Doors

I love images of doors, gates, porticos and paths. And I am always a sucker for a good-looking doorway, as evidenced by some of the pictures in Billy's Neighbours and the Doors of the World photo project I participated in last year. When we were walking yesterday, there several that particularly caught my eye.

There are several things that I liked about this one - the keystones that make up the arch, the decorative cutwork and then the double doors. The ivy surrounding it really helps to door stand out.

This is such an interesting look with the distinctive lattice-work and the detailing on the screen door. It looks like there's a red door behind it, but it's unfortunate that they used plexiglass in the door instead of real glass. It really cheapens a good look.
I am not wild about the colours on this door, but someone had a sense of humour with the two squirrels just below the pediment. This door is unusual in that it's all glass panes. I wondered if this was just the door to a small entry hall. The house where we lived as small children was stone, and I've always retained a special fondness for stone houses. I love love love this house and the three palladian front doors! When I drove by the other day, the middle set of the three was open and someone was working in the front yard. Pick your favourite!

All the Pretty Houses*

My friend Julie and I got together this morning and took a walk through one of Baltimore's prettiest neighbourhoods, Guilford. It is about the same era as Roland Park where I grew up, but it has a very different character. While Olmsted shaped Roland Park to fit in with the coutours of the land, and left lots of untamed space (at least untamed as far as being in a city), Guilford is more formal and manicured. Compare these houses with the ones from Billy's Neighbourhood and you will get a whole different feeling.

In the center of Guilford is a large six-acre park called Sherwood Gardens, donated by a former resident whose home sits on the property. It is planted with more than 80,000 tulips, as well as azaleas, boxwood, wisteria and magnolias. It is open to the public with no fences and no admission. It's a perfect place for a spring day.

As we walked through the gardens and then around the neighbourhood, I took some pictures to share with you. Enjoy!

This house looks like it's being worked on. Check out the massive urns on the front lawn. Here's a side view of the house. You can see the great trellis and the amazing slate roof. I also love all of the six-over-six windows.

We loved all of the windows on the back of this house. There's a small window up against the chimney on the left of the picture and loads of other details that make it special.
How clever of someone to make sure the little MG matches the colour on the shutters of this house. Is it all British Racing Green? Here's the front of a gorgeous house. Very classic with the divided staircase and the little grotto. It doesn't look terribly huge... until you see it from the side! It's hard to see, but just above and to the left of the man, there's some beautiful swagging. It's on the market for $1.8 million. Click here to see the listing and some interior pictures. Apparently, it's been in the same family for 45 years, so it needs some updating.

What do you think of this house?I am uncertain about it. It's painted a very dark grey (the picture below is more accurate) with a deeper greenish-grey trim. From the side, it's quite blocky looking, but from the front, it's got some terrific details.

Stay tuned for some other great houses, including the one I liked the best...

*with apologies to Cormac McCarthy.

Bunny Williams at Ladew Garden Festival

Thank you so much for all of your kind thoughts. I am feeling much better through the magic of good drugs and lots of rest.



I've written about Ladew Gardens and its topiary collection here, and about the late owner of the property, Harvey Ladew who had quite a history with Billy Baldwin, here. On May 2, Ladew will be hosting the Garden Festival at Ladew, which will feature Bunny Williams signing copies of her books, including Point of View.

In addition, the event will showcase an exclusive collection of dealers from the Mid-Atlantic area who will be selling perennials, annuals, decorative furniture, urns and more. The house and gardens will be open to visitors as well. The dealers include the incredible Stiles Colwill's Halcyon House Antiques. If you read Southern Accents, you've seen articles about Stiles and his gorgeous taste here and here.


Tickets to the Garden Festival range from $20 for general admission to $100 from the Priority Preview Sale for non-members (but you do get a membership with that!). For more information, click here.

Lost Days

These past few days have been lost ones. No horse races, no big dinner party, no Easter festivities. I've been down flat with a 102 fever and a blazing sore throat. Hope to be back blogging soon.

Jasperware Chocolate Egg

L'Artisan du Chocolat in London have designed a Jasperware egg, just in time for Easter. Here's what they have to say:

Good design never goes out of fashion and Jasperware blue and white ceramics created in the 18th century are a good example. To recreate these, we spray milk or dark chocolate eggs with white chocolate coloured in the right shade of blue and then we apply classical decorations in sugar. The milk eggs are decorated with the decoration pictured and the dark ones with Greek goddesses. The eggs are filled with a whimsical selection of ganache couture mini eggs from the classical (dark chocolate, fresh mint) to the exotic (tonka, matcha) and the discoveries (yuzu, kinaco).

