A Change

Five years ago when I started this blog, it was the perfect vehicle for the outward expression of what was developing in my inner life. My passionate belief that it is essential for us, as humans, to truly experience our world and what it communicates to us underlies my writing and art. Having just gone through a move to a new city and deep in the work of homeschooling I found my creative outlet here and through my articles for Newnan Coweta Magazine.

Life moves on. Once again, we are in a new place...physically and emotionally. We have completed our homeschooling years and are the stewards of a new home. I am ready to explore my art as a deeper expression of who I am. I have taken these words to heart: "My life and my art are going to tell a story whether I try to or not...a Christian is a living explanation. Be who and what you are." (It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God, Charlie Peacock)

So...for the time being I am leaving The Thoughtful Gardener but will continue writing, taking photos, painting and other good things at http://mydrawl.blogspot.com/  Please join me there.

love

Welcome Christmas

Garden Open

A large part of the story is our move into a new, older home  with well established boxwood, azalea, camellia, and rose gardens....

And, of course, the weeds, rampant vines, out-of-control bamboo, and copperheads.

Hello

For the few...who happen to read...

it has been a year--a very long year.

I am happy to say

I'm back.

I am eagerly anticipating 

the unfolding of the story, the narrative, the adventure...

because it is always a story.

You knew that, didn't you?

Blooming in the Shop

New botanicals and cards in my Etsy shop!

Also in bloom...

Schlumbergera (Christmas cactus).

In bloom

Camellia sasanqua.

Vintage Christmas

My mother and "Miss Ann", South Georgia, circa 1960 (? ).

What I love---

the white tabletop tree (I think my sister has that table!), 

cropped pants, shiny, shiny wrapping paper, white socks and penny loafers.

An old-fashioned, sixties Christmas.

Sneak...preview!

I have just met my latest deadline for Newnan Coweta Magazine with an article about the language of flowers. And so...I was inspired to create my own tussie-mussie (ugh! Hate that name, but I haven't been able to come up with another.) It is a small, tight nosegay of flowers, leaves, and herbs with each plant conveying a specific meaning. This one is for my sweet sister-in-law to celebrate her engagement. The amazing thing about this little gem is I was able to find all the components blooming in my yard (in December!!), except for the sweetheart roses. BUT to find out the meaning of each plant you will have to check out the January/February issue of the magazine.

Remembering

So, so thankful this past week for...

cousins, sisters, a long room for a long table, 

engagements, camellias in prolific bloom,

 forgiveness, football, brother-in-laws,

 help with cooking, 

woodsmoke, 

sons,

a father-in-law who carves, a mother-in-law who says "yes",

 ironed linens, 

Aunt Merry who brings wine and "stirs" the gravy,

 knex, nieces and nephews galore, 

a house that flows,

making up with my husband.

Blossoming...

in your neighborhood---

if you are fortunate enough to live in the South.

Confederate rose (Hibiscus mutabilis).

In Bloom

 

Another fall gold...

drooping fairy-like blooms

over my neighbor's fence.

Brugmansia (Angel Trumpet)

In Bloom...

at the backdoor
and drifting in the windows:
Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans)

6:43 Wednesday Evenings

I pass this captivating display of Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) on my way to the studio for art classes each week...always wondering what it might be like to sleep and eat with an emerald bower twining around me. Next door, these glorious zinnias finally forced me to pull over, take some photographs, and chat with the gracious lady who planted a little spot of joy for all who pass.

Garden Run Amuck

No time for weeding, watering, or fresh plantings.

No time for dark, rich compost

or even a cursory spray of fertilizer.

No time for dead-heading, pinching back, and pruning.  

 But there it is anyway.

A garden bursting with life and loveliness.

Surprise feathery, crimson vines running rampant,

50th anniversary black-eyed Susans proliferating,

fall asters remembering to bloom,

and the lavender...floating like a balm upon the fall air.

Help me to see the extravagant beauty

in the untended garden of my life.

Lift the veil and turn my mind from

 “inconvenient interruption”

 to

 opportunity, blessing, and grace.

Dandelion...

(Taraxacum officinale)

The dandelions and buttercups

Gild all the lawn; the drowsy bee

Stumbles among the clovertops,

and summer sweetens

all to me.

J.R. Lowell, 1869

Morning Light

My neighbor's mailbox...

it's at its best when the sun first tips over the pines

 ignighting the peeling paint and shadows.

The light hangs there for almost 6 minutes.

Then moves on to illuminate the rest of the world.

Also in bloom...

Magnolia grandiflora

In Bloom

Boys and girls into...

young men and women.

(Social, Inc. Spring Formal 2011)

Friday evening on Rae's Creek...

...the best reservations in town.

Happy Weekend!

Spring

Awake!

 For Morning in the Bowl of Night

Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to flight,

And Lo!

 the Hunter of the East has caught

The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light.

Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring

The Winter Garment of Repentance fling;

The Bird of Time has but a little way

To fly --- and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing.

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

In Bloom

Augusta National.

A Few Excuses and a Tiny Preview

Unbelievably (!), when life becomes full, blogging is usually the first thing to go. Imagine things like meals, school, deadlines, dirty clothes, and research papers taking precedence! But I miss the consistent reflection of the living of  life. I love the way images can evoke the memory of the moment lived--like a quick snatch of a song caught in a breeze.

 A few melodies from the past month... 



An article for Newnan Coweta Magazine on the charming foxglove (Digitalis purpurea).



Another article for the garden issue on a friend, and fellow artist, whose home and garden so beautifully illustrate the melding and outworking of the strengths of marriage between a man and a woman.



A trip with my Second Born and Nephew
 to the Georgia Aquarium
 followed by an afternnoon of legislation at the Capitol.



A weekend in Macon with the winning Science Olympiad Team.



What do you do to celebrate 95 years?
A lovely lunch planned with 20+ dear friends. I was in charge of the centerpieces.



And always in the midst of everything...teaching and learning...at home and with my 9th grade class.



The luncheon...





A gift of a Cherokee Rose to mark her 95 years. Isn't she amazing?

Finally... the other thing that has been keeping me busy---
preparing for my upcoming exhibit at Sacred Heart Cultural Center.
This is my "gallery" in my home.
 In the center is a landscape with my Second Born, Neice, and Nephew
on one of their many walks down the beach at Cape San Blas
. It is flanked by the botanicals that will go into the show.
Whew!