Call Of The Climate II

Posted on September 12, 2023 by shobha

Following up on my thoughts about how we can become better gardeners. As custodians of our precious parcels of earth, how can we best serve the environment as well as ourselves in a responsible, caring, kind manner and still express our creativity and personal style?

There is plenty out there that preaches about dire consequences if we don’t wholeheartedly embrace everything suggested by the extreme activists. It’s all or nothing for them. Personally, I find this aggressive approach unnecessary and somewhat bullying. It fosters guilt and resentment and frankly sucks the joy out of gardening.

On the other hand, the climate change deniers are at the other extreme and their attitude of not caring at all about the clear evidence on the climate crisis is maddening and can generate a feeling of ‘Why bother doing my part if others are not doing anything at all?’. This results in total inaction.

I believe there is a happy compromise. We can have our own unique gardens along with implementing good environmentally correct, eco-friendly, sustainable practices. But first, we gardeners must ask ourselves a few key questions.

The foremost thing is to ask ourselves why we garden at all. One gardens because one enjoys the outdoors, immersed in nature. Where, creating a beautiful, healthy garden to nurture both body and soul is vital. A space that soothes, inspires, informs and invigorates and also serves the greater good. Where artistic visions are expressed and simultaneously, the needs of flora and fauna supported. I garden because I must.

By its very nature, a garden is mans attempt at controlling the immediate environment. That area that we ‘own’ to do as we will. However, this cannot, must not, be at the cost of causing any negative impact. Do No Harm is not an oath restricted to physicians. It applies to every one of us. In the garden, it means we work in a manner that is useful, helpful, mindful and joyful. Creating any garden is hard work but by being thoughtful and caring, the labor is worthwhile, noble. A gardener worth her salt knows and embraces the fact that she does not own the garden at all. She is merely the custodian. This is a high honor and a great responsibility. The Earth is counting on us to do right. After all, a garden is not just about plants and their pretty flowers or tempting fruits. It’s about all the creatures who inhabit the garden and live in the ecosystem. This includes the gardener herself.

And that brings us to how we garden. If you believe that the gardener is a part of the garden itself, then surely the idea of best practice is implied. Nothing one implements can be harmful to the gardener and consequently, to any of the living beings in the garden. The solution then, is to go organic. It’s that simple.

As one who has always gardened organically, I know this method is not easy. Instead of spraying chemical pesticides and/or fertilizers and get instant results, organic applications take more diligence and vigilance. Organic products are to be used with prudence because even they, are broad in their action. If it is used to kill one kind of pest, say a tick, the product will affect a whole bunch of other bugs including the good ones. Organic or plant based does not automatically mean safe. Remember, tobacco is a plant product and grown organically or not it harms and can kill humans who smoke or consume it. In the context of the garden, think Round-Up and you’ll see what I mean. That powerful plant-derived chemical which acts swiftly and very effectively, is pure evil. There is plenty of data that proves my point. So, organic is our answer to the how.

Organic gardening comprises a number of aspects. It’s about the types of plants, the soil and how it is amended, water and how it is sourced and used, the tools we use, the wildlife and how everything is connected.

I will go into all those factors next week. For now, lets ponder over how we’re doing in the How department and what we can do better and what we can stop doing altogether.

Keep in mind, we’re trying to do our best but we’re only human. We make mistakes. So self-flagellation of any sort is not allowed. We’re growing better together.

In my garden right now –

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The Call Of The Climate

Posted on August 29, 2023 by shobha

A great deal of my waking hours are spent thinking about climate change. How could one possibly ignore it when every news cycle mentions climate related crises in practically every corner of the world! An all too short a monsoon in. western India. Too much rain in Pakistan. Unprecedented heat in Europe. A rare but dangerous deluge of rain in southern California. Devastating wildfires in Hawaii and Louisiana. Parts of the United States experiencing unrelenting high temperatures all summer. Storms and hurricanes doing their worst all over the globe. All of these events are happening at the same time and matters are not likely to improve anytime soon.

