RI design wallpaper and their brand, Mayflower Wallpaper, has some of the most incredible, and creative wallpapers I have ever seen. Jonathan studied fine art at the Chelsea School of Art in London and has been in the textile and wallpaper business for over twenty years. Their designs reflect his love of detail, drawing inspiration from organic elements and encounters with balanced landscapes, layered silhouettes, and watercolor prints. Also important to note that they use environmentally-friendly materials and manufacturing practices. Stephanie sent me some samples of my choosing, and I’m totally smitten with each one and trying to think up a project where I can use at least one… (the floral in the middle is my favourite – Lila MF50518)

My friends at Miele Canada sent along a surprise package the other day. And what a surprise it was – coffee!

Miele Black Edition N°1 coffee is an exclusive selection of coffee beans perfectly adapted to the Miele coffee system (sadly, they did not include one in the package LOL). Produced in cooperation with the family-run German coffee roasting company Vollmer, four unique Arabica coffee beans were selected for this special blend. My husband and I are coffee lovers, and this coffee was fantastic!!! You can purchase it via their website here.

And in case you missed it on my Instagram stories when I had returned from Mexico, here are most of my purchases from my trip. I think I should look into the cost of getting a shipping container for next time. 🙂