Serenity in the Garden

One of my favorite publishing houses, Namaste Publishing ,  is featuring a blog post of mine on their website today!   Please click on their name here and check it out. Namaste is both an interactive website and a grand publishing house. They assist people in their journey in search of personal and global transformation and they have certainly been successful in that regard since they are the publishers of Oprah's fave rave, Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now . When I am not in the garden I am probably reading one of their books because, as I noted in my profile, I am into all things metaphysical... For years I played down that aspect of my character but no more - now I just blend my two passions together... gardening and metaphysics , kind of like 'echinacea enlightenment' or 'rudbeckia ruminations' or 'miscanthus mysteries', and my blog post," The Best Place to Seek God," refers to these twin pursuits. I am honored that they conta...

Flower gardens in late summer in my part of the world can be likened to a slightly overripe peach: they are a little too juicy and softer than you would prefer. They are, as Shakepeare's wrote, "too much of a good thing".... Pink Chaos coleus, Double Impatiens (orchid) and euphorbia Diamond Frost What, then, to do with that overflowing petunia, the overgrown mock orange, that out of control spirea? Bring them back from sweet excess by judicious pruning. 'Judicious' is the operative word here,  but above all, PRUNE AWAY! Clematis, Blue Salvia stalks and Vinca At this time of year, do not be afraid to prune back, shape and rejuvenate. Of course, late pruning of spring flowering shrubs such as lilacs will mean sacrificing some of next year's flowers but if you are like me, the unkempt appearance now far outweighs the flower display 6 months hence. Blue Angelonia, Cambridge Blue Angelonia, New Guinea pink Impatiens, blue star juniper Of course, prunin...

While I was on vacation in Hawaii I wandered into a wonderful art gallery in Honolulu.... Richard worked there and during my visit he shared a poem with me that was inspired by Hawaii. He had just written it in his notebook and he read it out loud ... I would like to share it with all of you. Richard also features it on his new blog, Living in the Breath. Living in the breath, standing in the waters, the Divine presence is all around us. It is like a cool strong breeze flowing around, beside, and through me. When I am balanced within, even the strongest storm cannot move me from where I stand, for I am purified by my thoughts, forgiven by myself, and loved by the Beloved. I stand on the land as if resting in the hand of the Creator, and do nothing to the land I would not do to the Beloved. Here in this moment,  I am like night and day sharing the Heavens. In sharing my space, my breath rises and falls, l ike a deep breathe uttering,   "ALOHA"   Richard Neder...

"... Years ago I heard somebody say that all our political and diplomatic conferences ought to be moved out of smoke-filled rooms and held underneath trees... -  Clyde S. Kilby,    page 159 of “The Lost Myth”,  Arts in Society, Vol. 6, 1969. from justfocus  in New Zealand Imagine if the United Nations met under trees? I imagine their discussions might be a little more fruitful... Trees are a wonderful mediating influence in our lives. If a child misbehaves, instead of sending them into a corner have them go outside and sit at the base of a tree...or better yet - in its limbs! Tell him or her to talk to the tree and listen to its guidance...the children would know exactly what you mean (up until about age 9). No tree out there? ah! now is to the time to plant one. Here are  2 trees where they gathered under to talk: Great Elm of Pennsylvania ( actually , Great Elm Tree of Shackamaxon) In 1682, along the banks of the...

Lions have nothing to do with gardens for sure...but they are a part of Nature's magnificence and so I wanted to share this with you.....my theory is that avid gardeners also love cats...am I right?

Hibiscus The flowers of Hawaii are everywhere and are used in a variety of ways...You cannot be in Hawaii without noticing the flowers. Leis of flowers are worn on the head and around the neck by both men and women.   Flowers rule! So without further ado, here are some luscious flowers I saw along the way.... and my absolute favorite, the fragrant Plumeria or 'melia' in Hawaiian  (I used to wear one in my hair to college classes:   if you are looking wear it over the right ear, if you are married wear it over left ear) There are more than 300 named varieties of Plumeria. The flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The flowers have no nectar and simply dupe their pollinators. Its common name "Frangipani" comes from an Italian noble family, a sixteenth-century marquess of which invented a plumeria-scented perfume.  They are associated with temples in both Hindu and Buddhist cultures, wh...

I have joined the video revolution with this very short tour of my postage stamp garden and just as I began my neighbor chose to open his long ladder.... so here is a brief tour - with sound effects to boot! The photos below show what my garden loooked like before.... Rocks and soil for mounding and bordering along drystream   layout for dry stream that you see in the video