Needless to say, we are all going to see immediate impacts on our food supply. Grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, poultry and meat. Everything.

In India, because rice crops have been compromised, the export of rice has been suspended so as to have a sufficient supply for domestic consumption. In Europe, we already know the olive harvest will be quite reduced which will mean less production and higher cost of olive oil. In the US, we will see vegetable and fruit supplies affected. Temperature fluctuations directly influence egg production.

Climate change can increase the spread of diseases. Remember how the cost of eggs sky-rocketed earlier this year? The scarcity was due to Avian flu in the chicken population and so egg production came close to a stand still.

If, we, as a global collective don’t act with urgency, the situation will most certainly escalate and become untenable. I’m not trying to be an alarmist but I am calling for attention. And Action. Now.

In my own little garden I see the impact of seasons gone awry. Not as an anomaly of a single year but consistently and erratically. A winter too mild one year followed by a very wet spring. Or, an extremely cold winter but without any snow to speak off and then a warm, dry spring. A too wet summer or a too hot one. Too cold, too hot, not enough rain or too much of it. Nothing is as it used to be.

For the last four or five years. Our fruit trees (apples and pears) have yielded barely any fruit. They bloomed too early for the pollinators to jump into action or not at all (bud drop) when the temperatures soared unexpectedly as though it was already summer. Elsewhere in the garden, depending on the weather the flowers of some plants bloomed early/late. This affects the fauna that are dependent on them. There is the natural sequence of life in the wild (nature) that gets disrupted and the results are damaging and/or unhealthy all around.

With so much unpredictably, its hard to plan in the garden. What, how, why and when we plant are questions we must consider seriously. Whatever we do today has consequences in the near as well as the distant future.

If it all sounds depressing, I understand. It feels too overwhelming and out of our control. However, you and I know – we cannot throw our hands up in despair and give up. Nor can we push through like nothing is happening. There is plenty we can do. While governments try to reach consensus and scientists work on coming up with good solutions and alternatives, each and every one of us must do our part. Conserve, reduce, reuse, recycle, re-purpose, go organic, conserve some more. In every aspect of life.

Since this space is for matters related to gardens and gardening, lets restrict ourselves to just that. I’d like every one of us to carve out some time and then sit down to carefully consider their own gardens and gardening philosophy. What changes have you noticed in your corner? How are you responding to these changes in the short term? How does the long term look?

Over the next two weeks, I’d like us all to seriously think about our role as gardener. Caretakers of a precious piece of Earth. Lets be purposeful, truthful, mindful and thoughtful. Importantly, let’s cogitate from a position of hope and positivity Two weeks from now, I’ll present my own thoughts and plan of action (s). I’d really love to hear from any and all of you. You can either use the Comment space below or email me at seedsofdesign@verizon.net

We;re in this together and together we will overcome.

Images from my garden taken this past week –

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Reckonings In The Garden

Posted on August 22, 2023 by shobha

A double feature this week! I missed posting last week as I was in the throes of helping my daughter move into her apartment from where she will attend graduate school. She will be dearly missed. Living at home since the pandemic, she morphed into a very capable gardener and I’d come to rely on her assistance. Fingers crossed she will miss the garden and visit often enough to help out. It’s only a 3 hour 45 minute drive – surely a monthly trip is possible? I live in hope.

A couple of weeks ago, I placed my bulb order for fall planting. A few weeks later than usual due to all the traveling I was doing. As expected, a few of my choices tulips were sold out. Some other favorites were not being offered. I had to find alternatives and make design adjustments as I was placing my order on the phone.

Note: Being able to speak to an actual person is far better than ordering online or by mail. I could discuss alternatives that were suggested when my selections were not possible.

I found out that due to the horrid heat endured throughout Europe last year, the volumes of bulbs were smaller this year. The heat also put paid to certain longtime favorites.

Given this year’s unusually wet, cool summer will in all possibility impact next year’s bulb production. This is the direct result of changing climate. Similarly, other plants will also be affected. We must ready ourselves to shift how we garden and what we plant.

