I am writing this blog on yet another moody June day in Calgary. It’s not really cold, but not warm enough to loll about outdoors. If Calgarians are noted for their busyness and activity, it probably has a lot to do with just staying warm.

Of course, much can change by the time I hit the publish button and I’m hoping for a good blast of sunshine. Here is a nice new book to help you have a summertime fantasy even if the weather disappoints.

Porch Living, by James T. Farmer III, is full of evocative pictures of relaxed summer spaces from a Southerner who is obviously proud of his lineage. He designs both interiors and landscapes and is a frequent contributor to Southern Living.

Farmer's definition of porches is a broad one and he shows a variety of outdoor spaces adjacent to homes and outbuildings. They are lovely places for sleeping and lazing or entertaining. Styles vary from country and rustic to casually elegant.

On a screened porch furnished with overstuffed comfort, a tea tray rests on a generous ottoman which is dressed with crisp blue-and-white striped fabric.

There are floral china and napkins for the tea tray and frosty jugs of lemonade. As well, you see porch swings and outdoor fireplaces and chic wrought-iron furniture under a pool-side pavilion.

The porch is a transitional space between house and garden with planters, baskets and statuary that help to connect the spaces.

When Mother Nature refuses to cooperate, find a book and dream the summer dream.

- Jane

If you are seeking a generous dose of relaxation and serenity, have a look at Coastal Modern by Tim Clarke. Clarke is a celebrity decorator with clientele lucky enough to own beautiful seaside properties and rich enough to get Tim to do them up.

“The beach house is more than just a place to live – it is a symbol of a life well lived,” says Clarke. It’s hard to argue with the philosophy.

Happily, you don’t need an ocean outside your sliding-glass doors to have a beach-inspired house.

He organizes the interiors in his book into five styles of design and the book flows according to the changing light of a day, from morning to evening. His different styles are associated with different qualities of light.

All of the styles share the same foundations: a balance between man-made and natural, old and new. Colour schemes are taken from coastal elements: sand, sky, water and soil. It’s a very summery look.

He favours simple, pared-down interiors with furniture and objects from local sources. Opulent vistas and houses are juxtaposed with some intimate interiors that could be achieved with a modest budget.

Can you judge a book by its cover? Not this one. The best decor is found between the covers, not on it.

Shabby Chic is the well-known brand of Rachel Ashwell who opened her first shop in Santa Monica in 1989. Now, two decades on, there are stores in Los Angeles, New York, Texas, and London.

This well-known label describes a “look” that incorporates vintage and battered furnishings with lots of white paint and pastel colours. There are floral fabrics, frills and a touch of glitz in crystal and silver. Romantic rooms are styled like stage sets where it looks like the wistfully lovely heroine has left a trail of petals or a book of poetry.

Ashwell’s latest book in the franchise, called Shabby Chic Inspirations and Beautiful Spaces, shows her homes in Texas, Malibu and Knotting Hill, as well as the homes of friends and business associates.

The most bizarre (but fascinating) arrangement is the “shabby shack” created from a hunter’s cabin in the Catskill Mountains. Entirely white, it is draped with volumes of lace and accessorized with white china, books and elaborate chandeliers.

This girlish confection is the retreat of a young woman who lives with a burly husband in a trailer on the other side of the stream. The trailer is not bohemian edgy. We’re talking 70’s-style avocado and gold, plaid sofa, dark wood paneling with an American flag draped between the propane tanks.

Don’t believe me? Check it out.

Romantic cottage style is a perennial favourite that is most often featured in the shelter magazines in the spring and summer. If you like it, have a look at several other new titles in the collection.

Romantic prairie style: homes inspired by traditional Country Life by Fifi O’Neill prospects the same vein. No sod huts on this prairie; but it’s all quite charming.

New Cottage Style: a Sunset design guide is another one that features rehabbed vintage furnishings set in pale and pretty rooms.

The on again/off again rain this week has made me think more about our focus on indoor life. In Calgary, we can’t count on a long hot summer to spend outdoors on patio or deck. Our climate has us scurrying for cover most of the year.

Because of this, I feel anxious if I’m not outside enjoying a beautiful day. It’s like I’m not grateful enough to the gods for it, and they might deprive me of future fine days as punishment for my ingratitude. I have observed this in others as well. I think it's a defining characteristic of being Calgarian.

So I say to you, if you have beautiful flowers in your garden, don’t think twice about lopping them off in their prime and bringing them inside for rainy-day pleasure. Or sunny-day pleasure, if you are bold enough to defy the weather gods.

