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Picket Fences by the Seaside: Victorian Homes in PG
The seaside town of Pacific Grove, California is full of cute Victorian homes with white picket fences. Many of these homes are just steps away from the beach and Lover’s Point.
A view of Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove. What began in 1875 as a summer church camp has proliferated into what is now called “America’s Last Hometown”. It supposedly has more historical houses per capita than anywhere in California.
Pacific Grove, called “PG” by locals, has many interesting shops and restaurants, many located on or near the famous Lighthouse Avenue. I love all the ocean themed street names here. There is even a Mermaid Lane!
An interesting thing about Pacific Grove, or PG, is that it must have some of the tiniest Victorian cottages ever. You will see itsy bitsy identical twin and triplet cottages sitting next to each other. Some of them are so tiny, I can’t imagine even being able to have furniture inside! They remind me of little gingerbread doll houses.
I really love the imaginative colors people have chosen for their Victorian homes here, and the flowers they have planted alongside them.
You may wonder why you see decorative butterflies everywhere here attached to homes, fences and in yards. The reason is that Pacific Grove is also known as “Butterfly Town” due to the thousands of monarch butterflies that overwinter here on the Monterey pines and eucalyptus trees. You can see them at the Monarch Grove Sanctuary from October through March. For more information see butterfly town.
Some of the larger Victorians have been converted into seaside hotels. My favorite is Green Gables Inn which has nothing to do with those famous Lucy Maud Montgomery novels written about one of my favorite characters ever, Anne. There is just something enticing about this beautiful home overlooking Lover’s Point. I remember being smitten with it the first time I visited the area.
The stately Green Gables Inn looks out at the ocean. For more information on Pacific Grove, see my other blog posts, including Lovers Point: Legendary Park in Pacific Grove, Butterfly Town: Pacific Grove, The Feast of Lanterns in Pacific Grove, and Point Pinos Lighthouse, Pacific Grove.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, & beautiful vistas.
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Charming & Romantic Window Boxes
There are always flowers for those who want to see them~Henri Matisse. Nothing says happy like a cascade of colorful flowers spilling from a window box! While walking around one of my favorite places, Carmel-by-the-Sea, I noticed that many of the homes have window boxes. They add so much loveliness to already charming homes. I find so much gardening inspiration just by observing the beautiful gardens others have created, and the imaginative touches they have used.
Window boxes come in all sizes and may be made of wood, copper, wrought iron, etc. They create a “living wall” and can beautifully accentuate your home. It is easy to see how much beauty a window box adds to a home–just imagine this dwelling without it?
For those with small yards or none at all, window boxes and planters offer a great option to add romance and charm with flowers.
Sun and shade requirements will determine what flowers to plant in your window box. Popular flowers for window boxes include geraniums, begonias, verbena, pansies, petunias, trailing fuchsias, salvia, impatiens, ivy, vinca vine, sweet potato vine, and lobelia.
Often, incorporating colors from the rest of the yard or garden, including trees & shrubs, can help tie everything together.
Multiple window boxes look best when the same types of flowers groups are repeated in each. Simple arrangements have a more organized and cohesive vibe.
Window boxes filled with beautiful flowers brighten your home and are easy to care for. Just make sure they have proper drainage and water them according to their needs. It’s also a good idea to provide fertilizer regularly to help boost blooms.
Your imagination is the limit. Never be afraid to experiment; you may make a mistake now and then in gardening, but you will learn from your experiences.
For more information on gardens in Carmel-by-the-Sea, see my Magical & Enchanting Gardens of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, & beautiful vistas.
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Quarantine in Captivating Carmel-by-the-Sea
Even though the quarantine has disrupted many travel plans, I feel so blessed to live in this area. I hope that everyone has a chance someday to visit Carmel-by-the-Sea, located in central coastal California, and witness first hand this captivating and charming town. I have previously written other blog posts about Carmel-by-the-Sea, including Gardens of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Garden Gate Inspiration from Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Fairy Tale Cottages in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Even though shops and art galleries are still closed, many of the amazing restaurants here are open with take out and social distanced al fresco dining. And fortunately, the pandemic can’t hamper one of the most fun things to do here, just walk around. You will feel like you are in a fairy tale, because this little seaside town just happens to be home to some of the loveliest cottages and gardens in the area.
It all started in the early 1900s, when Hugh Comstock built the town’s first fairy tale cottage for his wife, Mayotta. The homes he built featured steep roofs, arched windows and doors, and rustic stone chimneys. His cottages have been duplicated over the years, and have inspired generations of delightful homes, so that walking through many of the side streets you may imagine you are no longer in America, but rather, in a charming English village.
The gardens in Carmel-by-the-Sea are simply the icing on the cake. From fetching window boxes, to picket fences, to lovely archways and stone walls, there is an eye-catching assortment of detail. Colorful flowers paint the landscape around these storybook homes with a beautiful palette of colors and textures.
Quarantine or not, it is clear that many people here are passionate about gardening and put a great deal of time and love into their gardens. I would like to personally thank them for all the inspiration and cheerfulness they provide to us passers-by!
A quirky thing about Carmel-by-the-Sea is that all the homes have names instead of house numbers. Most of the home names are pretty or cute, but I like the name I saw on one the best of all: “Nobody’s Perfect”!
This home is called “Irish Rose”. The latest addition to Carmel-by-the-Sea, on 6th Avenue & Mission, this Instagrammable wall mural was being completed while my friend Amy @seasaltandcypress and I were dining al fresco at nearby Grasings. Opinion has been mixed, folks either love it or hate it. I love it!
Someday, I hope the word quarantine will be obsolete. I hope that we all have discovered what is most important in life. I hope that we have learned to slow down and appreciate the beauty around us. I hope we never again take anything for granted and have learned to be grateful for all good things. If you do someday visit Carmel-by-the-Sea, dear friend, here is my parting advice. The best way to end the day is to take a leisurely stroll down to the beach and enjoy the soothing lull of the ocean waves and the color-drenched sunset. Because in Carmel-by-the-Sea, fairy tales really do come true.
Thank you for visiting my blog! Wishing you peace, love, happiness, & beautiful vistas.