Just yesterday, I heard that the olive oil production this year will be 20% less than last year when it was already lower than usual. The excessive heat over the summer all across the olive growing regions in Europe has caused the olives to drop before its time. I’m bracing myself for a hike in cost.

So, if you haven’t as yet got around to ordering your bulbs, don’t waste any more time. The tulip selections have been seriously impacted. The alliums, camassia and such were not as affected but its only a matter of time that they too will. This is a gentle warning that global warming is happening and we as citizens of the world as well as our governments and corporations must take action before it gets worse. So much is at stake. We cannot ignore the writing on the wall. A reckoning is underway.

As gardeners we are generally so busy doing thing that we mostly miss out on the wondrous goings on in the garden. We see what is in bloom but don’t pay attention to the details of the flower. Similarly, we don’t notice the beautiful and brilliantly designed seedpods specific to a plant. We miss noting details of shapes, colors, interactions of the many critters with the plants and so much else all through the seasons. We think we notice but we don’t really. Mindfulness takes conscious effort and time.

This was made beautifully apparent when I attended a ‘mindful walk’ at the botanical gardens at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY this past Friday. Sarah and Kevin who work there, took our little group on a slow walk where they pointed to plants and trees and highlighted things we had to stop and look closely to truly understand and appreciate the details. Patterns, designs, textures and how they evolve and change over time. There’s always something you notice that you’d missed before. How flora and fauna work together, how colors complement or camouflage, how pollinators are attracted and guided to do their work… the list is endless! This kind of walking is meditative and so uplifting for body, mind and spirit.

Full disclosure – I do my best to be mindful in my garden but it is hard because I’m often distracted by to-do elements – weeds that need pulling, plants that need staking or trimming, what needs watering, who is attacking and munching on whom. It’s much easier for me to go to a public garden and do a really good mindful walk. Perhaps one day, I will be evolved enough to do the same in my own garden. To simply and purposefully observe is a goal.

I sincerely believe that in being mindful, truly present in the garden and in everything else in life is how we will stay aware of changes in the environment, our homes and in ourselves and act accordingly before matters get out of hand. Everything in Nature is connected and together we can overcome any challenge. Together we will thrive. We must.

Note: Some images from past years to get you motivated to order bulbs for fall planting –

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Natural Instinct

Posted on August 8, 2023 by pgbundil

It’s funny how easily one can forget that one is not in any way in-charge of the garden. We can plan, design, prepare, plant and go about all the factors in creating and maintaining our gardens but really, we are rank amateurs in the grand scheme of horticultural mastery. Nature reigns supreme.

Whilst I’ve been away, despite my absence and consequential neglect, my garden has come through just admirably. It’s true that some matters like watering and having someone to stop by and check on things were addressed but in reality, a garden is pretty much on its own when the gardener is absconding. In our hubris, we imagine all sorts of calamities that could happen. Stuff that we would heroically overcome were they to occur in our presence. The truth is, I could have done very little about the heat wave nor the fierce storms that came through in my absence.

The results of extreme weather are inevitable. Plants in their prime keeling over in the heat, fruits changing their minds about ripening mid-process, low-lying beds in danger of drowning sending beseeching looks for help, roses either wearing cloaks of mildew or looking crispy and dry depending on the cause, are all things that happen. But, none of these things are actually in a gardener’s control. For the most part, we simply deal with the problems as they occur.

Given the undeniable fact that the climate is changing, its virtually impossible to predict what conditions to anticipate and mitigate. So, we try to take a broad in-case-of approach. In case it rains, lets do this, in case its too dry lets do that. We don’t really know!

And that’s what I did too. It’s pretty much what any gardener does. We loftily aim to preserve intact every single plant in the garden but it’s all a big gamble really.

Here’s a sample of what actually happened –

A sudden increase in the neighborhood’s rabbit population led to the demise of the squash plants that I was growing as an experiment – it was to be a groundcover that also supplied the summer menus. Its a groundcover all right. The flowers are serving the rabbits.

