THIS SPRING I LOST MY HEARING

Here my husband David, who had taken over the tending of the garden, trims the irises.


This spring I lost my hearing..... yep it happened to me. Having generally felt myself to be an ardent visual  form of serenity sailing around the garden beds, my good ear just decided to cave-in. As glorious spring twirls into summer, my hearing is gone. I literally mean spin, as my dizziness from the damaged inner ear upends me. Idiopathic hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction. I have to walk very slowly on the uneven ground of my garden observing the perspectives that are so astonishing with muted sounds around. I feel the impressions of Edna St Vincent Millay in the garden from some vintage photograph ingrained in my psyche and think of Beethoven who lost his hearing at 27. I believe however that will not be my fate as in this technological era we have options to be explored. Fingers crossed.

We had our house painted this gorgeous radicchio late last summer so this was the first spring to see all the plants shimmering against this backdrop. Here 'Summer Wine' begins it's profuse display.


What would I do without my garden? It gives me the luxury of seeing my partnership with Creation, the opening of spring and Divine generosity. Indeed, we are mere mortals, fragile and vulnerable as has been said. This is known even more now to me here in my 75th year. There’s the agony of what has occurred, but texts, emails, gracious friends, and gratitude in the background, because there are endless things to be grateful for, despite the present circumstances. Five amazing grandchildren and a life built on passions, mistakes, and realizations. Here on this blissfully, cool cloudy day, I feel like a little bird whose wings have been clipped, but who can still sing sweetly, and feel the wind as it flutters over and around me. I ask the same question as many who are struck down in someway, how could this happen to me? Well, it has and what meaning it will have is yet to be determined.

A David Austin Rose, 'Roald Dahl', on the deck.

 I know it may sound odd but at times I have a true resurgence of joy. Perhaps I know how much worse things can get for myself and others. I can walk, talk, and have been assured all is in Divine Order even tho it may not be easily visible. I look at my body I am still here.

This is 'Souvenir du Dr. Jamain', a gorgeous deep wine heritage rose near the deck.


Weeks have now passed. Although I have some small hearing in my right ear where I had my original surgery and I can communicate through my mobile phone’s amazing amplification, I have my down, worried and fearful days where my positive attitude fails me. My plans for my new website, LBGoodmanPhotography.com are on hold. I was ready to jump into marketing portrait shoots and photos for home and commercial offices. I will surely get to it at some point.  Do take a look if you can and accept the offering I’m making of photos from my beloved garden that is helping to sustain me this Spring.

Verbascum in the foreground. We have 37 roses in our garden. You can see heritage 'Ardoisee de Lyon' and some poppies here.


One so realizes how good they’ve had things, and how easy it was not to appreciate it. May you stay healthy and whole and appreciate all the more what you have. Life is rich, wonderful and fleeting.


Our tri-color beech shades our deck most handsomely.

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PROLIFIC SUMMER BLOOMS BRING Us THANKFULLY To BRISK, INVIGORATING FALL - SEPTEMBER 2022

Welcome to our remodeled home! Front entrance and new courtyard shown here.



How glorious is the changing of the seasons here in the Northwest. After too much heat, we are greeted with invigorating, brisk mornings, familiar woodsy aromas and evolving light designs across the garden and landscape.

Here, phlox, rose and cimicifuga cohabitate happily in this August afternoon.  Also called bugbane and black cohosh, cimicifuga is a long-lived woodland plant. Black cohosh has a long history of use. Native Americans used it, for example, to treat musculoskeletal pain, fever, cough, pneumonia, sluggish labor, and menstrual irregularities.



Ahh Fall, my favorite season. My brain moves back into gear, my concentration deepens and my body moves more easily. We are each so unique in our body types and mine thrives in the cooler weather.

 

I am learning more about Ayurvedic ‘doshas’ where the differences in our bodies is understood and underlined in this ancient system. Doshas are the three energies that define every person's makeup.
In fact I am somewhat immersed in the ways of Indian culture as I take a course called Inner Engineering with Sadhguru, Jaggi Vasudev, a brilliant modern guru for our time. I highly recommend his book of the same name. Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic and visionary. Sadhguru’s work has touched the lives of millions worldwide through his transformational programs. Sadhguru has a unique ability to make the ancient yogic sciences relevant to contemporary minds. His approach does not ascribe to any belief system but offers methods for self-transformation.


