Weeding

My friend Jean told me that she had some flowers for my garden. Jean and I work together decorating our church. She was thinning out her perennials and wanted to give some to me. She came over at about 11:30 am on Saturday and we talked about where to put the flowers. We started weeding my flowerbed. She stayed all day! Weeding!
We shared a pizza and she told me stories about her childhood. Most of her stories were about the flowers that her father grew. I added a couple stories of my own. As a child I lived in Brooklyn, NY and there weren't that many flowers around. We did have snowball bushes in the back yard. Jean left at 6:30 and we had weeded most of the garden. I bought a couple of plants today to add to my newly rejunivated garden. I'm looking forward to sitting out on my deck and having a glass of iced tea and I'll definitely invite Jean to visit with me. Thanks, Jean!





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Watering Can Study

I did a quick study for my next painting. I used a multicolor "confetti" pencil.

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Fountains

One of the assignments for my garden class was to paint a water feature. I went back to Shakespeare's Garden to take some pictures. There was this big, kind of industrial looking fountain right next to the door to the shop. Even though there were many beautiful, ornate fountains, this one captured my attention. It is big and plain, with a beautiful patina. I chose to paint it for my class. I've also decided to get a fountain for my Zen garden and maybe to do some planting. I am definitely looking forward to the summer.




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The Garden Room

My book by Timothy Mawson came today.  It transported me to another place - back in time. There's pictures of his bookstore in it and it is so familiar to me. I remember talking to him about his books. They were mostly old English gardening books. His shop was also filled with beautiful garden ornaments and paintings. The window boxes were overflowing with petunias and lavender. The rushing water of the river in back of the shop was cool and calming in the heat of the summer. In his book, he talks about Sissinghurst, a poem written by Vita Sackville West that was published by the Hogarth Press. This takes me back to the era of the Bloomsbury Group. For me, it is all connected, there is a thread. The book is also filled with little watercolor illustrations. I've decided that I need a garden room. My family room is the perfect place. It has a sliding door to the back yard and has windows all around. It is the gathering space, the heart of my home. I am inspired by the memory of Timothy Mawson and all this has happened because of the window box assignment for my watercolor class! Isn't life grand?