Several small pots corralled into a bigger container for easier watering became a buffet for slugs due to the high volume of rainwater that could not drain away fast enough. The slugs were mighty ravenous.

The espalier has seen a growth spurt and looks desperately in need of a good summer trim.

Predictably, the weeds have been most happy. They have thrived and spread.

Squirrels took care of all the ripening apples and pears. That’s right. The rascals left nothing.

And that was about it in damage assessment.

Meanwhile, everything else looks just lovely. All that pre-travel fretting, during-travel worrying and returning-home anxiety was a complete waste.

When, oh when, will I learn.

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From Fire To Flood

Posted on July 18, 2023 by pgbundil

Pick a place on the globe. Any place. It will be facing some sort of unusual weather. That unusual weather is likely to become the new normal. Higher heat, less rain, too much rain – it doesn’t matter, conditions will change and so must our lifestyles.

I just spent a glorious month in Provence, France. This is perhaps one of my most loved places on earth. It is where I feel most at home as though my spirit has always belonged here. I love everything about Provence but most especially the craggy, rugged landscape. Blessed with sunshine almost 300 days of the year, it is dry and beautiful. The pace of life is slow, the wine is light, food delicious and the people are unpretentious. Yet, beneath that display of the good life, there is the threat of fire. Wildfires have always been known to occur but over the years they’ve become more frequent and wider spread. So too have heat waves. Just as we’re seeing in North America.

Most homes in this region do not have air-conditioning. There hasn’t really been much need of it – the well built stone houses keep the interiors comfortably cool. Ceiling fans or freestanding ones have been sufficient. Not any more.

To keep energy consumption within capacity, when one runs the laundry or dish-washing machines matters. We are encouraged to use the machines late afternoon or very early in the morning. Wood for outdoor grilling is a no-no. Gas grills are encouraged.

Gardening as we know it is a super luxury. To grow vegetables for food is understandable but for beauty and fun? That’s a privilege only a few can afford. Water is precious. Unless one is blessed with ones own natural water source, the cost can be prohibitive. Of course, it stands to reason that making a garden with the region’s hardy natives is best. Lavender, rosemary, olives, succulents, Spanish broom, chicory and others do very well and if I were to make a garden here, those are the plants I’d use. It might be a cliché but I believe if one thinks outside the design box, there are numerous ways to design gardens with easily found, native plants. Anywhere in the world. This is reality.

And then, we come to the Mumbai monsoon season – I’m here for a couple of weeks. Not the most ideal time to visit but since I visit my father a couple of times a year, my schedule demands that I must face the rains annually. It’s warm and muggy. Almost swampy. The fierce torrents can routinely cause floods and damage to vegetation, roads and structures. The high humidity leaves a film of moisture on everything. Air conditioning is a luxury for most folk. So the humidity with all the implications and consequences is simply accepted.

But the monsoons are critical for farmers. The timing and amount of rain is extremely important. Too early or too late, too much or too little will all mean failed crops. Which would result in a global food shortage. Nothing works in isolation.

Climate change is not a local problem and cannot be solved region by region. One country cannot ‘solve’ it by itself. It demands the world coming together. Cooperation, compassion and commitment from every single country is imperative. Each citizen of the world must also do their part. We are in this together and together, we can do something positive to save the earth and save ourselves.

The frequency and ferocity of fires and floods are warning signals we can no longer ignore.

Note: Just so it we don’t feel depressed about it all, here are images of sunflowers in Provence to remind us of what we’re trying to save. And then, lets get cracking on fighting the good fight.

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Growing Minds

Posted on July 11, 2023 by shobha

No matter where we find ourselves, gardeners are always gardeners. We notice plants that are minding their own business by the side of a street, rush to examine what’s pushing its way through walls of ancient ruins, insist on stopping the car on busy roads to see exactly what flowers are blooming in the wild, quiz farmers and produce vendors at the local market about the hows and whats of growing fruits and vegetables, cajole chefs to share recipes of unusual, out of the box presentations of vegetables ( a mille-feuille or Napoleon using thin layers of crisp eggplant instead of pastry anyone?), going out of the way to visit both famous as well as secret gardens. I’m guilty of all of the aforementioned traits – curiosity of the natural world sustains me endlessly. I know I’m not alone.