Foxgloves that were unusually plentiful this year and Quan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy and Compassion. She watches over my garden and reminds me to be compassionate and non-judgmental whenever possible, which is most of the time.


Yes, self-transformation is the key, is it not, to our world’s transformation from greed, insensitivity, and fear to collective consciousness and compassion for all. We cannot directly change others. Through our own transformation others will change.


This time of year it is Elul, the annual month of deep reflection in Judaism.  For a full month Jews around the world share the spirit & wisdom of these Holy Days. It is a time of realignment and healing: connection to Self, the Divine, Others, and the World. Thank you Ad Olam Eugene for this fabulous, kaleidoscopic image!




As I sit midday in the garden, the Autumn sunlight whispers nurturance. I slow down and bask in it. I feel pure warmth in every muscle, ligament, and bone of my body. The refreshing wind carries lively aromas; essences of ripe pear and grapes mingling into the air around me. I encourage you to savor these moments, allow the deep rays of sunlight to saturate your face and body.
For me, so much is encapsulated in this golden yellow sunlight; the turning of the season,  the magnificence of Creation, our extraordinary bodies and minds, all with a sense of appreciation and longing. This cosmic autumn stillness guides me to past memories and hopes for the future.



May you find peace and transformation in this Holy Season.


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MAY ENVELOPS US in HOPE and BEAUTY - 2022

Yes! Removing the mask restrictions is a relief and a tonic for our souls. May it last! My first entry into a store maskless, filled me with joy like a small excited child.

 

Below my flowering plum drops its magnificent petals on my coral bells, penstemen and more.



I’m forever awestruck at how, in April, everything springs up like Jack in the boxes. Some plants grow four inches after a rain. This year we had more than usual heavy rainy gloomy days in early spring but then like the twirling of a fairy godmother’s glistening wand the intense vibrancy of Spring revealed her aliveness. Ever since my husband David retired I have a full-time gardener.  I never anticipated such a gift! He revels in molding the earth and examining the needs of every diverse corner of our garden. He becomes One with spade and hoe. I of course remain the symphonic conductor raising my baton to choose the preferred flora and placements in artistic harmony!  For the moment I'm glad to take a backseat to all the heavier lifting and endless weeding.  David truly shares in the larger perspective of our garden and it makes the vision so much more attainable and pleasurable.


A small rhodie graces our front border with native fringe cups and yarrow behind.


Here on our side border, against a large filbert tree is a massive drift of native fringe cups, with giant foxglove behind.

Through the grace of generous inheritance from my parents, David and I were able to do some much needed remodeling in and outside of our home.   Malfunctioning drainage in our driveway turned into a large concrete project and now we have a new carport replete with huge planter and a renovated courtyard. Who knew concrete could be so beautiful! A fresh new paint job will be the icing on the cake in June! 



As I get older now, my perspective seems to change, deepen and oddly become more narrow. I cherish simplicity.  I eschew complications as much as possible. I am far less goal oriented and relish my own company and happiness in the NOW. Although I cherish my friends, my family is like the sweetest essence of an exotic fruit, partaken on a serene coastal day. Having two grown, extraordinary sons with phenomenal wives deeply fills my heart. Being a grandparent is a joy beyond words! With age, you know what you like; you don’t have to test every option that comes along. You also know better than to care too much about what others say or think. You truly become your own person.


I accept that like everyone, I will pass on at some unknown time and I surrender to that more and more. I do wish to live my remaining years in contentment and love, but unlike when I was younger, I no longer think this is something that happens to others and not me! It is the cycle of life. Of course I wish to stay fit so I can appreciate my remaining time but I am letting go of the strivings and uncertainties of my youth. I remind myself each day of the preciousness of ‘this day’ which will never return. 



As always I listen to and learn from the great spiritual teachers of our time and those who came before. Presently I am listening to Michael Newton, PH.d who through hypnosis over decades, has been able to uncover his subjects’ hidden memories of life in the spirit world after physical death and descriptions of what happened to them between lives. His research is professional, ethical and brilliant. Fascinating read for anyone who is interested in afterlife experiences.

 

My Cavapoo Josie and me:) She adds pure delight to David and myself.


Next Up: Roses and Pathways in an Ever-changing garden!

