I wrote that verse early in the month. At this point, April has carried its joke all the way through. From an 80 degree day last week, snow showers on Easter Sunday and a Nor’easter last night, it’s been a riot. Not. However, there is greening up happening and the daffodils along with other flowers are giggling. Or they just shivering?!!
I’m getting on with the tasks – I have less than 4 weeks to get ready for Open Day! Lots to do but hopefully, the garden will be ready for its close up come May 14.
Hope you’re coming! Remember – registration is required.
A poem I wrote a few years ago to sum up February.
I’m heading back home today after a couple of weeks in Mumbai, India. So eager to check on the garden and get the cooling hyacinths started in the forcing vases.
Note – The images below are ones I took the same February I wrote the poem:
I’m taking it slow this month. Just the essential chores. Nothing else. After a summer that was less than stellar, I’ve decided to give myself September to be in the garden simply to enjoy everything. I want to listen to the birds and distinguish their songs, let the hum of the bees lull me into a pleasant nap, follow the butterflies as they flit from flower to flower. I’m going to use this time to examine the flowers closely as though I’ve never done it before. Observe the daily changes in the ripening seedpods and be present when they burst open to release the next generation primed for continuity. As the light grows soft and low, I will soak in as much the sunshine as the hours allow. During the day, I will paint and read and stare in the garden and, when darkness descends, I’ll remain to dance with the last of the fireflies. This is my idea of self-care. Self-Care September.
The month looks pretty much all about snow. With over two feet of it already on the ground, there’s not much to do garden-wise. I’m going to use this down time to paint, write and catch up on reading and paperwork. The garden is never far from my thoughts however.
In the spirit of the season, I’m sharing some of my poems and art. I hope it’ll give you reason to pause, breathe and live in the moment, in the season.
February
The shortest month grows the longest
list of plants yet to be planted
The perfect garden patiently awaits.
Snowfall
Angel feather snow floats softly
Settles on earth deep in slumber
Squirrel decides to sleep in.
Under The Pile Of Snow
Under the pile of quilted snow the snowdrops are stirring Restless green ready to meet the golden light of a newly hatched world.
February Fervor
Golden sunsets
part leaden skies
Frost and fire
earth shifts and sighs..
Wild, untamed
landscapes wait
Restless slumber
at Spring’s gate.
Crystal snow
melts in drips
Plumping roots
greening tips.
Flowing sap
send hearts aflutter
Weather and emotions
soar and splutter.
Note: The Great Backyard Bird Count is this weekend! Don’t miss out! Get participation details.
The final week of January. Things feel lighter and brighter. The sun is setting past 5:00pm – this singular fact is mood improving is it not? It might still be very cold with little to get excited about in the garden but the anticipation of the sap rising imminently buoys me up.
I’m currently reading and tremendously enjoying Page Dickey’s book ‘Uprooted’. It reads like a beautiful prose poem on starting anew. I’ve been noting down several plant varieties she mentions and I’m beginning to think I’m going to need more acreage to accommodate them all!
Some years ago, Page gave me a ‘Leda’ rose and an Abeliophyllum ( white forsythia). The latter blooms very early in spring and the rose pinks up the summer. These reminders of a valued mentor keep me in state of gratitude, contentment and humility. Despite how it appears, one doesn’t truly garden alone. There are always the teachers, the helpers, the cheerleaders keeping us company.
I encourage you to pick up a copy of Uprooted. It’ll inspire, instruct and inform in a most gentle, supportive manner.
On my sojourns outdoors, there’s great fun in listening to the birds as they go about their business seemingly unbothered by the cold. This coming weekend, I hope to put up the new bluebird house somewhere in the front garden that suits the potential residents as well as the landlord – I’d like to watch their antics and be entertained whenever I’m in this part of the property. The birdhouse in the meadow in the back has proven its purpose rather successfully. The house is being set up early so as to be ready and available as soon as avian house hunting season commences.
Similarly, the hummingbird feeder in the herb garden is a huge source of joy. Over the holidays, I received by mail a hand-blown glass feeder. It is a beautiful work of art. Oddly, there was no note with this package and I’m still trying to find out who the thoughtful sender might be. I’m appreciating the happy dilemma of finding the most appropriate site for it.
And so January is coming to a close. We’re half way to Spring!
January things:
Enjoying the sunset from indoors as its too cold outside!
Amaryllis
First snow of the new year
Get this book!
January recollections:
Goldfinch on coneflower
Hummingbird hovering just above the agapanthus on left
I don’t care what anybody says, summer is still three weeks from
being over. There’s plenty of time to sip and savor. Sunsets to
watch, fruits and vegetables to pick and eat fresh, siestas to take
in the hammock, barefoot morning strolls around the dew-drenched
garden, al fresco meals to be had … summer is a state of mind.
