Our garden is truly amazing.
Amazing in the sense that it produces timely flowers, in perfect places. Bill built our home with the help of his father and brother more than 30 years ago. One Autumn, my Bill and his Dad, George, created our front pathway. Three months later George passed on. That first spring, to honour Dad, we planted English lavender and petunias along the pathway. Lavender lining our front pathway was always the plan. George, immigrated from England and happened to call every flower “petunia.” Therefore, we planted petunias. George’s favourite flower was snapdragon. Every summer since George passed on wild snap dragons grow along the pathway intertwined with English lavender. This year the dozen lavender plants should really be replaced. They are woody but still abundantly producing flower so we decided to let them be. Curiously, no wild snaps grew along the pathway. Early this morning we were out working in the front garden. We could not help but notice a very tall cluster of wild snaps. –Pause.
The earth speaks in flowers? Yes. I can not help but believe that Heaven speaks through flowers. Our garden speaks to us with the presence of timely flowers, always, in the perfect place. There was the morning of my Baba’s (Russian name for Grandmother) funeral. A beautiful Peace tea rose, about 3 feet tall (no kidding) stood perfectly strong at the top of the driveway, had not even noticed a bud prior to that day.
Seriously.
Then, there was the morning of our niece Alexis’ 9th birthday. She was visiting with us for a week so that she could attend my summer Art Camp. We walked out onto the deck and there it was directly facing the back door where we sat to eat our breakfast — standing tall and bright as if to say, “Happy Birthday to You!” A most brilliant yellow, full faced sunflower beckoning Alexis. She clasped her hands and smiled, “Wow! that’s for me?” — no one planted sunflower seeds there, maybe a squirrel did? And, no one saw any sign of sunflower the day prior . . . maybe we were all too busy to notice? Thing is, there it was, that day, in full bloom — the morning of Alexis’ 9th birthday. Yes, we took a photograph; a very special a memory.
This past Sunday August 16, 2015 we took a walk on our property. We are thinking about creating a (safety) trail for our artful clients, for them and for us. Inspiration.
As we walked into the woods we noticed felled birch trees. They had offered up rolls and –literally — sheets of birch paper; strewn on the leafy, piney ground. Also, all shapes and sizes and colours of mushrooms. We did not pick any because we’re not too sure of edibles! It is for certain we will ask a good mushroom hunter friend to join us for harvest next August! Even though we do have a guidebook we are cautious because many edible mushrooms look very similar to ones that are poisonous?! More experience needed.
It was quiet in the woods. This particular section of our property was rather close to the roadway. I marvelled at and touched chartreuse-bright, softly textured moss on shiny rocks and dampened tree stumps. I thought of the many juniper bushes just up the rocky hill. The low bushes reminded me of Southwestern U.S. pinyon pines for some happy reason? Most of our forested land is oak and maple, along with new white pines everywhere; also soft and beautiful. There are piles and piles of raspberry bushes and thimble berries. A few cattail (which I will harvest next spring).
It was fun to watch the huge green frogs and their babies in the pond and the in the woods . . . another of many reasons we appreciate our little woods. I did not really want to leave the space but we did have work to do in the company of Carmella, Tundra, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, snakes, dragonflies, butterflies, really big spiders and oh yes, —bears?
Image n thyme in the woods 