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ANCIENT ENERGIES RISE - Fall Equinox 2021


Our soils have been quenched, finally. Life is again springing forth from their thirsty roots. What a sad time our soil, plants and hearts have had with the intense heat and fires ravaging our environment. Thankfully now, though months later, the roots are giving forth enough energy here at the equinox to transport the season to completion. Dahlias whose leaves were burnt and buds crinkled are now peeking their heads out and saying “don’t give up on us, we have more to show”! Isn’t this like what we’re all feeling? We are looking for signs of renewal. Despite adversity the Autumn has a way of clearing the air, reminding us of all that is good and beckoning us to to savor the harvest. Many of us feel a low-grade malaise even if we are not in crisis. The replenished roots are bringing up deeply stored energies like ancient crystals from the earth.


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Many say we are deep into a profound transformation which we as humans and our earth need. As painful as major change is, I do believe it’s true. No going back to the ‘normal’ of wars, xenophobia, racism, gender inequality, homelessness and more. It’s time to progress as a global community. As a species we have the capacity to be more evolved. Each of us are like drops of water in the ocean and can make a difference with kindness, compassion and personal growth. So many wise teachers are available to guide us if we look. In a sea of misinformation and conspiracy theories all around, these teachings have been a blessing.


One of my favs, Caroline Myss writes the following in a description of her new series. She is always so articulate and profound.


                             The Call to Empowerment 


"We are living at an extraordinary time in human history – the era of self-realization. Mystical truths are awakening into the mainstream of life, into our understanding of health, and making their way into how we relate to nature. We are in the foothills of a bio-spiritual-ecological relationship with creation – and this is organic Divinity. All creation is an expression and manifestation of the Divine.” 



In the midst of the unprecedented heat, one marvelous event was the arrival and training of our new puppy, Josie. Now 6 months old she is everything I could have wanted in a dog and brings us pure puppy bliss!  There's a reason so many humans love dog companions! Despite the work and occasional inconvenience, they love us to the core and hold no grudges. They are funny and fun. She's a Cavapoo, a mixture of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and miniature poodle. Black and beautiful with a while "soul patch" under her chin, she has won our hearts and is keeping us fit!  Pictures to follow in my next post.



I look back in awe to the garden bounty of early Spring. Two of the photos here are from that time. Fortunately Nature recovers and with the rains we are hopeful for full revived splendor! As always in Fall, we gardeners are looking to the next year. This time I'm planting camellias in shadier places and perusing roses that repeat. My garden real estate isn't big enough for some of the one-time blooming roses so off they go to new homes or the compost bin. I had seen some shorter and spreading winter flowering camellias and now with my latest exploration, I'm excited to put some in places I thought were uninhabitable. They are not! Vivid color in winter is always desirable.


Finally, a wonderful photo my neighbor Bob Graef took of our back garden table from over the fence that separates us!


Stay happy, contented and optimistic even if you don't feel it.  Fake it til you make it...


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UNDER THE TRELLIS - Early May 2021

 Oh Glorias Spring at last, how long have we awaited Thee! We sing it from the rooftops, feel it with the sunrise and breathe it in deeply as the day ends amidst sparkling golden rays on baby new leaves.  More than ever, since so much is unfamiliar & unexpected, the constancy of this magnificent season comes on strong and YES, we take notice!

 Above is Akebia quinata, chocolate vine or 5 leaf Akebia that is finally blooming after many sparse years.


Above is Flowering Plum 'thundercloud' that gives us a showy spring display. With all the confusion and misplacement in our culture now,  we feel the unhappiness, fear and discontent rage at times and in odd places.. A nasty look from a shopkeeper who reminds you to keep your mask above your nose.  An impatient driver, wearing his fury on his steering wheel swerves and almost hits me.  Still, we each need to remember our own inner joy, balance and forgiveness. We're all over-extended with endless info coming at us from every unanticipated direction. Despite my easy circumstances compared to most, financial balance, endless countryside to roam, a partner of valor to enjoy, I’ve had my bouts of low mood, stifled wanderlust and plain boredom.  This too shall pass and we must work daily to maintain our equilibrium. Below is another spring show stopper, Saucer Magnolia.


 I have been beyond astonished to see my husband of 44 years become a gardener.  I never dreamed this could happen. The garden was always my sacred castle.  For most of our lives, his work-a-day world allowed him little time for anything other than family and some personal pleasures, but this? He is out all day weeding and planning, making suggestions for improvements in structure and form. I am utterly delighted! ! Now I have a true partner on my mystical garden path. And the garden reflects this input! Here is an example of a retaining wall and steps David recently put in. I adore the order it brings to this previously unkempt side of the house.