At the Library, we have more than 150 titles about flower arrangement and they are an inspiring lot. However, I have specifically selected a few more titles that show you how to make clever arrangements work with the décor of a room.

Easy flowers: ideas for every room in your home (2003) “is a book about how not to arrange flowers”. There are no strict rules of arrangement. The focus is on making a match between the flowers and the container and fitting the result into an appropriate setting. For example, in a room dominated by dark heavy furnishings, a stunning array of parrot tulips fills a large black ceramic vase. A mass of grape hyacinths pack a tall glass vase and decorate a kitchen counter.

In Flowers by Design (2003), author and designer Jeff Leatham brings a sculptor’s approach to his chosen media. He begins by analysing a room, assessing, for example, its mood and light sources and looks for bold, dramatic shapes to accentuate the spaces. This book will impress those seeking both beauty and drama.

Living Art: Style Your Home with Flowers (2010) features stunning creations by a floral designer who revels in the total sensual experience offered by flower arrangements. This a house tour book where the focus is on the flowers and both the homes and flowers are fabulous.

Next week: French Country

Early morning finds me, coffee cup in hand, surveying my little balcony garden. This week, the zucchini plants have exploded with blooms; this bodes well for a good crop if I can keep the powdery mildew at bay. Staff at Sunnyside gave me a formula to spray on infected leaves: one teaspoon of baking soda to one liter of water. I’m giving it a try.

Besides loving zucchini and all the wonderful things you can do with it, I just love the plant. The foliage is gorgeous and so are the flowers – though short lived. I think of it as the day lily of the vegetable world.

Flower gardens throughout the city are at their peak. At this time of year, one of my favourite forms of entertainment is a stroll to check out what’s growing my neighbourhood. When your neighbourhood includes Lougheed House and the Reader Rock Garden, you have some very good places to check.

Inside our homes, flowers bring life and beauty to any room. My favourite potted plants indoors are budget-friendly, readily available, stalwarts that stay in bloom for 6 to 12 weeks: African violets, orchids and cyclamen.

“Not orchids!” you say. The charmer in the picture was purchased at the North Hill Home Depot, on sale for $12.00, and has been blooming happily for several months.

At Home with Flowers(2011) by Jane Packer demonstrates the enormous decorative impact of clever floral arrangements. Single, lime yellow dahlias, cut to different heights, fill a cluster of exotic brass vases grouped on a brass and glass coffee table.

On an antique sideboard revived with white paint, sprigs of veronica and astilbe fill a large collection of vintage milk bottles. Flowers fill mugs and seashells. Arrangements decorate bathroom ledges, kitchen counters and stairways.

It’s all very inventive and often dramatic. It makes me want to try harder and stretch beyond my stalwarts.

Perhaps next year I will try to grow some cutting flowers to bring indoors.

Stampede is winding down. Time to pack up the cowhides and lanterns - or not. For many seasons, cowhide rugs have been popular accents for both contemporary country and modern interiors.

There are so many other lovely ways to bring summer into your home. If you enjoy making seasonal changes, here are a couple of new titles for inspiration.

Summer House, by Terry John Woods, features cottage-style, summer decorating, the way you might do it for your summer house in Maine which is exactly what Woods has. Seashells and polished beach rocks line the shelves; surfaces are weathered; accessories are nautical. Vintage collectibles, such as old alarm clocks and jadite tableware, punctuate decor. There is no edgy twist to vintage here; just full-blown nostalgia.

The book is laced with sepia-toned photos evocative of summers past: cricket games on the lawn, family gatherings, floating on inner tubes. You get the drift.

Cottage style is budget-friendly, embracing finds from flea market and Mom and Dad's basement. Old pieces are rehabbed with a lick of paint or just dusted off. Best of all, it offers relaxed comfort year round.

Get crafty and take advantage of all the good things in your garden with Everyday Eden: 100+ Fun, Green Garden Project for the Whole Family to Enjoy by Christina Symons & John Gillespie.

Herbs flavour salts and butter. Bread is baked in flower pot and bucket. Succulents are shaped into dramatic sculptures, wall art and wreaths. From old glass containers, they fashion garden cloches to protect seedlings. Mismatched glasses create “candle opera” with tea lights.

As you might expect, Symons and Gillespie, who live in Roberts Creek, B.C., have a wonderful garden. See it on their blog and get an ongoing crafty fix.

NEXT WEEK: I'm playing in the water. The topic is home-made water fountains.