When I look at a garden — any garden — I find myself looking at it from two perspectives.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Man
Field Trip: Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
Recently, I was researching quotes from some of my favorite novels, for no other reason than to post them on my personal Facebook page. I was looking for some inspiring words, the kind that resonated with me, the kind that I could share with others.
A Streetcar Named Dracaena
“Oh, look,” whispered the sweetest of voices on the slightest of breezes each night when I stepped outside. “We have created enchantment here.”
I thought I was alone, but the powdery scent of perfume had me thinking otherwise. The voice was quite feminine, I imagined, and absolutely southern — dripping with refined charm and long, slow vowels.
Bloomin’ Update 55: Flapjacks For A Sunday Morning
There’s something special about Sunday mornings. It’s a time that’s built for reading each section of the newspaper, undertaking the crossword puzzle, and lingering over a breakfast that’s a bit more intricate than an eat-and-run weekday meal. It’s a moment to pause and breathe.
For today’s Sunday breakfast, I’m serving up some flapjacks.
Happy New Year, Happy Hibiscus
My small hibiscus bloomed in time for the New Year.
Such a simple sentence to start this convoluted story of a shrub.
My Nativity Story
Despite the hectic pace of the holiday season — and the to-do lists that seem to grow with each passing day — there is one Christmas tradition that I eagerly anticipate: becoming re-acquainted with the decorations.
A White Christmas — Sort Of
I’d like to say that I sprang from my bed and that away to the window I flew like a flash. Springing from my bed hardly happens these days. There’s a lot of stretching and cracks and creaks that must happen before I can even think of springing.
Repost: And So This Is Christmas
In the wake of the Paris shooting, I posted about not wanting to leave my garden. And now, with the shooting massacre in San Bernardino, CA, I may never want to leave my garden. Ever.
We’ll Always Have Paris
These days, I find that I need a garden more than ever. It’s the one place that makes sense to me on days that no longer make sense. It’s the one place where I can find comfort on those days when I’m overwhelmingly sad — and these are those days.
Paris. Mali. Beirut. Kenya. Syria. A barren stretch of the Egyptian desert.
These days, there is so much sadness — and I find myself wondering: what is it with humans? I mean, I understand my plants, but I really don’t get people.
When Life Gives You Coconuts. . .
If it’s one thing I have plenty of, it’s coconuts. In my tiny yard, there are 12 coconut-producing palms — and because coconut palms are always producing coconuts, you could say that I have a lovely and large bunch of them.
But when is a coconut not a coconut?
Nitty Gritty Dirt Man 