That said, here are some things I’ve noticed/learned/enjoyed on this current visit to Provence. Which is by the way, a place very close to my heart. I’ve been coming here for over 25 years and I’m still always experiencing new stuff. This region never ceases to inspire.

Provence is famous for its lavender. All those beautiful pictures of swathes of lavender are true. It really is stunning to see the fields and fields of this herb in bloom. I’ve known that the type that grows in lower altitude is widely used in household products (soaps, detergents and such) and the higher altitude lavender is the fine variety that is used in the perfume industry. The former is pollinated by insects like the honey bee while the latter is wind pollinated. There is also a hybrid type. Even small changes in altitude will influence the quality of any of the varieties.

Last week, I learned that despite France being the luxury perfume capital of the world, lavender is the only product that is truly French. Other flowers and industry components were and still are from former French colonies. Iris from Egypt for example. The region of Grasse, where the top perfume houses have their headquarters was simply selected because of its location – a port easily accessed from other parts of the world serving the perfume industry. One might see an occasional field of roses or some other flower in Grasse but that is hardly what is supplying the industry. Lavender however is a pure homegrown product and yet, its mostly treated like the stepchild of the business. Go figure.

This years olive harvest is being watched closely. Olives are wind pollinated. So when the small white flowers bloom, they depend quite literally on how the wind blows. This year, Provence received an usual amount of ill-timed rains which caused many olive trees to drop a good amount of the flowers. Consequently, it is expected that the harvest will be lower than usual. Quel domage.

I noticed for the first time how well jasmine grows in this region. While I’d been here before in lavender season which extends over a few weeks, I’d not had the pleasure until now to see and inhale the jasmines in bloom. Many home gardens have these plants scrambling up sides of the stones walls to make rather fetching images. Old walls of local stone softened by bright green vines tracing their way around makes for easy design solutions.

On a walk along a nondescript road in the middle of an old village, I noticed a tree bearing fruit amidst a random group of overgrown weeds and shrubs. It was not immediately clear what sort of fruiting tree I was looking at. Starting out yellow and then turning a pink-orange, these almost heart shaped fruits were larger than cherries but much smaller than plums. I picked a ripe fruit, a dried up drupe and a set of leaves and brought them back to the house. The PlantSnap app was no help at all. I still don’t exactly know what it is but on cutting the fruit, the pit looks to me that it is a type of plum. My research continues. Maybe like crab apples, this is a ‘crab plum’.

I’ve also been enjoying interesting creations where vegetables are being used in desserts. Chocolate and cream of artichoke hearts gateaux, popsicles of sugar snap and vanilla bean ice cream covered in a coating of white chocolate blended with peas. And lets not forget that mille-feuille of eggplant instead of pastry. I’ve had sweet horseradish sorbet accompanying a main course. A beet infused potato sliced so fine that it is transparent and somehow made crisp and flecked with blue petals of chicory accompanying an amuse-bouche. Every single one of these and other such dishes was truly delicious. And visually beautiful to boot. I’m now inspired to try my hand at coming up with my own unusual creations. If I succeed in ‘inventing’ even one dish, I’ll be rather chuffed!

And so it goes, the world is a great big classroom and a gardener is its eternal student.

Note: No apologies for the many lavender images! I simply cannot get enough!

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Jiving With July

Posted on July 4, 2023 by pgbundil

Ah July! It’s truly summer and the living is easy. Or, we wish it to be. Fourth of July festivities to kick off the month puts everyone in the mood to enjoy the season doesn’t it? Picnics, pool parties, concerts in the park, vacation travels, hosting house guests, entertaining friends in the garden, hanging out in hammocks, beach days, ice cream socials … the list of summer pleasures just goes on. I want to squeeze the season hard so as not to miss a single drop of all its enchantment.

