Some Thoughts on Simplicity

It seems this last year or so I am gradually but surely simplifying my life.  My belongings are being evaluated for functionality and usefulness and I am saying no to more things that drain precious time and energy.  I think that my knee surgery was instrumental in slowing down my life and showing me the value of living a less hectic existence and finding myself at home in stillness and quiet.

 I hope you enjoy the following photos and quotes on simplicity.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."

~ Leonardo da Vinci

"Voluntary simplicity means . . .
 going fewer places in one day rather than more, 
seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, 
acquiring less so I can have more."

~John Kabat-Zinn

  

"Nature is what we know, yet have not art to say

so impotent our wisdom is to her simplicity."

~ Emily Dickinson

"To find the universal elements enough;

to find the air and the water exhilarating;

to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter. . . 

to be thrilled by the stars at night;
to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring . . .
these are some of the rewards of the simple life."
~ John Burroughs

Linking with . . . .

Lady Lavender - Flower Art Friday

I am a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to loving lavender but I have to say I am smitten with it's beauty and appreciate it's versatility in the garden, the kitchen and the medicine chest.  It's fragrance is easily recognized, being a common ingredient in soaps, lotions, perfumes, sachets and potpourris.

"Here's your sweet lavender, sixteen sprigs a penny

That you'll find, my ladies, will smell as sweet as any."

~Lavender seller's cry, London, England circa 1900

"Best among the good plants for hot, sandy soils

are the ever blessed lavender and rosemary,

delicious old garden bushes that one can hardly dissociate."

~Miss Jekyll, Home and Garden, 1900

I acquired this dwarf variety "Lady Lavender" this last week at a late summer 50% off sale and am looking to find a few of the taller varieties as well.  I really want to make some lavender wands like the lady does in this video tutorial.

Appreciating another good and perfect gift from our Father's bountiful provision

 and linking with LeAnne for . . .

Bee Balm . . . I Had No Idea!

Surprised and delighted . . . oh, yeah.  

I came across this lovely stand of tall stalks crowned with red feathery headdresses in one of my local parks.  I had never seen these before in all my life so I was anxious to discover what they were.  

My searching revealed that these lovelies are "Monarda", more commonly known as "Bee Balm". Other common names are Horsemint, Oswego Tea and Bergamot.

I had heard of bee balm but did not know what it looked like and for whatever reason never searched it out.  

These flowers will bloom and stay for 3-5 weeks and a 2nd blooming can be encouraged if the spent blooms are deadheaded. They enjoy sun to part sun and can handle a moderate degree of drought.  They are very easy to grow and are highly favoured by bees and hummingbirds alike.

There are a number of bee balm species that have long been used for medicinal purposes.  Poultices for skin infections and minor wounds, tea for throat and mouth infections and infusions for headache and fever.  Native Americans were also known to have used the plant as a seasoning for wild game (birds, in particular).  Its flavour is said to taste like a mix of spearmint, peppermint and oregano.

I really do love delving into plant lore and am always amazed at God's creative genius.  Makes me wonder if He created the flower for its beauty then added the healing properties or designed the medicinal qualities and just made them look so beautiful.  Either way, I stand in awe.

Linking with LeAnne for . . .

Gazanias to Gaze Upon

A first this year,  for me, was planting gazanias.  I have my traditional favourites . . . petunias, geraniums, marigolds, lobelia and alyssum . . . but I like to try something new every once in a while. 

Gazanias are native to South Africa and are resistant to drought and high temperatures. I have the clumping variety that grow in mounds of attractive, deep green symmetrical leaves.  Each bloom lasts for about 5 or 6 days, but the plant itself will bloom all summer and even into the fall.  The blossoms close up each evening at sundown and open wide again in response to the sun the next day.

Hope you enjoy my beauties!

"The artist is the confidant of nature . . . 
flowers carry on dialogues with him 
through the graceful bending of their stems 
and the harmoniously tinted nuances of their blossoms.  
Every flower has a cordial word which nature directs towards him."

~ Auguste Rodin

"The actual flower is the plant's highest fulfillment, 

and are not here exclusively for herbaria, county floras and plant geography; 

they are here first of all for our delight."

~ John Ruskin

"The 'Amen' of nature is always a flower."

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Flower Art Friday

To the Daisy,

The poet's darling 

~ William Wordsworth

There is a flower, a little flower

with silver crest and golden eye,

That welcomes every changing hour

and weathers every sky.

~ James Montgomery

Daisies infinite, uplift in praise their little growing hands

O'er every hill that under heaven expands.

~ Ebenezer Elliott

 Not worlds on worlds, in phalanx deep

Need we to prove a God is here;

The daisy, fresh from nature's sleep,

Tells of His hand in lines as clear.

~ John Mason Good

Thanks to those who voted for my entry last week that put me in the Top 3.

