Victoria May/June 2020

Dear Friends Although my first trip to France was decades ago, I still remember feeling quite overcome to be actually exploring sites that for so long I had only dreamed of visiting. While strolling the byways of Paris—taking in the glorious scenery, perusing boutiques, and sampling delectable cuisine at street-side cafés—the joy of each new discovery was amplified by the fact that I was with one of my favorite people. Every moment of our European tour was made all the more special because it was shared. In this issue, we introduce two friends of Victoria who have made welcoming sojourners to this enchanting country a way of life. Meet Shannon Grochowski, a chocolatier who makes her home in Burgundy for half the year, on page 45. On her popular blog, French Countryside…

Visit our website to read this issue’s online stories and to find more of the content you love. Take a closer look at some of our favorite May/June features: A Taste of Sweetness Creator of the popular blog French Countryside Companion Shannon Grochowski shares her Strawberry Rose Charlotte recipe, made with tantalizing handfuls of fresh-picked fruit. In the Heart of France Visit storied destinations and hidden gems in our guided tour of the Loire Valley, a vibrant region rich with history, culture, and stunning natural beauty. Rest in the City of Light While on holiday in Paris, retreat to the quaint and quiet comforts of Caron de Beaumarchais, a boutique hotel that transports guests to the eighteenth century. A Studied Approach Expanding her borders beyond the classroom, former college professor Elizabeth New Seitz teaches joie de vivre from her…

Don’t all girls worship their father? Not until I was older did I realize that all dads are not the same. Mine was especially kind, loving, and supportive; I strive to be as kind and accepting. When I was growing up, my dad had a small business in our community. If there were those who couldn’t pay, he gladly gave credit, sometimes never collecting that debt. His heart was huge. His patience was incredible. No unkind words about others were ever spoken. He taught me to pay it forward long before that was a popular concept. He was truly unique. What a blessing to grow up being loved and supported by such a father. MARTA STURGELL SHAMBLIN Camarillo, California A sense of wonder and awe for nature was the greatest of many gifts…

It was usually in late spring or in the summer when I visited my sister in France. I had studied French and could speak a little, but she had married into a French family and was deeply immersed in the language and the people and the atmosphere of that country. I saw her in translation, transformed and shimmering in an enchantment I yearned to share. “Pivoines,” my sister said. I watched her push her lips forward into a French mouth to say the word for peonies at the flower market near her Paris apartment. She bought a big white bouquet, not quite in full bloom, at the end of our shopping expedition. She had already purchased eggs and salad greens and cheese and sausage and a small amount of meat for…

Unlike any gardener I had previously known, Seattle garden designer Jana Belisle welcomes a bit of chaos instead of always trying to control nature. One of the biggest lessons I learned from her was how to marry the wild and the refined. The bridal bouquet shown opposite is filled with traditional wedding flowers, such as lilacs, roses, ranunculus, and anemones. But to keep it from looking too predictable, I mixed in common weeds as a nod to what’s happening in the field at this time of year—a closer look reveals white clover, grasses, rye, and wild sorrel, along with blueberry foliage and flowering ninebark. By combining ingredients from opposite ends of the spectrum, I have found that you almost always get beautiful and unexpected results. See A Year in Flowers by Erin…

“BLUE THOU ART, INTENSELY BLUE; FLOWER, WHENCE CAME THY DAZZLING HUE?”—James Montgomery…