But, in the midst of all the frolicking, garden chores await. In my case, as I’m still away, the tasks are piling up but I’m not going to dwell on them and get into a panic as to the state of my garden when I return. What will be, will be. For now, I’m making the most of my vacation. A relaxed and rested me will tackle the neglected garden in due course. Driven by guilt is one way to get things done but it never brings out the best in me. By the time I get home, I will be eager and ready to lavish the garden with much TLC. I do believe the garden will understand and appreciate that.

Here’s the July To-Do list –

1. Weed, weed, weed! Remember, pouring boiling water over bricks and other stonework will kill stubborn weeds growing in-between.

2. Deadhead often. Neatness matters.

3. Mulch, fertilize, water.

4. Mow regularly but keep the mower blade high.

5. Watch out for pests and/or disease. Use organic control.

6. Plant out vegetable seedlings for fall harvest.

7. Keep birdbaths filled with fresh, clean water.

8. Order fall bulbs

9. Take time to watch dragonflies by day and fireflies by night.

Happy Fourth!

Here are some things in Provence, France that are inspiring me –

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Travel Takes

Posted on June 27, 2023 by shobha

The best sort of travel is when one can take a proper break from routine to explore and soak in the surroundings, refresh the mind and fill the heart with a sense of awe and gratitude. That’s exactly what I’m doing here in Provence. I come here because its my happy place. All my senses are engaged and the joy I feel every time is pure bliss.

It is lavender season at the moment so this is when Provence shines at her brightest and looks her very best. Although, I’m told that the poppies gave strong competition till a few weeks ago. It has apparently been a particularly good year for them. They are well on their way out but what glimpses I’ve had of them, I can well imagine the stunning scenes I’ve just missed. Perhaps another year I’ll come in time for les coquelicot.

To see fields and fields of purple rows of lavender is nothing short of breathtaking. Up close, the thrum of bees purposefully making their rounds of the flowers is almost deafening. The butterflies add further color and movement while the birds compete in song. It is simply marvelous.

Lavender aside, there are other wildflowers in bloom. Geraniums, Spanish broom, chicory, scabiosa, verbascum, poppies, oxeye daisies and several others, some of which that I’m yet to identify are running riot in the meadows, hill sides, along the roads and even amongst some of the lavender. And since they’ve had more rain than usual, there is a green lushness I haven’t seen before. I’m smitten.

I’m able to see how these plants grow naturally, the sort of conditions they like best, the surprising color combinations we don’t typically try in our gardens ( sulfur yellow and pale pink?) – so much inspiration. Simple, common flowers doing a bang up job in beautifying the countryside.

The gardens in my temporary home are also looking lovely. The jasmine is in bloom and sends out a heady fragrance in the afternoon after the sun has warmed the air sufficiently. The small lavender ‘field’ is getting ready to burst into bloom – soon. I’ll have my very own purple haze to enjoy. It should look quite stunning against the soft, gray-green of the olive grove alongside.

And so it goes. Travel opens the mind – to take in new pleasures and often, learn from the old.

Here are some images from my wanderings in Provence –

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Out Of Sight But Not Out Of Minds

Posted on June 20, 2023 by mira vanchiswar

Is it just me or do other gardeners feel this way – going away for anything longer than a week is not easy. First, there’s the long list of chores that must be completed in preparing the garden to survive without its caregiver. Weeding, trimming, feeding, fussing, setting up some manner of watering system, a final mowing, imagining all manner of calamities that might occur and setting up measures to mitigate every single one of them. This last one includes drought, storm, high wind, hail, snow (in summer!), heat wave, deluge, locusts, apocalypse – anything could happen in ones absence. I really believe the gardener is certain of one thing – that she can undoubtedly prevent disaster if she’s present.

And so, before getting away last week, frenzied activity ensued in the garden. Extra diligent weeding, cutting back summer perennials so they would not only look neat but grow bushy and flower in abundance, deadheading, staking, feeding generously so the plants would not starve, setting up an elaborate watering system for anything in a pot. This set up waters at regular intervals, senses when it has or is raining and therefore will not turn itself on. Quite ingenious really. I’d like something similar that will not turn on my hunger pangs when my last meal was a mere two hours ago.