Paired with his strong muscles and astute eye for composition is an entire new crop of heritage roses.  Little did I know when an acquaintance passed by my garden one day and inquired about my roses in particular, that I would be meeting the wonderful and dedicated folks of the Eugene Heritage Rose Society.  Almost like breathing, I have acquired more and more heritage roses! They are all budding and about to bloom, so you are soon to be regaled with their beauty. Stay tuned for the next post coming soon! 

Above are yummy snap and snow peas, about to fill in so the grandkids can gobble them up right off the vine! Us grown-ups too!

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WINTER REFRESHMENT December 2020


Today I walked into the garden and thought, wow something is different. It’s winter! The trees are bare, showing off a dark, charcoal sketch of their limbs. Their naked forms twist and bow in the wind. I simply adore December. We want so much to bring light into the darkness. I know it’s not everyone’s favorite season, nor is it mine. Still I appreciate the change, coziness and beauty it brings. My daily walks are easier in the brisk air. At noon the sun is so low, it appears like sunset, only in the south.  I don’t remember noticing that so acutely before, but then these are unusual times and we notice many thing anew through our 2020 lens.




I was recently asked to write about “Joy” for the marvelous PWNO Women’s group I have been in for decades.  Here are some tidbits followed by some late Autumn photos.

I thought I was skating along until recently I had a few bouts of hard physical pain that clouded my disposition and found me miserable. I was even super grouchy to my husband who I rarely let loose on. Negativity breeds negativity. I worked my way out and have recaptured my mostly grateful attitude. Whew! After a poignant Holly Near Song whose theme was ‘it could have been me, but instead it was you’ I found myself singing her profound and caring lyrics all day. Things can always be worse and sadly they are for many. Thus I recovered my composure and returned to knowing the essential things are intact. I  could happily return to my yoga of appreciating the everyday miracles.  The right song can pull me back to joy. Rediscovering the amazing Linda Ronstadt was a recent acute reminder.  She now has Parkinsons (excellent film biography 2019). What an icon she is. What a fall she has both weathered and transformed.


 These days I look forward to food shopping outings like a kid going to the county fair. The cornupcopia of our produce, global imports and innovative health products here in the Northwest excite and peak my culinary curiosity.  So many do not share in our wealth. Decades ago I took our Russian exchange guest to Capella’s, an early natural supermarket, before there were Whole Foods. He was beside himself gazing upon all the food choices at our disposal.  Even in a pandemic, we have so much richness. 




And then my favorite comparison, which always gets a chuckle; being grateful for indoor plumbing.  Just imagine if we didn’t have that luxury/necessity like generations of old.  And washing machines and fresh water!! Despite the setbacks, we got it easy! 


May we continue to be grateful for the blessings in our lives and face the challenges with equanimity and courageous hearts.

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FEELING THE EARTH GROW - PEACE IN CHAOS June 2020



During a meditation outside, I went deep enough to feel the most minuscule movements of growth throughout the land. I felt the expansive breath by breath increase of grass and leaves far away and the roses and phlox in my garden, replicating life molecule by molecule. I felt like I was a part of that growth, an infinitesimal wave around the globe.



Despite the chaos, it has been a great slowing down and going inwards for many of us fortunate not to be ill. Our perceptions of our lives have shifted and we are seeing things anew.  I hear this from people everywhere.  For me, I am blessed to be with a wonderful companion, a garden paradise and good health. My children are not far away.

I read about tragedies, conspiracies and transformations about to uplift our globe. I am so sad for those suffering from actual illness, fear or isolation. I tend to be positive. So much change is needed on our precious planet and in the hearts of we inhabitants. Like a young child I feel, ‘why can’t we just accept our differences and get along?’.  Can’t we find a better way than war and hatred? Perhaps the transformation is edging in bit by bit. I believe it is.



Personally, I have nurtured the awareness and practice of living simply over the decades (as well as an American can!). I miss my physical social connections but my daily life goes on almost as usual. Many gifts are revealed and gleaned. At the outset of this pandemic, I immediately thought, what if we had no hot water, or any water, or electricity?  What is it like during war? 



Humans are ever resilient and adaptive. Although I can’t yet visit my grandchildren (mostly because my older son is an ER doctor and quite protective of us), we laugh and sing over Facetime and they are well.  Children live in the present, and these four, literally a tribe, have adapted, creating new games and ways to pass the time. A large family does have its advantages. Thankfully I have been able to visit my younger son and his wife, who both have considered our needs above their own.  Being with family has been what David and I miss most.



