Green Things in Life

SPRING GLORY
Designer Steve Wardle of Chatham’s Forest Beach Designer-Goldsmiths translated delicate pansy petals into gold, creating an elegant bracelet honoring spring. Each bloom is graced with a diamond. For information, call
508-945-7334, or go to www.capecodcharms.com.

Garden Goodness

When you grow your own fruits and vegetables, it is a special pleasure to preserve that goodness, giving your table a touch of summer sweetness, even when the snow flies.
Some of these recipes are as simple as chopping up a big bunch of fresh basil, drizzling in some olive oil… read on. And savor (and share!) the fruits of your good garden labor. Read more…

Posted in Arts & Culture, Food, Gardens, Recipes

May 2011

Cape Cod LIFE talks to Channel 5 Boston’s Chronicle HD

Put your New England knowledge to the test with Cape Cod LIFE & Chronicle HD!

Susan Dewey, Editor of Cape Cod LIFE magazine, filming with Channel 5 TV host Anthony Everett in a top-secret location for Chronicle HD‘s “Mystery Main Street” series. The show airs every Monday at 7:30 pm on WCVB TV, Channel 5 Boston. Stay tuned in the coming weeks, and see if you can guess where they are!

Posted in Uncategorized

Seaview Secret

While sometimes hard to find, Cape Cod still has hidden treasures. Many of us have secret spots: the little known beach tucked at the end of an unassuming road, the unmarked hiking trail through a marsh. Perhaps more than houses or other objects of wealth, here on the Cape, land and privacy are two of the most cherished luxuries. Add a small slice of ocean and you have a Cape Cod fortune.

South from Osterville village, heading towards the ocean along winding back roads, you would probably pass right by a certain gem of a spot on Seaview Avenue. Tucked between larger, newer, fancier homes is a 1960s era colonial whose approach and facade reveal nothing of a secret Eden stretching from the home’s backdoor to the sea. While the house is comfortable and tasteful, the backyard is the real prize. Read more…

Posted in Arts & Culture, Gardens

Seaside Savor

It’s easy to understand why cooking is such a hot topic on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. All around us there is a great land and sea buffet of superb choices for memorable dishes like Bay Scallops in Puff Pastry or Grilled Striped Bass with Herb Butter. When getting fresh seafood is as easy as a quick trip to the closest harbor for right off the boat lobster, fish, or scallops and farmers markets burst with fresh bounty grown just around the corner, it’s easy to see why Cape and Islands cookbooks are a flourishing business for both local and nation-wide booksellers. Judy Shortleeve, our food consultant, shares some recipes from Cape and Islands cookbooks that are easy to make and will leave that sweet taste of the seaside with you long after the last dish is licked clean. Read more…

Posted in Food, Recipes

Grandeur Recaptured

When interior designer Hope Van der Wolk began redecorating a grand turn-of-the-century seaside home in the Mid Cape area, she knew the house had a lot to reveal. But the summer house’s starry presence was being dimmed by some of it best features: the dark wood paneling, high ceilings, and vast scale.

So the Osterville designer, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and veteran of the studios of Ralph Lauren and Mario Buatta, called on her mastery of color, texture, and form to give the century-old beauty an interior lift. “I knew of the house, so the possibility of working on it was very exciting,” Hope says. She now has a deep relationship with the house, redecorating it two or three rooms at a time. Read more…

Posted in Architecture, Arts & Culture, Interiors

Hydrangea Love

Walking through the extensive plantings of the Hydrangea Farm Nursery on Nantucket in July, one feels swept away by an undulating sea of color, awash with deep and subtle blues, subtle pinks, gradations of purple, and brilliant whites. The bushy mopheads and delicate lacecaps sway in the wind with a rhythm that is visually intoxicating.

This year marks the farm’s eleventh in business, and owners Malcolm and Mary Kay Condon have given the word retirement a new definition. Their passion for the shrub doesn’t allow them much down time after leaving behind 14 years as innkeepers of the island’s Stumble Inn. Yet it was in the garden of the inn that they first became enamored with the hardy cultivar. Their love affair with this quintessential Nantucket shrub began with just two plants in pretty poor shape. Read more…

Posted in Arts & Culture, Gardens

Shorelines – Spring ’11

Truly Custom, Truly Local

The Sourcebook of Architectural and Design Elements Handcrafted on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket is issuing a 2011 edition with the addition of a new addendum. Compiled by The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, the book is a resource for builders, architects, designers, and home owners who want to find custom, high-end items created by local craftsmen. The beautifully presented guide features the 52 artists from the first edition and ten new ones in the addendum. The book ($39.95) is a “must have” for anyone who wants “truly custom, truly local” design elements. Visit www.capeandislandssourcebook.com for ordering information.

An Artful Find

Crack the cover to Martha’s Vineyard Tile: Hidden Gems in Island Homes and open the world of possibilities provided by artisan tile. This elegant hardcover book, photographed by Alison Shaw with text by Shelley Christiansen, provides an in-depth tour of the kitchens, bathrooms, and enviable surroundings of well-appointed Vineyard homes using tile in creative ways. The pages are peppered with useful design and decoration tips as well as profiles of local artisans. Produced by Vineyard Stories in conjunction with the Martha’s Vineyard Tile Company, this book is an indispensable resource. $34.95. To find out more, log on to www.mvtileco.com or call 508-693-9707.

Homes for the Ages

Hutker Architects has constructed more than 200 homes over its 26 years. In Heirlooms to Live in: Homes in a New Regional Vernacular, Mark Hutker, the founder of the award-winning firm, with offices in Falmouth, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, outlines his theories on designing and building exceptional homes. Hutker focuses on regional character in architecture, and crafting homes that become family keepsakes—not just dwelling spaces. The handsomely designed book brings these concepts to life by looking at 25 of the firm’s notable projects with comprehensive selections of sketches, blueprints, and photographs by Alison Shaw and Brian Vanden Brink. $75. Published by Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers. For more information, visit www.hutkerarchitects.com.

Posted in Arts & Culture, Literature

PAAM’s 14th Annual Secret Garden Tour

July 10, 2011, 10-3pm

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Gardening enthusiasts will enjoy PAAM’s 14th Annual Secret Garden Tour with a double header garden experience. The day begins with a self-guided walking tour of gorgeous Secret Gardens in Provincetown’s east end. Ticket-holders will receive a map and booklet with stories and details about each garden. Visitors are then invited to the Provincetown Art Association and Museum to tour the Art of the Garden, an exhibition of floral works in air-conditioned galleries. All proceeds from the event benefit PAAM exhibitions and educational programs.

The Secret Garden Tour leads guests through hidden stone paths and crooked wooden walkways into borders and beds of specimen plants, common and exotic flowers, and lush greenery. The owners and tenders of fragrant and visually stunning Provincetown gardens plan to welcome more than 500 visitors.

Free parking for the tour is provided at Benson, Young and Downs Insurance Agency and Gately-McHoul’s Funeral home, found at the end of Harry Kemp Way. A fleet of shuttle-cars makes continuous stops between the parking lots and gardens throughout the day. Tickets to the Secret Garden Tour include admission to PAAM’s galleries for the Art of the Garden exhibition. This event continues to be a success year after year due in part to the kindness of more than fifty dedicated volunteers.