Guest Blogger: MJ's Simple Things List

There’s so much joy in creating a list of simple things that I decided to share one of my blog spaces, The Cottage on the Corner, with my friend MJ. This wonderful idea is the brainchild of Christina at soul aperture, a generous angel, who is donating one dollar to Doctors without Borders for every blogger that creates a list of simple things and leaves a comment with a link. If you have a moment or many to stop by Christina’s blog you’ll be stunned at the pouring out of hearts of one mind.

MJ’s Simple Things List

a good cup of coffee made in my own kitchen

sweet memories of my mom

tea parties with my granddaughter

being alone in peace and quiet

meaningful communication with a dear friend

reconnecting with an old friend

getting lost in the creative process

a newly discovered bookstore

an old familiar bookstore

art

finding something I'd been looking for

new underwear

the lift of unexpected sunlight shining through in January

a favorite pen

camera successes

a hummingbird's visit

ocean air

the woods in every season

colors

You can find my simple things list on the flip side of this blog, Write in Amazement.

In the Garden of Insomnia

As a long-time insomniac, I’ve done all sorts of things in the middle of the night that others do in the day…like bake, clean the house, listen to night sounds while swinging to and fro on a porch, go for a jog between two fields of corn on a bright moonlit night, and yes, sit in the garden. So, if I were to design a garden of insomnia how would it look, what would I plant?

White flowers and night bloomers would be first on my list, but before planting out comes the graph paper and a handy dandy ruler, hold on a moment…where will I put this mystical garden? Through the magic of the mind, I found the perfect location…a corner that needs some life.

Two half moons facing each other create a circle. A “full moon” bed lies in the center with a path leading around it. Of the utmost importance is a place to dream and listen to things that go bump in the night, so a seat or bench rests somewhere between the half moon and full moon beds.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

While I’m imagining my moon garden, I’m going to imagine big! A stone bench with white flowering thyme creeping up the side would be a perfect place to admire the ethereal beauty of the moon garden.

 

 

 

 

 

  Now it’s time to get dirt under the nails. White flowers are a must, as are night blooming plants. Any flower offered in white will work from asters to zinnias. For a moon garden to be luminous and fragrant, it must include plants that come alive at night like moonflower, evening primrose, four o’clocks, angel’s trumpet, some daylilies, and nicotiana. I’m not sure about night-blooming cerus and it’s exotic habitat, I’ll defer questions to Noelle over at Ramblings from a Desert Garden.

I want my moon garden to be interesting no matter what the season, so I’ll plant spring flowering bulbs all in shades of white, cream, and yellows. Including variegated foliage plants, grasses, and shrubs adds depth to the garden as well as winter beauty. I always grow ‘silver king’ Artemisia for the ghostly silhouette it casts at night. Other foliage plants like August hosta and fuzzy lamb’s ear add texture. Any plants that shimmer beneath a silvery moon create the nighttime look.

Night bloomers emit an intense fragrance so nocturnal pollinators can find the flowers of the dark. Be prepared for the sometimes-cloying fragrance that these flowers exude. I think I’ll consider placing a few pots of mosquito plant or penny royal near the stone bench. My stay may be brief, if I don’t have a way to keep the pesky biters away.

Blooming plants release a nocturnal fragrance that encompasses me while a full moon overhead winks from between clouds casting light onto this magical place, but I am not alone in the garden of insomnia. A chorus of peepers, toads, and crickets sing me a night song. Bats dart in the shadows as creatures peer through the grass wondering what a human is doing in the garden at this time of the night.  I’ll sit here until elusive sleep finally finds me and carries me away.

*Stone bench photo borrowed from Gardending with Herbs by Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead

 

Simple Lists

One of the loveliest ladies in the blogosphere is hosting simple things on Wednesday, January 27th. Christina of soul aperture is inviting bloggers to create a list of simple things, link back to her blog and leave a comment. She’s such a giving soul. Her family will donate one dollar to Doctors without Borders for every blog that joins in.


You’ll find all the information at soul aperture. I hope to be reading simple lists filled with garden delights and all those little things, often taken for granted, that mean so much.

Write with Amazement

I'm calling this an advertisement or shamelss self-promotion.  After the titles of mom and mimi, my most treasured is writer.  Whether I'm writing a how-to about gardening for a website or a creative writing piece, it is what I do and a large part of who I am.  I had a blog about writing on wordpress, but I didn't lead it in the right (write) direction, so I'm trying again. 

If you enjoy reading creative writing, take a moment to check out Write in Amazement, my newborn blog.  Leave a comment, if so inspired and remember, it's a baby so there will be adjustments, changes, and advancements, one step at a time. 

Now back to your regularly scheduled garden blogging.

Dancing with White

Pure, innocent, plain, stark, glaring, white. Growing white flowers has never been a priority; I prefer a riot of color. Yet, white is an intriguing color that can soften a flowerbed or landscape or add glaring drama. At the beginning of my gardening life I lived on an old farm. Each spring a white flowering frenzy began. It started with a drift of snowdrops along the fence. An old family legend told of a cabin that sat in the front yard and the darling white bed of narcissus was planted by the lady of the cabin. The innocent white blossoms of mock orange became lovely bouquets on the kitchen table. The spirea that grew amongst an oversize forsythia really did look like a bridal veil cascading over yellow. 