In our favor, it is Spring and the doves are cooing more than ever. I don’t usually perceive the magical growth I felt during my meditation but I do stand in awe of the beauty around me. I am ever grateful for my Life and hope you are too, adjusting to what you are missing.

Arundhati Roy, the Indian scholar writes,

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.”


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WINTER INTERLUDE - 2020

Connie Bender, the esteemed Eugene psychic reader left this plane a year ago in February, with me wanting more.  We often presume someone will be around so we can connect with them later and then we can’t.  I’m at that age where this scenario is happening more and more.  In case I’ve forgotten, it’s once again the hour to put all those personal growth lessons, meditations, and spiritual gleanings to the forefront.



Here are two photos from Connie’s home labyrinth & garden where she lived and taught for decades.



I have a precious friend who due to illness has found herself in a facility (home).  She amazes me with her acceptance, trust and ability to make lemonade of the lemons that, without notice, rained down upon her.   Of course there are tears and disbelief but all the personal work she has done through the years has brought her to believing in her life as it is, even as it falls apart.  This is truly inspiring and comforting for me to see. I pray to also be courageous as life meanders & changes like my own face in the mirror.


I recall how the great Ram Dass, Richard Alpert spoke of this after his stroke. He was for me, a lightning rod of awareness back in the day. I mark his passing with memories and love. Here he is greeting a well-wisher at the Oregon Country Fair, July, 2002.



Rabbi Hanan Sills, a beloved figure, who brought me back to Judaism, passed this month after a full life of yearning, learning, heartache and passion. Here he is with another giant of a woman, Rebbitzin Alice Kinberg who passed tragically several months ago. Photo taken in Eugene, during Simchat Torah, September 1994.

 


How unexpected this life is with its poignant moments, heartbreak, joys and realizations of finitude. As we age we must learn to savor the moment even more or crystalize into regrets, old habits and worries. For me the Sages of every Spiritual path were onto the same Truth. Be kind, know thyself and don’t fall for other peoples’ nonsense.


At the end of the day we all want the same things.  To be loved, appreciated and understood. If we are open, we can take lessons from everyone we meet. For some, Winter is a time to curl up, spend quiet moments of reflection, gaze at the stars & come inside to the hearth of ourselves. The cozy comfort of warm sheets beats scorching heat any day in my book.


Who are we but our inner life, dreams & reverberating actions, the seeds of which are sown in Winter. For all of us our time on earth will end. How we step into that will determine our final days.


As for the garden, I knew it was time to slough off my procrastination and get out there to start cleaning up. How amazing was the moment of reentry! The feel of the earth, supple from the winter rains and the blessed aroma rising, hit me like a refreshing wind.  My first day back I planted the irises I had left in a large container under my carport after digging them months ago. I had put off their replanting all winter, reminding myself each time I passed that they needed to get in the ground!


 

I found a cozy spot in the rear garden for my latest impulse purchase of another daphne to match the magnificent late winter fragrance of this harbinger of spring.  Then came the excitement of transplanting the heritage rose cuttings I acquired last Autumn. This all began late last summer when I had an unexpected visitor to my garden, Michele Bulgatz, who said she passed often on her walks.  Finding me in the front one afternoon, she introduced herself. We had a tour and she invited me to the Heritage Rose Garden Club, a society I had not known about.  What a delightful club to belong to. Lectures, lovely people & new frontiers culminated last Fall to a swapping of rose cuttings.  All were generous in sharing the mysterious but simple ways of propagating roses. Last week I brought out from my garage the assortment of cuttings, inspecting each one for buds and minuscule growth.  Then I chose the best to transfer to gallon pots, marveling in this fun and exciting way to acquire new roses.  Back and forth I went to my computer to bask in photos of the gorgeous roses to I had chosen. Now to find space in my garden!


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SEASONS & CYCLES in the GARDEN of LIFE - October 2019



We had a most unusual deluge of rain in September. Dahlias are still abundantly blooming continuously for this late in the season. The cooler, sunny days arouse a briskness like the feeling of diving into an icy river on a hot day.  Or being slapped by that first wave at the wild Oregon coast. We are hit with freezing cold as our bodies rejuvenate to alertness.  As my body encounters the crisp October air I feel utterly re-energized and alive.  Sometimes I’m sure I’m smelling the ocean, Invigorating air infused with salt, though it is 60 miles away. I find October weather restorative. 