I’ve arranged for my nephew to come by regularly to check that everything is in order and there’s no system failure. Most importantly, he knows to clean and refill the hummingbird feeders – I’ve made a copious amount of the sugar water and stored it in the refrigerator. And the tiny lawn will be given a cursory mowing periodically just so it looks tended to. The plants in the ground must fend for themselves – they should be fine. They are a hardy, mostly native bunch. Short of really extreme weather, they will come through without my oversight quite happily. And yet, I’m always loathe to say goodbye.

I worry. I can’t help it.

There’s also the sadness of missing out on all the beautiful riot of flowers that will go unseen, unappreciated. I’ve asked aforementioned nephew to take a million photographs. Daily. It’s been a week and not a single image has been received. I’m clinging to the idea that no news is good news.

Herewith are photos I took just before I left last week:

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Ensemble!

Posted on June 13, 2023 by pgbundil

A garden is a performance art – the success of which is incumbent on the ensemble that makes it all happen. A cast of plants, gardener (s), soil, sunshine, clouds, rain, temperature, birds, bees, butterflies, worms and a host of other critters come together to create a garden. Each part is crucial and if even one member falters, the entire production is compromised. And, in the actual viewing or surveying of a garden at its best, no single character must stand out or dominate. Each complements the whole.

When a visitors experience a garden, they must feel inspired, comforted, and/or enthralled such that while different aspects or elements may strike a chord, provoke an emotion, recall a memory or, enlighten the mind, its the whole encounter that resonates.

This is true of almost every good experience. Often, when we say it was lovely or powerful, credit is given to something obvious. A flamboyant plant or a gregarious person but, we don’t think about the subtle elements that go into making it sublime overall.

This past week, a special event brought this truth to mind. It was the annual gala at Lyndhurst Mansion at Tarrytown, NY. Lyndhurst is described as a “majestic estate on the Hudson River with architectural tours, historical exhibits and, a relaxing landscape to explore”. Indeed, the grounds looked quite bucolic and their famous rose garden was enchantingly and abundantly in flower.

After three days of being blanketed in smoke from the Canadian wildfires, the air cleared, the sky was visible, the evening sun shone and the temperature remained very pleasant. All of which had the well attired guests in a most agreeable mood. We mingled and struck up conversations with new faces and some familiar ones, sipped wine and nibbled on an array of small bites which appeared in most timely fashion. One could not help but be in a good frame of mind.

‘Unlocking Lyndhurst’, the new exhibit was on preview for the guests. Learning the stories about the pieces beyond their aesthetic or historic significance was enlightening. It is a small but quite fascinating show.

And then, it was time for dinner. We found ourselves at a table of strangers who quickly became friends. Sharing much conversation and laughter, we enjoyed the meal, the live music and, the fund raising auction with a most entertaining auctioneer. All in all a wonderful evening.

But, that wasn’t all of it. It was how the space under a capacious tent felt- inviting and intimate but not crowded, the attentive wait staff and, the floral arrangements all around. Each table had a unique display that was simple ( a group of glass bowls each holding ferns or other greenery), creatively quirky ( branches of cherry tomatoes), elegant ( clematis vines gracefully climbing a support), charmingly wild (a mass of sweet peas and tiny bells of clematis), exotic (orchids) or sumptuous (lavishly filled urns near the stage). The floral works of art were the silent cast members of the ensemble that made the evening such a success. None shrieked ‘look at me’ or competed with another. Each arrangement held its own and together they contributed quiet beauty to the whole event. Kudos to floral designer and entrepreneur Sylvia of Cape Lily Flowers in Tarrytown, NY

Working harmoniously together is what its all about.

Note: If you live in the area, I encourage you to visit Lyndhurst Mansion. Better yet become a member and you’ll be privy to all sorts of events and exhibits. And the 67 acres of grounds with a fantastic view of the Hudson River will be available for your indulge all year round.

A few images from “unlocking Lyndhurst”: