a haphazard gardener

I have a May-December relationship with gardening.  By that I mean, most of the gardening I do happens in May and December.  The rest of the year, I do when I can which is often on the fly and between a million other projects I'm seeding, hoeing and harvesting.

Not exactly a student of almanacs and catalogs,  I'm the kind who throws last year's seed packets into the frost bitten plants to see if anything will happen. 

I have a bunch of "plants-with history" adopted from or given by friends and neighbors.  One is titled "don't-pay-attention-to-me-cactus." I also appreciate the garden-in-a-bag available at The Paris Market. If you have the bag, there's no more looking for flats, seeds or soil. Where is my watering can anyway?  

available at the paris market: garden in a bag

I truly appreciate these one-stop-shop-garden-bags as gifts.  They seem to send a message:  English Thyme (git you some time! or English?),  Sage! (you're so smart!)  French Marigold (perfect for my niece named Marigold).  I want to send one or five to everyone I know.

available at the paris market: egyptian cotton throw

But then I'd have less time to ignore my cactus which I really don't ignore at all.  I spend every single month of  the year appreciating my sometimes unruly, but always loved garden.

Blogging this week for The Paris Market, artist and collaborative designer katherine sandoz makes abstract paintings, fiber arts, illustration, portraits and collaborative works of art in a barn behind her home in Savannah, Georgia. The flora and fauna of the low-country serve as fodder for her imagery. If she were not a full-time artist, Sandoz would be a plant burglar.

the may flowers

Maybe the prettiest of all the months, May gifts us longer days, warmer breezes, plentiful bird call and the blossom of so many flowers. Each awakens us to mirror nature in its reinvention and rejuvenation.

In with the spring cleaning, the gardening, the late evenings, entertaining and celebrating the neatest and sweetest in life. Cultivating and nurturing one's new ideas, projects and plans this month ensures a robust and abundant summer and fall harvest. It's high spring and time to pursue with fervor a "permanent state of France."

available at the paris market: collected sea shells, deer shed, dried flowers, garden tools

May 1st - May Day/Beltane: May Day began as a festival of flowers. Beltane, falling on the same date, celebrates the same and adds a fire festival. You'll often see the color yellow used to represent the fire in May Day fests. Watch the sky for the full moon (called the Flower Moon, also called Milk, Mother's and Corn Planting Moon), Venus (hello, goddess of love and fertility) and Jupiter (king of the gods).  I use Sky Guide which is ah-MAY-zing.

May 5th - Cinco de Mayo:  Shooting rifles and lighting fireworks in response to Mexico's resistance to French rule in the 1860s, we now honor Mexican culture with family, food, dress, drink and dance.

May 10th - Mother's Day:  Brought to us in 1908 by Miss Anna Jarvis of West Virginia, she urged us to honor with thoughtfulness, handwritten notes and sentiment.  In 2015, honoring with flowers, fanfare and fireworks (and a hand-written note) also seems fine.

May 25th - Memorial Day:  Known also as Decoration Day, we are called to recognize the war dead by placing flowers at graves and memorial sites.  Because flowers bloom throughout the country at this time, the late May date suited.

available at the paris market:  clay votive pots, air plants (not pictured)

Blogging this week for The Paris Market, artist and collaborative designer katherine sandoz makes abstract paintings, fiber arts, illustration, portraits and collaborative works of art in a barn behind her home in Savannah, Georgia. The flora and fauna of the low-country serve as fodder for her imagery. Her favorite season is plants and flowers with a warm breeze. With two explorer-warrior-hunter-gatherer grandfathers, one Swiss-French and one Jeffersonian Virginian,  Sandoz claims a genetic predisposition to loving The Paris Market experience.  

available at the paris market:  dried flowers, garden in a bag, garden tools, deer shed, sea harvest

Currently Inspired: Summer Garden

It's summer and we've been in the gardening spirit! With all of the latest garden accessories lining our shelves, we can't help but feel inspired to get our hands dirty! There's nothing we love more than being out in the fresh air planting some delicious fruits and veggies. And after a hard day's work in the yard is done, relaxing with one of our Produce candles is the perfect end to a summer day! If your thumbs are feeling as green as ours, stop by the store and pick up a few of our latest garden goods!

Currently Inspired: Potting Shed Essentials

It's dried flower heaven in the Paris Market! Bright pops of colorful florals have been steadily making their way into the store and we're loving it! Gathering bits of nature to bring inside always manages to make life feel healthier, and with summer rapidly approaching, we anticipate we'll be bringing in a whole lot more! Surrounding ourselves with bundles of dried flowers has been a great reminder for us to spend a few extra hours this week in the potting shed, so we've been gathering some of our greatest garden essentials to help us with the task at hand. With forged iron scissors, gardner's soap and a whole gang of terra cotta pots on hand, what else could a gardner need? Maybe a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade, but we'll leave that one up to you. Stop by soon for all your potting shed essentials and transform your home into a lively, nature-filled paradise today!