Billy's Neighbours

I ended up buying another camera, since it doesn't look like the old Brownie is going to turn up. I think it slipped out of my bag in the shopping cart the other day and someone just ended up with it. I got the exact same camera that I had, because I've been happy with it, and don't really need any more bells and whistles.

The first thing that I did was go back and take pictures of the houses in the same block as Billy Baldwin lived, as well as some around the corner from his house. One of the things I loved most about this neighbourhood is that the houses are all very different and have such incredible architectural details. Let's have a look, shall we?

1) This house has echoes of Palladian arches on several levels. The portico has a slight arch, which is shown again on the top floor. The fanlight over the front door is reflected in the windows on the third floor, too.2) In this shingle house, the main spot of colour is the blue door and pediment which brings to mind the classic Wedgwood blue Jasperware. 3) What makes this otherwise plain house really stand out is the colour selection. The grey shingles, pumpkin shutters and deep red door are inspired choices. 4) Another grey house, but with crisp white trim. The dentils over the top arch set off the center window on the top floor and the gothic windows below.
5) This house is massive, and I couldn't get the whole thing in one shot (from my vantage point in the car). But the details on the ground floor and top floor windows are amazing.
6) There are several houses, including this one right across from BB's house, that have these red roofs. The plantings on this are lovely, and the side sunporch is where I'd spend lots of time. 7) There are subtle arches over the ground floor windows, and the columns are echoed in the windows above the front entrance. 8) Not a great picture, but if you look at the pattern on the porch railings, and then look at the sidelights on the front door, you can see the attention to detail. This house is a lovely pale yellow with pale blue-grey shutters and white trim. 9) One of Baltimore's leading interior decorators lives here and this house has been published a number of times. Although the huge cherry trees block much of it, you can see the fanlight over the front door and the lattice-work on the side porch.
Which house is your favourite, and why?

Lessons From the Steeplechase Scene

This article appeared in the Washington Post on April 8, 2009. I thought it was such a great description of the Maryland Steeplechase races. I hope you enjoy it.

By Elise Hartman Ford

It was like a scene from a Dick Francis novel or from that old British series "To the Manor Born." I was standing there in the drizzling rain watching dapper jockeys on exquisitely chiseled horses gracefully bound across fields and over rail fences. Around me were ruddy-looking spectators sensibly attired in Wellies and Irish tweed caps. Officials cried, "Horses on course, horses on course," to scoot people out of the way.

Just north of Baltimore lie the pastoral hamlets of Monkton, Sparks, Cockeysville and Butler, comely settings for about half a dozen steeplechase races, including one that equestrians consider the oldest and most difficult hunt race in the country, the Maryland Hunt Cup, whose first running took place in 1894.

The Foxhall Farm Trophy Chase kicked off Maryland's steeplechase season on March 15. Even in the rain, the view was captivating. Only . . . Where was the champagne? The cheers of a glamour crowd? The tailgate parties? The heart-stopping rush of witnessing a no-holds-barred race?

"The Foxhall race is really more of a training ground," explained retired lawyer and former rider of these races Turney McKnight, who is head of the race committee for the My Lady's Manor challenge (Saturday). Many of these same horses will compete in Maryland's triple crown -- My Lady's Manor, Grand National (April 18) and Maryland Hunt Cup (April 25) -- so the jockeys want to practice but not overexercise the steeds, McKnight explained. The big three: That's where an enthralling race and a social scene converge. Here's some of what I learned about all the action.

Lesson No. 1: Some races are grander than others. McKnight gave me a quick primer: "A steeplechase race is a race run across large wooded fields on a course anywhere from a mile and a half to four miles in length, with riders jumping over fences."

Sometimes called hunt races or timber races, the sport sprouted from fox-hunting and harks back to England and Ireland, centuries ago. Maryland's steeplechase tradition may not be quite so old but is distinguished by the fact that many of the families who are involved today are descendants of the original founders of the sport in this area. "Stewart, Griswold, Pearce, Fenwick, Bosley, Voss, Fisher," recited McKnight, are some of the families with long local histories in steeplechasing.

What make a timber race challenging, McKnight said, are the length and difficulty of the course, including the height of the jumps.

"Each of the three -- My Lady's Manor, the Grand National and Maryland Hunt Cup -- represents a progressively [more] difficult challenge to the rider, ranging from the Manor's jumps set at about 3-foot-7 to Hunt Cup's, about a foot higher," he said.

The most formidable are also the most exciting to watch, and you don't have to be a horsemeister to have fun. Which takes us to . . .

