flower therapy at home …

by Sharon Santoni

dog on chair beside fall bouquet

So first of all thank you to everyone who wrote so frankly and touchingly about how they are finding time for themselves at whatever stage of life they are currently in.  I really do have the best readers!

fall-bouquet-my-french-country-home5

While I was still thinking about the topic, I put together a few flowers from the garden, because for me this is also a form of self-indulgence and creativity and dare I say it, therapy, that I need to do almost every day of the week.

dog on chair beside fall bouquet

The flowers like to be picked and grow more as a result;  my house looks better with a few flowers here and there;  and that dog, well that dog has never needed any lessons in self-indulgence or therapy.   Let’s just say that he has a natural gift for finding me-time.

fall-bouquet-my-french-country-home4

I hope you have had a good week, and that you get some of your own flower therapy this weekend.

fall-bouquet-my-french-country-home6

 

Enregistrer

42 comments

Colleen Taylor October 24, 2015 - 7:37 pm

Sharon, what gorgeous flowers once again. Funny you mention it but I received a surprise bouquet of gorgeous red roses yesterday for no reason at all from my love. I cherish that when it happens for no special occasion. It’s such a wonderful loving surprise. X

Reply
elizabeth lemnouni October 24, 2015 - 9:20 pm

Thank you for sharing your beautiful home in France! Love your dog, makes the pictures even more charming! Blessings!

Reply
franki October 24, 2015 - 8:06 pm

Well…those flowers certainly made ME FEEL BETTER!! Lovely!! franki

Reply
Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon October 24, 2015 - 8:08 pm

That dog makes me laugh out loud.

Reply
Penny Kweder October 24, 2015 - 8:48 pm

ME TOO!

Reply
Heather in Arles October 25, 2015 - 10:48 am

It looks like someone “gave up” on the photo shoot! 😉

Thank you for this beautiful post. I do not have a green thumb – let alone une main verte! – so I always both admire and try to learn from your flowers posts. Some of which – ahem! – are artworks in themselves…

Reply
Marian from UK October 24, 2015 - 8:11 pm

Hi Sharon. A beautiful arrangement of lovely Autumn coloured Dahlias. We’ve just reached the planting stage in the creating of a new garden and I can’t wait to be able to pick flowers for our cottage. They are indeed therapy, inside or out, just looking at the lovely colours lifts the spirits and the best me-time for me would be sitting outside on the patio with a good book and surrounded by flowers, hens & garden birds! Hoping that next year will be that year…. Enjoy your weekend.

Reply
Sandra October 24, 2015 - 8:12 pm

Lovely post and beautiful flowers. I know you did them just for that special puppy.
He has such an important attitude, resting on that lovely velvet covered chair! He so understand who really runs things!

Thanks for all you do – a bright spot always when I see you in my mailbox.

Reply
Susan Gabriel October 24, 2015 - 8:14 pm

Sharon, your vibrant arrangement gave a welcome lift to an overcast day here in New England after a few sparkling golden ones. Gardens are pretty much done here with a freeze last weekend, but we have hardy mums in a plethora of colours to elongate flower pleasure while autumn weeding is handled.

Thank you for writing and images that are gentle, kindly and much appreciated.

Susan Gabriel

Reply
nancy javier October 24, 2015 - 8:18 pm

Lovely flowers, the cutest dog.

Reply
Roxane October 24, 2015 - 8:19 pm

The frost on last Monday dealt the final blow to everything in the gardens in New Hampshire. On Sunday I was able to cut the few dahlias and various bits & pieces left and put them in two vases that brought a touch of Autumn into the house. Next year’s garden includes massive amounts of dahlia planting! Now I’ll have to wait for the cactus and amaryllis to bloom. Love Ghetto’s self-indulgence of a nap there on the chair, lol! Thank you for sharing the beauty of your gardens with us Sharon.

Reply
Beautiful flowers, thank you for sharing October 24, 2015 - 8:26 pm

Beautiful flowers, thank you for sharing.

Reply
Dana Veach October 24, 2015 - 8:29 pm

Your flower arrangements and photos are always exquisite. What a “life brightener!” Thank you for sharing such beauty with us!

Reply
Emm October 24, 2015 - 8:34 pm

While I am admiring the beautiful flowers and Ghetto’s fabulousness (!!), I’m also admiring the beautiful setting. Deep baseboards and soft grey wall, and oh, those small fleur-de-lis.

I got to your previous post too late to comment but many thanks for raising the question — it seems to be an ongoing one, at various stages of life — and for creating a forum for such wonderful answers. Reading through all of them now.

Reply
Anneke October 24, 2015 - 8:45 pm

I love Your ffower aregements , my Garderen das not give me mutch flowers ,but as do live in Nederland fantastic flower stals on THE end of THE street .So first thing on Fridey Morning up to THE flower stall ,and ready for the weekend

Reply
Kathleen Botsford October 24, 2015 - 8:49 pm

Just got your book! It’s wonderful!

Reply
Sue October 24, 2015 - 8:57 pm

that first pic is a classic with doggie, love it, Sue

Reply
Jackie October 24, 2015 - 9:14 pm

Sharon, your beautiful flowers and photos are such a wonderful gift-thank you for sharing with us!

Reply
Bindy October 24, 2015 - 9:51 pm

Sharon Just a beautiful arrangement of flowers.

Reply
Mary Anne October 24, 2015 - 9:55 pm

Sharon, your blog is daily therapy. Live it.