Such a delight to link up each week with so many talented "Floral" artists that inspire me to learn new techniques and willingly share their knowledge and links to resources.

Honey Lily - Flower Art Friday

Last fall, my daughter and I planted hundreds of bulbs in the beds around her new home.  We were delighted to watch the different varieties as they emerged from their winter's rest and unfolded in all their glory.  As the alliums were coming to the end of their performance we were surprised by a couple more spikes emerging from the soil.  And such a lovely surprise they turned out to be.  

 Needless to say I was off on a mission to discover their identity and here is what I found.

Their official name is "Allium Nectaroscordum Siculum" but they have several common names including, Honey Lily, Sicilian Honey Lily, Sicilian Honey Garlic and Mediterranean Bells.

 These beauties bloom in late spring, early summer and butterflies find them most attractive, while critters such as deer, squirrels and rabbits leave them alone.  

 They are quite aromatic when touched or jostled with an onion or garlicy aroma that can range from light to fairly intense on a hot summer day.

 As the blooms begin to fade they change position from drooping gracefully downwards to lifting up  straight towards the sun as their pods close up and develop their seed.  Though we have not quite reached this stage yet, they will freely self-seed and so we anticipate increased numbers next spring.

Linking with LeAnne & friends for . . .

Columbine, Flower Art Friday

I had planned to do roses for this week's Flower Art Friday, but our hostess, LeAnne, requested that roses be featured NEXT week in honour of her birthday.  So . . . I decided to feature these columbines I snapped today.  They are my dad's favourite flower and since Father's Day is just days away, it seemed appropriate.

Short and sweet today,

 linking with LeAnne for . . .

Clematis 'Montana'

Every branch . . . that bears fruit, 

He prunes it so that it may bring forth more fruit.

John 15:2

 

A little research has helped me to identify this clematis that was already growing in my daughter's yard when she purchased her home late 2011.  It became necessary to prune it back to almost nothing when a neighbour backed into the fence and so we had no idea what kind of flowers it had.  It took off again very quickly and this year we were overjoyed to witness the explosion of growth and myriad small white flowers . . .

The small 'Montana' blooms vastly outnumber the larger purple variety but look so beautiful together.

You can see why the clematis 'Montana' is sometimes referred to as  the "mile a minute clematis".  It has also been said that even with hard pruning it is almost impossible to kill it.

The blooms attract many varieties of bees and other pollen gatherers . . .

 . . . as well as photographers in their quests for that "stunning capture".  

Linking with LeAnne for . . .

Deep Thirst

At first glance, this post may seem somewhat of a hodge-podge of divergent thought.  In fact, it seems that way to me, as well, but I just have this sense that beneath the surface there is a cohesiveness that pulls it all together  . . . and so I post and trust that you will get the message.

Hydrangeas, which are associated with the qualities of friendship, devotion and understanding are also notoriously thirsty plants, particularly when potted.  They need deep waterings the first several years after being transplanted in order for their roots to grow deep and develop the capacity to survive dry seasons.

Reminds me of the seasons of life . . . how our first few years, even decades, we need lots of attention, pouring into, deep waterings.  As we grow older, it is considered a mark of maturity to be independent . . . not so needy, and thus we often allow the cry of our souls for water, for refreshment, to go unanswered. I am currently visiting weekly with an elderly lady at a senior's residence and see so many precious persons with untold stories and deep reservoirs of wisdom and experience.  So few of them have visitors and it breaks my heart that these dear ones depths are so rarely explored.  And so I share the following poem, used with the author's permission.

Thirst

by Peyton Leigh Stille

Hair flecked with silver streams

Grooves in the skin creating ripples of wisdom

Wisdom shown in the glossy eyes

Body of watery experience sitting in the rickety chair, 

the chair that squeaks with every rocky wave

If wisdom had a visible aura

it would be seeping out of his eyesockets

creating rivers of tears flowing down the cheekbones

 It would be pouring out of his ears

watering the hydrangeas that rest by his feet.

It would be running out of his nose

into the decades of wisdom gathering around his chin

It would be salivating out of the corners of his mouth

down his chin

drenching the front of his argyle sweater vest

But people walk by blinded by nearsightedness

they don't see the water that creates a tsunami

strong and tall

People walk by

content on their dry scratchy gravel, 

not wanting to dip their toes

into the murky pond before them

People walk by

closer towards the desert

where they get stuck

waiting for something to quench their thirst.

*  *  *

 A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water.  

Jesus said. "Would you give me a drink of water?"  

The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, 

"How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"  

(Jews in those days wouldn't be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

Jesus answered, "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am,

 you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water . . .

 Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. 

 Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst, not ever.  

The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."

John 4:7-14 (The Message)

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, Come, buy and eat.  Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy?  Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Isaiah 55:1,2