Above, Dahlia 'bliss'.



Above, Dahlia 'dazzle me'.

We Oregonians get excited about our ‘rainbow’ days when intermittent rain and sun bring out the magical fairies and the child in us all. Although the plant nurseries are winding down, the wetter soil makes for easy rearrangement of plants that were not correctly placed. There are still bargains to be found. I am moving plants around & anticipating next year's garden. This is a gardener’s long range planning. Spring feels so far away now, but before we know it, she will arrive again.  It will be like meeting old friends you haven’t seen for awhile. Improving my garden landscape is most satisfying.


   

Above, late Acanthus Mollis 'bears breeches'.

I thought I’d tried “everything” (not really!) but this year the Aster perennial offerings are giving me a whole new slant on Autumn foliage.  As many plants fade or give a last shout out, Asters arrive in full glory.  Like Coleus in the Spring used to be a hum drum plant and is now the star of shade planters and borders, these Asters are resplendent and able to thrive in colder weather. First I bought two and explored online.  Then I got four more and now have six!  There I go, absorbed, delighted and obsessed with something new in the plant kingdom. My playground of choice! 

Below, Aster 'Peter III Blue'



Life has been a bit surreal this month because we moved my 98 yr old mother to Eugene from NYC.  We thought we had found a good place for her to live here. We quickly saw that she had declined much more than we had realized. We needed to quickly reassess.  In the meantime she lived with my husband David and I for two & a half weeks.  It was like being thrown into deep water. Our roles completely reversed, she was the child and very needy.  We were her caregivers.

Fortunately for myself and for her, I have done decades of personal growth & spiritual healing. To say she was not an easy mother is a gross understatement.  Thus this opportunity to take care of her in the way that I would have liked to be nurtured as a child, has been an obvious gift for both of us. She has been grateful to the core for our presence at this time in her life. The compassion and kindness I have been able to show her has allowed me to forgive & to heal further from my wounds and feelings of betrayal that scarred me in my childhood. I call this Divine Intervention.  She is now transitioning to a very fine Memory Care Home. I am appreciating elderly people like never before.


Below, Dahlia 'Diva'  has been one of the stars of the season. Brilliant & rich, long lasting when cut, with a long stem.



Dahlia 'I do' blends well with all the Autumn colors.

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THE MYSTICAL GARDEN In All It’s FAIRY-TALE GRANDEUR - Summer 2019

 

A burst of floral excitement arrives in July. A steady display of hydrangea, carpet roses, yarrow, feverfew & greening tomatoes creates a garden filled to the brim with scintillating growth.  I am like a kid in a candy store watching dahlias I transplanted just months ago, open and entice.


The bold & brash Dracunculus Vulgaris 'voodoo or dragon lily', reminiscent of primeval swamp vegetation, appears for only a few days.


Sitting in the shade on a warm afternoon the most dazzling golden colored dragonfly flutters near me and alights on a trellis.  She is robed in her best attire, sparkling in the sun like a  young girl at a party, unassuming and quiet. Behind this majestic creature, are two rich orange, yellow & black stemmed Dahlias 'japanese bishop'. For an instant the trio makes a perfect picture and then in the blink of an eye, she is gone. In every moment, pictures are infinite, we only catch a few.



With August upon us, it’s a whole new season. Multidimensional morning glories & dreamy white flowers emerge and stay awhile. Fruit trees are bearing tasty delights.  Bees, thankfully plentiful, are humming and happy.  The mid days of August weave a blanket of heat that bake us toasty. We run for shade, awaiting the cool entrance of early evening.  Then the refined light combined with sudden waves of refreshing air invigorate our appreciation of the magic of the garden.  I see anew the deepening colors unto dusk. A garden is rarely static. It's always new and changing like Nature herself.


Here the Morning Glory 'Grandpa Ott' welcomes the day alongside heart-shaped leaves, & majestic Acanthus Mollis 'bears breeches'.

Looking at it from behind, the morning glory radiates like a sun.


Here the stem of the morning glory is like a mystical lantern guiding us to see ever deeper into the garden.


I adore my white flower drifts. (A mass of flowering plants growing together.) They help delineate the colored flowers and stand out like beacons at dusk.  The Phlox 'Davidii' and the ever so aromatic lilies are a centerpiece of the early August garden.