White lilacs permeated the air with the sweetest fragrance ...

and the snowball bush became entertainment central for two children. The limbs of the old shrub lopped over creating secret places beneath branches of big white snowballs. Snowball fights ensued and blossoms fell to the ground creating a white cover in spring. Later an antique white rose bloomed in June filling the air just beneath the kitchen window with heavenly fragrance. These whites I enjoyed and treasured.

As far as the garden… no white blooms beyond baby’s breath and tiny blossoms of herbs could be found dancing in my garden. I preferred flamboyant reds, joyful yellows, cool blues, gentle pinks, and powerful purples tripping the light fantastic throughout my garden.

Come sit with me in the arbor while we ponder a waltz.

I decided to make white the theme for January, but truth is I took very few photos of white flowers over the last growing season, but I’m sharing what I have. This is my nod to white flowers and opening my horizons to include more white in the future.

I'd like to tango with a hydrangea, weaving over and under in a sensual dance.   

A group of daisies, along the brick wall, stood nodding in time to music of summer breezes. 

"Speaking of delicious fantasies, let me tell you about the white queen."   ~Diana Baker Mason

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Chalky white Dusty Miller sat among the Lobelia playing second fiddle.

Oh Miss Hollyhock, dressed for the ball, can I lead you onto the dance floor?  

Two throngs of daisies awaited the dancers along side the curving brick path. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Light turned the gold grass white while reaching for a blue November sky in a last dance before snow flies.

Winter Thoughts on Old Books

Winter days and nights call out for dreaming when a fire flickers in the fireplace and a glass of wine warms from the inside out. This the time I reach for two books that I am fortunate to call mine. Old books carry the marks of fingers that turned pages and dust collected over time. Holding the first book close to my face, I breathe in the heavy scent of age. Just inside the cover a handwritten note appears…

Miss Esther Jackson

From the Glendale Branch of the Plant, Fruit and Flower Guild

In a more childish script:

1911

First prize for school Garden

Little Esther knew as a child, that there’s magic in watching plants grow. I have no doubt she found amusement in the diminutive book, Flowers Shown to the Children by Janet Harvey Kelman. Pressed petals, browned and fragile, lie hidden among the pages that describe Great Wild Valerian, Small Bindweed, and Foxglove creating a bridge from that time to this.

Over the years, I’ve kept the book secure with its treasures inside a glass secretary, but every once in a while I must take it out, leaf carefully through frayed and spotted pages, sighing at the soft muted azure of borage. With the turn of each page the memories of my first blue ribbon awarded to me by an aging Esther leap forward and I am touched by this very special gift, a book that she carried with her until her garden ceased to flower.

A thin volume of British Garden Flowers by George M. Taylor, published in 1946 and 1947, sits on my bookshelf. While not as old as Flowers Shown to the Children, the scent of age is catching up to it. The plastic covering, placed over it at the Bryan Library, protected the cover from spills and fingerprints shows signs of wear.

Bits and pieces of history accompany color and black and white illustrations taken from old garden tomes like The Temple of Flora by R. J. Thornton and P. J. Redouté’s Choix de plus belles fleurs. I take a moment to thank my lucky stars that I picked up this book for a dollar or two at the Bryan Library tent sale.

I love the rich antique illustrations that bring floral history to life. The deep red of a peony, the twining stems of a clutch of sweet peas, and the glorious wonder of pink roses captivate me, holding me spellbound in imaginary gardens of the past.

A connection between me and the past forms each time I look through these two old books. I ponder who might have read the book and why. With little Esther’s book the mystery of who is solved, but still the image of a wee girl pouring over the descriptions, the enchanting illustrations and dreaming of gardens to be touches my heart.

Do you have a favorite old gardening book? 

The Winter Photography of a Friend

My friend, MJ, has been photographing the world around her for years. She took photos for her father’s small town newspaper until he sold the paper and retired. She takes photos for family, friends, and fun. Ten years ago we headed for the east coast seeking a new start for me. Along the way she took amazing photos and they remain some of my most cherished photos.  Today, I’m sharing with the world MJ’s view of winter in her Toledo garden.

“Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together.” ~Vesta M. Kelly

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” ~Anne Bradstreet

“The snow doesn’t give a soft white damn who it touches.” ~e.e. cummings

"And when the winter wind comes chasin' after me, I think of you even more."  ~ Ben Richmond

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle—a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nutures our dream.” ~ Barbara Winkler

*All photos were taken by MJ on Thursday, January 7, 2010   

January White

Holiday has once again receded into boxes and bags hidden away until next December. January is upon us with forecasts of snow for the next four days, cold biting temperatures, and earthy monotones softened with white. Yes, I’m going with a theme for this month…white. Simple, elegant, white. I’ll search photo files for white flowers and find inspiration in any snow and ice that comes this way. Nature creates beauty in every season. While grumbling and growling as snow is shoveled from walks and whisked off cars, take a moment to smile at the beauty of snow glistening or fat flakes drifting lazy from gray clouds. While walking the dog on a frosty night, stop to notice the outline of bare branched limbs against the streetlights.

Hop out of bed on a frigid morning and check the windows for feathered icy elegance on the glass...

















Or the lighted trails left behind by an unseen winter sculptor...

    Search for diamonds in the snow, winking with a sparkle under a January sun. 

“When the snow is still blowing against the window-pane in January and February and the wild winds are howling without, what pleasure it is to plan for summer that is to be.”

                                                                              ~Celia Thaxter

Buckeye Pride