Gardening in the Sky

 

 The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry,
of painting and music, of religion and architecture,
all make the point as clear as possible:
The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden.

~ Thomas Moore

The Joy of Small Space Gardening

Don’t let a small space, even one in the sky, deter you from gardening. Small spaces can yield a ton of beauty and enjoyment. The pleasure I extract from my small  container garden on my balcony—watering it, dead-heading the blossoms and fussing over every single pot—is enormous. I love every plant in every container, big and small.

The Marriage of Beauty and Utility

 

“Beauty is more than skin deep. Beauty is powerful. Utility is beautiful and beauty has utility. Let’s call it “Beautility” for short.”

~ Tucker Viemeister

 

Beautility: My New Copper Watering Can

I love it when designers successfully marry beauty and utility. My new Haws copper watering can, handmade in England, is an excellent example of something beautifully crafted, beautifully designed for its purpose and a pleasure to use. I’m so enamoured of it, I can’t stop photographing it!

Strawberry Moon

 

“One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste.”

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

A Time to Gather Strawberries

Strawberry Moon is the name the Algonquin North American Native tribes so aptly gave to June’s full moon because they knew it as the time to gather ripening strawberries. Although neither the wild mountain strawberries nor the plump green berries growing in my strawberry pot have yet ripened, our locally grown field-ripened strawberries are starting to flood the farmers markets. Each year, with my very first bite of that first red strawberry of the season, I am instantly transported back in space and time to a visit to my grandmother’s house as a little girl.

A Butterfly Stops by for Tea

 “Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly,
“one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.”

~Hans Christian Anderson

Bumping into a Good Friend

Several summers ago, as I stepped out onto my balcony garden, I literally bumped into my good friend, the Clouded Sulphur Butterfly. It was a beautiful, hot summer’s day and the vertical blinds of our sliding glass doors leading out to the balcony garden were closed to keep out the heat of the late summer sun. I was working in the kitchen when I heard some commotion on the street below. Curious as to the cause of the sound, I decided to step out onto the balcony to have a look-see. But, rather than open the vertical blinds so I could step out unimpeded, I lazily threaded one arm between two of the vertical panels, parted them, and gingerly placed one foot out onto the balcony. Half out, with one foot and one arm through to the other side and my other arm and leg still inside, laced between the vertical panels of the blinds, I bumped smack into a little Clouded Sulphur Butterfly.

Every Rough Patch Contains a Seed of Benefit

 

The Core of the Matter; by madlyinlovewithlife

Looking for Seeds of Benefit

A long time ago, I came across this quote:

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it
the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

~ Napoleon Hill

The words resonated with me so much that I transcribed them into my quote journal. Some years later, when I was going through a really rough patch, I remembered that quote, dug it out of my journal and copied it onto a small piece of paper which I carried around in my pocket. For weeks, I repeated it to myself often—because, for me, just saying those words brought me inner relief.