A Green Sofa for Spring

Now that spring is here I can indulge my love for all things green.  Which is just as well as we have two green sofas in our sitting room (a two and five seater).   I do not like the current covering at all, but recovering it is out of the question.   And the green does work okay in the room because it matches the green lead light. 

At the moment these sofas are chiefly used by Pepper the cat for claw scratching, and by my son for climbing and then jumping off and piling up the cushions and pushing them over. They are proving pretty sturdy. I have toyed with the idea of spilling red wine over them hence necessitating a recover, but then decided that was Not the Right Thing to Do.

The right thing to do, I believe, is to ponder new cushions.   Or colours which may match better with the current olivey shades.  Below is part of the current arrangement.   I have a childhood thing for pink and green because they were the colours of my Marimekko blinds when I was little.  But I am wondering if creams and neutrals might work better as in the image above, which I really love right down to the slightly poor quality oil painting and the fabric walls. 

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It turns out I am not alone in my Green Sofa-ness.

I don't like the cushions here, but maybe they add that touch of granny to the space which otherwise would need it:

Here the super talented Lauren's green sofa:

And this is one with a lot of other stuff going on.   Too much leather and too many things in vases for me.

And veering away from olive, here is a pale green:

 

And here is a more emerald colour:



What do you think would work?  Different colours, different cushions, different children (only joking) or should I let the cat destroy the covers and then replace with something else? 

(Images: (1) (4) (6) (8) Elle Decor (2) Jane (3) Decorpad (5) Pure Style Home (7) House to Home)

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Spring Quiet

Finally, on Sunday, 3 weeks into spring,  we had an actual spring day.   

We spent time in the garden, splashing in the water, and admiring the blossoms on the pear trees and the Japanese maples which are slowly coming into leaf.   We have planted a dogwood to replace a tree which was not thriving, and we pulled out our previously happy grapefruit tree which just dropped dead, as only trees can, a couple of weeks ago. 

I don't know about you, but I feel that this  has been a winter too long.  And I don't even like the hot weather but this year, I am really ready for it.  And I am so ready for spring and all that  entails: peas, lamb, beans, silky green things, lots of linen, salads and outdoor spaces which will help me shelter 'most shadily'.

(cover of the September 2010 edition of my favourite food magazine, New Zealand Cuisine.  You may feel the lamb butterfly is a bit too much but I love it)

Gone were but the Winter,

Come were but the Spring,

I would go to a covert

Where the birds sing.

 (Imogen riding her too small bike - she is too frightened of her 'big bike')

Where in the whitethom

Singeth a thrush,

And a robin sings

In the holly-bush.

(my out of control parsley - what can I do with it?  Parsley soup? Tabbouleh?)

Full of fresh scents

Are the budding boughs

Arching high over

A cool green house:

(my summer aim - create a cool outdoor space) 

Full of sweet scents,

And whispering air

Which sayeth softly:

'We spread no snare;

(another planned project - a gallery wall, no matter how ubiquitous they are, I love them done well)

'Here dwell in safety,

Here dwell alone,

With a clear stream

And a mossy stone.

(and a final project - to get around to doing some big pots of lavender and rosemary)

'Here the sun shineth

Most shadily;

Here is heard an echo

Of the far sea,

Though far off it be.

by Christina Rossetti (1847)

(a pear tree in blossom)

(Images (1)(2)(3)(7) Jane (4)(5)(6) Skona Hem) 

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Spring Things at the Prahran Market

Sometimes when the sun is shining, the air is crisp and there is just a gentle perfumed breeze through my hair, the little things take on more importance.

And when I am busy, it is those tiny things which I really really appreciate. The very (sadly) rare opportunity to go for a run around the Tan, or to sit still for more than about one minute with a latte and a newspaper. And I put in that category a leisurely stroll (as opposed to a military style operation complete with pincer movements, knapsack of provisions and a stern 'don't mess with me' expression) around my local market in Prahran.

I took some photos of some of beautiful spring food there when I visited yesterday.

I hope you don't mind but I have not included photos of the bits of the market I am not so keen on (pigeons sitting in the roof trusses, wandering troubadour singing out of tune songs, the Bob the Builder tractor ride which my son wants to sit on incessantly, the ATMs which charge $2 for withdrawals and the loudspeaker announcements for lost children).

I probably haven't mentioned before now that I am an Apple Addict. I would say I have eaten an apple a day since I was nine years old.

No 1 favourite apple is the Pink Lady:

No 2 is the Sundowner, these come from the hills outside Melbourne:

And No 3 (fallen from no 1 in recent years) is the Granny Smith:

The other items which caught my eye were:

Fresh green peppercorns:

Local asparagus at a bargain price:

My favourite way to eat these is to boil until par cooked and then put in shallow dish sprinkled with butter and grated parmagiano and bake in hot oven for 10 minutes:

And broad beans (fava beans in the US) - I usually peel, boil, peel again then mash with a fork with lots of olive oil, parmagiano and salt and eat on bruschetta:

And finally, look at the wonderful purple with cream slashes of these kohlrabi. I have never cooked them - I wonder what they are like?



Images (1) media.nowpublic/images (2) - (8) Jane

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