Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/136981
form + function & er Summ s Bloom FEATHERED FINDS South African artist Gemma Orkin made her name painting indigenous plants and animals. Her cheery painting style and the sense of humour portrayed in this particular series caught the interest of the folks at West Elm. These cheeky birds reveal themselves as you get to the bottom of the scalloped, stoneware serving bowls, but we think they are cute enough to accessorize a kitchen wall or dresser. $42; West Elm – L.S. A SURE BET Proven Winners' Monte Carlo arrangement is one way to up the ante when it comes to summer container gardening. The beautiful yellow stonecrop, Sedum ruprestre 'Angelina', shown here cascading over the side of the pot, is an evergreen perennial that thrives in hot sun and sandy soil and is hardy to zone 6. Use it to line pathways or as a groundcover in a tricky spot where nothing else will thrive. Oh, and of course, tuck bits into your containers. It's so accommodating that pieces transplant with ease. Later in summer, foliage turns bright green and yellow flowers cover this creeper. Here 'Angelina' teams up with the taller Sedum (or Hylotelephium) garnet brocadeTM. This zone-3, burgundy-leaf perennial throws up clouds of small pink flowers in late summer; leave them standing for winter interest. Foliage drama is compounded with a variegated sage (Salvia officinalis Icterina'). For non-stop flowers, add a marguerite daisy specially bred for compactness: Argyranthemum frutescens vanilla butterfly.® It doesn't survive our B.C. winters, but it blooms its heart out all summer and into fall. – Carolyn Jones SAY CHEESE! With the sunshine finally here, it's time for entertaining. Summer is the season of the casual get-together, sangria, barbecues and the classic cheese plate. This set of cheese knives by Victorinox, the maker of the Original Swiss Army Knife, have the ideal blades for all types of hard and soft cheeses and spreads. The holes in the centre of the medium-hard cheese knife enable slices to fall effortlessly off the blade for easy serving. This timeless design has a lifetime guarantee to boot. $100, special order, Ming Wo ■ – L.S. See SOURCES on page 42 p12-13_TalkingTrends.indd 13 July/August 2013 BC HOME & GARDEN | 13 13-06-07 11:31 AM