Having recently returned from a trip overseas, I did go through a
bout of whipping the garden into some order. Nothing drastic. Just to
have it look sufficiently fetching and looked after. Apart from the
ongoing tasks of weeding and watering, this is the window to loll
about before the fall frenzy begins.
While others are in the back-to-school mode and getting their own
schedules and agendas in order, I take this opportunity to extend my
summer bliss. There are still books to be read and friends to catch
up with.
Certainly, the signs of fall are there. The sun sets earlier, leaves
are slowly turning, apples are beginning to blush and there is that
barest hint of cooler days approaching. All of that notwithstanding,
I see the turtleheads coming into full bloom, the Joe Pyes are abuzz
and aflutter with pollinators, the phlox is saturating the garden in
perfume, the cardinal flowers are beacons for hummingbirds and there
are yet tomatoes ripening on the vine for summer salads and
sandwiches.
For now, I leave you with my stubborn hold on summer –
It’s the lazy days of summer. I hope you’re making the most of
the season. They will become the memories that’ll get you through
the dark, cold days of winter. Ignore the to-do list and savor the
pleasures of summer.
Summer Nights
Wrapped in the
thick air
heavy with heat
laden with moist
Watching
fireflies
mimic the stars
against black
velvet
Serenaded boldly
by tree frogs
and crickets
Fanned from on
high
wings of bats
on purposeful
sorties
While night moths
answer service
calls
of moonflowers
and gardenias
Spicy notes of
phlox
rise with the
night
perfumed with
clove,
oil of bergamot
essence of rose
Lulled into
well being
content to remain
Greet the dew
of a new day.
–
Shobha Vanchiswar
Summer Dive
Sunlight spills
brilliant
diamonds
blinding ripples
shimmering winks
sliced apart
by summer’s first dive.
-Shobha Vanchiswar
Summer Joy
Summer
spreads wide
a
picnic blanket
of
meadow flowers and green, green grass
For
legs to brush against
bodies
to lie back
To
gaze upon
lofty
images of dogs and bears and hunting giants
From
dazzling day to evening glitter
Dew
gathers to mist
sun-warmed faces and naked toes
Summer
seems
like
an endless ride
filled
with ice-cream cones and fireflies
Of
water fights and watermelon wedges
children’s
laughter intoxicated
on
improbable tales
An
ephemeral age, an ephemeral time
summer passes overnight.
– Shobha Vanchiswar
Note:The Small Works exhibit is on through August. Do make time to see it!
I’ve just returned from a trip to India. A family reunion took me there and it was wonderful. Naturally, I also made sure to visit the children at Mukta Jivan Orphanage ( I shall be posting abut that on the Lucky Ones page soon). Overall, this was a time of connecting and reaffirming love and support. I am so grateful for it all.
However, ( you knew a ‘but’ was coming right?) there was something else that kept us company the whole time. The air quality in Mumbai was just awful. The haze that hung over the city could not be ignored as breathing in these conditions was hampered. It surprised me that people seemed unconcerned and even a marathon was held. When I said something about it, one person responded – “ One gets used to it and eventually, our lungs get stronger”! Yikes!
Meanwhile, we spent our time coping with runny noses, severe hacking, dry coughs and wearing masks when we went out. The air-purifier we used inside showed red ( poor air quality) all the time; At best it changed to purple briefly.
It
cannot be emphasized enough that this is a serious problem and only
getting worse. Globally.
I’m
happy to be home and breathing significantly cleaner air. At the same
time I ask, will
this always be so? Not
if we don’t do everything we can to make it so. Globally.
This is not a geographical or partisan or socioeconomic crisis. Every single one of us is responsible and affected.
I
know I don’t need to elaborate further – you know to take action.
Do something!
Every
effort makes a difference.
I’m not going to post any photos. Instead, I’m sharing two “Climate Change” poems I wrote in 2016 and 2011 respectively
Getting
Dressed Down
Sans fur or feather We dress and groom In borrowed leather simulated plumes
Note: I’m thrilled to have a painting in the juried art show “Winter In America” .The exhibit runs January 3-February 2, 2019. If you’re in the area, I hope you will visit it.
Wishing each of you a Thanksgiving abundant in love, laughter and simple, honest pleasures.
Note: infuse a little art into your Thanksgiving weekend and make time to see “Points Of View”and “Inside small”. Hint – Works of art make beautiful, unique gifts.
‘Art Has The Potential To Unify. It Can Speak In Many Different Languages Without A Translator’ – Barbara Jordan, former Texas Congressperson.
Speaking of gifts – please see the ‘Printed Garden’ merchandise. 100% of the profits goes to support the children with HIV/AIDS at the Mukta Jivan orphanage in India. I’m very proud of the ‘Printed Garden’ products and totally in awe of those children.