Reply
Kate Dickerson October 24, 2015 - 9:58 pm

Gorgeous flowers. Dahlias are one of the best things about Fall. And what a sweet dog! Having a dog like that is therapy in itself! : )

Reply
Patricia Folk October 24, 2015 - 10:09 pm

Ghetto is a Hoot, as we say in the States
And that is a good thing!
I love the way he takes over the photo!

Reply
Lorraine Wafer October 24, 2015 - 10:50 pm

Thanks you for sharing your beautiful flowers and gorgeous dog. Here at my home in Australia the November lilies are in full bud in the garden and I enjoyed picking a couple of stems this week to bring inside , slowly watching each day as more large white flower Spring open. It is really therapeutic and its nice to be home long enough to enjoy flowers in the house. We are retired but have been so busy lately. Bringing flowers in is a sign I am here for a while to enjoy my home. My indulgence is finding time to potter inside and out. It’s a relaxing treat.

Reply
dottie monta October 24, 2015 - 11:03 pm

Beautiful arrangement! I like to trail ivy down the sides of vase, especially my roses. Your blue and white photo is lovely, too: the pink roses enliven the china. Love your blog! I wish to return to Normandy, surely one of the most picturesque spots in the world!

Reply
Bungalow Hostess October 24, 2015 - 11:17 pm

I love your floral arrangement Sharon. The vignette with the books and candle is so beautiful and I adore your sweet dog. I too love to arrange flowers from our garden…unfortunately our cats like to deconstruct them!

Reply
Susan October 25, 2015 - 1:25 am

Nothing better than picking the flowers of autumn…I still have gomphrena, salvia leucantha, snapdragons, hydrangea, and beautiful leaves here (KY) for arrangements. We’ve had a frost but not a killing one, so most things are still doing well. I even have peppers and tomatoes still! Lucky for now…I hate to see them go but perhaps it’s time for a rest, for them and for me…

Reply
Esther George October 25, 2015 - 1:51 am

Hi Sharon, so much beauty and Ghetto, well he looks so huggable. Must say when I look at your beautiful bouquet, it made me think that if you were in our garden right now you would be spoilt for choice because spring has definately sprung over here, and I can only imagine all the bouquets you would create (now I’m just showing off). I found my David Austin rambler Phyllis Bide, can’t believe I had totally forgotten about, its so pretty. Thank you for sharing beauty it really made my morning. Hope you are having a lovely weekend. Till next time regards Esther from Sydney.

Reply
Cherry October 25, 2015 - 2:12 am

Your touch is always on spot! Ghetto is a gem. Our sweet dogs love meandering through the garden,trailing mulch in the kitchen door and on through the house! It isn’t quite home without them.

Reply
Mary Alvarez October 25, 2015 - 3:02 am

Sharon, as always you invoke such a pleasing photo for the eye! The fall flowers and your cute poochie Ghetto, both give such presence to the vignette you have put together! Simply wonderful!

Reply
Lynn Groves October 25, 2015 - 3:49 am

My favorite post involved a little dog sneaking under your gate & you catching him on the side- I have saved that post & still chuckle over this- your flowers are Heavenly!!

Reply
Pamela October 25, 2015 - 5:57 am

The flowers are so pretty. Such eye candy. , your fur baby is just too cute. Could not agree with you more gardening is such good therapy.☺️
Have a great day.

Reply
Marilyn October 25, 2015 - 8:23 am

Your flowers (and Ghetto!) never fail to cheer one up on a dreary morning.

Reply
Elvie October 25, 2015 - 2:14 pm

Love the flower arrangements ,but the doggie is adorable ,where is the bigger dog as he is beautiful also.You are such a busy lady ,I just love all the things you do.

Reply
Mary S October 25, 2015 - 4:32 pm

That DOG! I LOVE him and seeing pictures of him! He makes me smile and makes your pictures more realistic and down to earth. Love it when he gets in front of the camera lens. Please don’t stop sharing him (or his buddy) with your readers.

Reply
Patricia October 25, 2015 - 7:15 pm

les fleurs sont un bonheur, et sans elles la maison est bien triste !
bonne journée

Reply
Alisa October 26, 2015 - 2:16 am

Flowers really are the very best decoration, I love having them in my home. These flowers are just gorgeous!

xx Miss Ali
AllKindsofFabulous.blogspot.com

Reply
Marilyn October 26, 2015 - 4:06 am

I do so enjoy your flower arrangements.

Reply
patio garden furniture October 26, 2015 - 12:51 pm

The flowers are nice to see. I love gardening and I believe it’s a good therapy. Thanks for sharing!

Reply
Donna Denney October 26, 2015 - 5:01 pm

“That Dog” is awesome, and we could probably all learn something from him! I want to add him to my pack!

BTW, the flowers are lovely! I used to think Orchids were my all time favorite flower, but after visiting Vancouver, British Columbia, I then realized that Dahlia’s were an equal favorite! Your bouquet is breathtaking!

Your Kindred Spirit,

Donna 🙂

Reply
Donna Denney October 26, 2015 - 5:03 pm

P.S. You now have your own board on my new Pinterest account! LOL

Reply
Lissy parker October 26, 2015 - 6:08 pm

Flower therapy is the best! Your home looks and smells wonderful-and the puppy is so photogenic.
xo, Lissy

Reply
D. A. Wolf October 27, 2015 - 4:16 am

Your arrangement is just lovely. Flower therapy does indeed work wonders. When I can, I pick up whatever is most fragrant at my local market. I find as much pleasure breathing in the perfume of lilies or a stalk of phlox as in their color and texture.

xo

Reply

Leave a Comment