Lesson No. 2: Bring friends, refreshments and joie de vivre. My sister Claire, who lives in Monkton, is the one who's gotten me interested in these races. She and her friends like to attend My Lady's Manor, and Claire offered a spectator's observations.

"My Lady's Manor is the big one. Lots of people get dressed up: women in hats, men in bow ties and bowlers, looking like something out of 'The Great Gatsby,' " she said. Everyone packs a picnic (curried chicken salad, crab cakes, nice bottle of wine), and some go all out and set up china, silverware and fine linens.

Best of all, said both Claire and McKnight, is that you can position yourself wherever you please on the field. "Some people like to stand by one of the jumps; some like to be at the finish line. You can even go to the paddock if you want," McKnight said.

At last year's Manor race, "we were right up against the fence and watched as the horses pounded by -- it was thrilling," Claire said.

Lesson No. 3: Have a backup plan in case it rains and a follow-up plan for an extended stay. I've got those covered. On my previous visits, the two of us astride a Vespa, rather than on a horse, Claire has shown off her "neighborhood" of winding lanes; vast, white-fenced green acres; and grand old country houses.

The area is full of places of local legend, such as the Manor Tavern, whose history dates to 1713; Boordy Vineyards, Maryland's oldest family-run winery, hosting outdoor concerts in summer and wine tastings year-round; and the Milton Inn, a gourmet restaurant housed in a nearly 270-year-old fieldstone building.

Lesson No. 4: Who needs political horse races when you have the real thing?

Let's Set The Table

Still no camera, but thanks for all your thoughts! Since I have it with me most of the time, it's like I am missing an appendage.
Yesterday, I briefly stopped at the Book Thing and picked up a book that looked particularly interesting. It's called Let's Set the Table, by Elizabeth Lounsbery, with a introduction by Emily Post. When I was researching this post, I found that the book is still listed as a reference book for International Butlers, not under the butling category, but the table- and event-managing section.

Even though the book was printed in 1938, much of the information still seems relevant, although some of the table-settings are dated. Before Mrs. Lounsbery begins to talk about setting the table, she discusses linen, china, glass and silver. Then she segues into flowers and decoration, which is where the book looks dated.

She also suggests themes for luncheons and dinner parties, including a "poverty party". This is suggested as an amusing luncheon for young girls, just before they head back to boarding school. She suggests a red and white check tablecloth, geraniums planted in tomato cans, tin plates and jelly glasses, and salt and pepper in their original boxes. To complete the setting, guests should wear worn-out clothes. Since this was a scant 10 years after the Depression, it's a bit strange that she suggests this. Of course, she's also written a book called Entertaining Without a Maid.
Mrs. Lounsbery was apparently a champion table-setter, winning prizes for originality, correctness and assembly. I found a couple of adverts from Gimbels from the early 1940's where she was exhibiting tables for different occasions, with the tabletop materials supplied by the store.
It's such fun to see what changes and what stays the same.

Lost

Somewhere between taking pictures of Billy Baldwin's neighbours houses this afternoon and going to watch the elephants walk through the streets of Baltimore this evening, I lost my dear little brownie camera. I am calling on my go-to guy to help me find it. Cross thumbs that I do.

100 to 1

I've been laying low for a couple of days, first spending some time thanking everyone for their help in making April Food Day a success. I think that we will repeat this next year. Also, at work, I had four large grant proposals in four days, so I needed some time away from the computer screen.

I did spend some time in front of the computer this afternoon, watching the Grand National steeplechase race from Aintree Race Course, England. I grew up hearing my father talking about this race, so it's such fun to be able to watch it just hours after it's been raced.This is one of the oldest continuously-run horse races, beginning in 1839. The race is a bit more than four miles long, with 30 jumps, including the famous Bechers Brook and the Chair. Today, 40 horses started and 17 finished.

Two horses traded the lead for much of the race, but both fell at the 22nd jump. At the final fence, Mon Mome, a 100-1 shot, took the lead and won the race by 12 lengths. His trainer, Venetia Williams, had raced in the Grand National 20 years ago, but fell and was knocked unconscious.

If you want to read a first-hand account of what it's like to be a "jump jockey", any of the books by Dick Francis, who was a jockey on the Queen Mother's horses, are excellent.

The Maryland steeplechase season begins this weekend in Maryland with Roedown, and continues over the next three weeks with My Lady's Manor, Maryland's Grand National and finally, the Maryland Hunt Cup. The winner of the Hunt Cup is automatically invited to the Grand National at Aintree. In 1980, Maryland horse, Ben Nevis and rider, Charlie Fenwick won.

If the weather cooperates, we will be going to My Lady's Manor next weekend.