A sweet clematis rambles along my back fence.


              Enjoy the rest of Summer, Fall will be upon us soon!




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MAY is MOTHER NATURE'S MILK. And we are THIRSTY, SUCKLING INFANTS.

Hello to May!  Two grandchildren are seen here planting tomatoes on Mother’s Day, under the careful eye of their Grandpa. Later in the season, they will reap the tasty reward of their efforts. Their excitement in the garden is always a tonic and a reminder of my own childlike nature.



During this grand month our land is bursting with buds & irrepressible liveliness.  We are like virgins, gazing in awe, seeing Spring for the very first time.  How does it all transform so quickly?  We turn around & lupines have small globules of color rising from below. They are like pineapples with their interlaced designs. 



The fox gloves are opening their tiny spotted paws for the late May display. Here, the Angel is surrounded by grape leaves against a trellis.



The roses are escaping their thorny nests & flying into splendor with their scented plumes trailing behind like some perfumed scarves worn by dressed up ladies.  It’s almost too glorious to take in.  But breathe in we must.  May is Mother Nature’s milk for we humans so we linger awhile and allow ourselves to be nurtured.



There’s something in the unique hue of a color or a graceful form that brings me smack dab into the present.  An intense color grounds me & opens me to the Divine.




Shown above and in the apex of its glory,  Epimedium is a more nuanced plant. It is also known as bishop's hat, fairy wings, horny goat weed, barrenwort, or yin yang huo.  It is a genus of flowering plants in the family Berberidaceae. Its subtle yellow flowers do resemble fairy wings or a bishop's hat against its red & green  leaves. It stays happy in a cool, shady spot as it prepares for its understated show.


The STAR of the show this season is my husband David, Papa D (Grandpa), relishing his freedom after decades of an indoor job. He makes the garden shine through his devotion, care & persistent weeding!


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SPRING 2019 - After Ice & Floods, it's Peel off your Sweater & Soak in the Sun!



After winter’s ravages, I shuddered at the seeming irretrievable hot mess before me and could barely imagine the return of my beloved garden. Then the sun came out, tendrils appeared and I started clearing the debris. My devoted, talented & versatile hubby pruned & cleared for weeks as I nursed a fierce cold. A sign on my office door says ‘Magic Happens!’, I believe it! 


 I see the lupines I planted in the summer coming up, everything is budding and I remember all the changes I made last season.  It was akin to the cacophony of an orchestra warming up before the symphony begins. We can clear the detritus and let Nature take over. Isn’t this the theme of our lives? Overwhelm & immobility leading to Rebirth & Joy!





A spate of glorious sunny, peel off your sweater at noon days and Spring in the Northwest envelops our senses.  All the neighbors are busy pruning and picking up debris from the now distant memory snowstorm.  The exhilaration of the jigsaw placement of plants excites me.  We prune the ornamental plum, the camilla and the gigantic yellow species rose all of whom were overgrown to the max.  I watch a great video about spring divisions of dahlias and plan to go for it in later this month.  Spring makes me think of my dear beloved sister Corinne Nanette of blessed memory who’s love for dahlias began when I sent her a catalogue and a gift order years ago. In NYC where she lived they are lifted every fall.  Here with our generally mild winters we can leave them in the ground and I’ve become complacent ignoring them for too long.  Now there are dozens of bulbs in a mass, all squeezed together and hardly bearing. Time to separate the overgrown heap and find the “eyes” or first growth of bulbs that can be planted afresh.


Each section of the garden is it’s own neighborhood.  Like the quartiers of Paris, each arrondissement or neighborhood has it’s own flavor and orientation.  Each is a unique zone. Above the pure simplicity of trilliums. 

Wow, before we know it, it’s raining buckets like we haven’t seen in decades.  Flood warnings…Now as Passover & Easter approach the weather is settling down.  The peonies have been growing an inch a day. Looking through my camera is a supernatural gift from the Creator to us earthlings.



A few months ago I spotted a humungous planter at the eclectic treasure trove that is Bring Recyling in Springfield, OR and knew it was the perfect container to facilitate the transplanting of an apple tree I had bought for my grandkids several seasons ago. To my amazement the oft unwatered and forgotten tree was still alive in its small pot. Instant project!  Here 3 of my 4 grandchildren are absorbed in transplanting the tree with care and dedication!


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