Available at The Paris Market.

Currently Inspired: Garden Essentials

Today feels perfect. The air is balmy, the sun is warm and a smile can be seen on every face that passes our front doors. It's the type of day that one dreams of when they think of the perfect day. As you can imagine, we're itching to be outside. We can think of nothing more enjoyable than to soak up some sun rays, get our hands dirty and start planting until we can plant no more! Especially since our shelves are now bursting with all sorts of garden greatness. It feels like someone is playing a masterful prank letting us see all the ways to make a beautiful garden but not letting us do anything about it. But we're not worried because we've just crossed the daylight savings time marker, making the days longer, which means we still have plenty of time to play in the dirt after work. And if you're stuck indoors all day long too, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to get some extra outdoors time. Stop by soon and see the rest of our springtime garden collection!

On the Shelf : Fresh Garden Accessories

Now that the holidays are long behind us and we have entered the no-man's-land middle of winter, the days until warm sunny days can begin to seem far out of reach. Fortunately, one of the perks of living in the south is winter tends not to drag on as long as it does in the north. However, every now and then we find the need to look towards spring to help carry us through the chilly days of this cold season. Although we may jumping the gun, as we've begun filling our cabinets and shelves with fresh garden accessories, we've become anxious as ever to get our hands dirty, dig deep into the soil and plant something beautiful. It doesn't matter if we're going on a hike or potting new house plants, nothing satisfies us like being surrounded by nature! Stacking up terra cotta planters, arranging bulb vases and organizing potting tools may be a bit premature, but at least we'll be prepared for when the first signs of spring finally arrive.

From Garden to Table

The joy of sharing a meal outdoors with loved ones is an experience unlike any other. Being able to feel the breeze and smell the flowers while you eat somehow always seems to make the food taste better. Bringing elements of the outdoors inside, we've featured our favorite garden accessories, intermixed with elegant dishes, to replicate the feel of dining outside.

Our terra-cotta pots and aluminum domes add a rich texture to the tabletop while the warm earth tones offset the crisp whites found in our place settings.

Terrariums filled with botanicals line the length of the table, adding an accent of nature to the tablescape.

Enjoy the warm weather and take your meal outdoors! Bon Appetit!

Celebrate Mother's Day: A gift guide

Mother's Day is right around the corner and many of us are still searching for that perfect gift to express our love and gratitude for Mom. Knowing the difficulty of choosing the right item, we've highlighted our products into three separate categories to simplify your life. With gifts available for the bathroom, kitchen and the garden, whatever you end up choosing it's bound to make your Mom smile and feel as special as she is! Happy Mother's Day!

 1. Tocca Cleopatra Candle | 2. Simpatico Bubble Bath 3. | Spa Robe | 4. Fresh Bar Soap | 5. Tocca Florence Perfume  

6. The Luxury Bathroom Book

 1. Afghani Chai Bellocq Tea Traveler Tin | 2. Fleur-de-Lys Cookie Cutter | 3. Caldrea Dish Soap | 4. Olive Wood Salad Servers | 5. Chef's Candle | 6. The Commonsense Kitchen Book

1. Low Country Luxe Charleston Candle | 2. Plants and Their Application to Ornament Book | 3. Illustrated Card by Kelsey Garrity-Riley | 4. Redstone Pot, Saucer and String | 5. Mint Garden in a Bag | 6. Hanging Terrarium 

On the Shelf: The Secret Garden

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” 

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

One of our currently favorite displays is tucked away, hidden under the stairs in a wonder weave of branches and garden accessories. With the warmer winds comes the desire to play in the dirt and The Paris Market has everything you need to capture nature and watch it grow!

Choose from a variety of container garden supplies, antique terra cotta vases, and brightly colored moss! See what other new spring gaden items are stocked on our shelves and be sure to stop by for an eye-full of our warm weather displays!

Only at The Paris Market!

Not Your Regular Garden Gnome...

Modern garden gnomes are based on the legendary “Gnomes” of myth, mysticism, and fairy tales. Gnomes have historically been described as small (from a few inches to a foot or two in height) stout beings who live in underground. Gnomes were said to wear conical hats and to be able to move through the earth itself as easily as we humans walk upon it, yet if any of these underground dwellers were caught out in the daylight it was said that the rays of the Sun turned them into stone. The visual of these dusty, dirty, little bearded fellows isn't too appealing but it seems that the ceramic version is quite a bit cuter.

We are in love with our newest, and smallest, additions to our garden section. These ceramic Garden Gnomes have been capturing the hearts of our customers and creating quite a bit of mischief in our shop. You can sometimes find them hiding in the strangest places....

Can you find the hiding Gnome in each of these displays?

If you were stumped by our hiding gnome here is where he can be found...

Be sure to take home one of these mischievous little trouble makers for your home or garden!

Now available at The Paris Market!