A Spring Roundup.

Spring arrived early in March although the daffodils at the front of our house are long gone.

Below is the big plant tub I created last Summer. And thanks to our mild Winter all

our plants from last year are simply coming back round again, even our Red Geraniums.

I did invest well in filling up the big blue container with Winter hardy plants.

In fact it's so overgrown now I'll need to cut some of it back to make way for some Summer colour.

Above left is the popular Pink Sea Thrift which can now be seen growing wildly

all over our sea coastal areas. And I always remember how the Thrift comes into peak

during May down in Cornwall.

Above right is last year's hanging basket of mint herbs. It looks like it's tearing away

and will soon trail down to the ground.

Above: Just one of several grand houses that line the little side streets that lead into

Hampstead Heath. 

Around about March 21st I just happened to visit the Heath and was surprised to see the

local Magnolia tree in full bloom. Clearly the mild Winter brought things forward.

Had I visited a week later and I might have missed it.

Late March brought the first of our warm Spring days. And picnics were to be seen everywhere.

Above: Hampstead High Street.

Below is The Clock Tower (1873) in Heath Street opposite Hampstead Tube Station.

The Tower was used as a Fire Station right up to 1915.

Whitestone Pond Hampstead. And on one side the Sun was going down, while on the

other side of the Pond the Easter Full Moon was rising.

Above: Dusk at Whitestone Pond.

Below: Jack Straw's Castle Hampstead.

Creating a Federal Style Antique Table Lamp

I recently put to some good use a rusty old candelabra after seeing some wonderful

old vintage table lamps on the pages of Pinterest. And wanting to know more about

them, I asked our old friend Neil who is fairly knowledgeable on vintage artifacts. And he

tells me that the style of lamps that interest me are known as Federal style and may even

go as far back as The Emperor Napoleon. In fact one particular lamp on those Pinterest

pages is described as a Style Gilt Bronze Bouillotte Lamp from the period of Louis XV.

And what shocked me about these lamps is the obscene asking prices online, starting

anywhere from $500 and up to $1,000 or more.

So I polished up an old spare candelabra that I picked up in a Charity shop and went to work

on creating something like I had seen online. Of course I only fitted one bulb in the center on

one of the three wooden candles, which funnily enough I made from off-cuts from a wooden

outdoor broom/brush handle. The results can be seen below.

BELOW: ANTIQUE FEDERAL STYLE

TABLE LAMPS ON PINTEREST