Monday, October 19, 2020

Minimalist Guide to Bringing a Meadow Inside: Consecrating Effort

 BIE, before-internet-era, this, below, is how I put foliage/flowers on the table.  Perfectly suited to my skills, none.

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A family of good cooks, I'm not, my job (self created) was washing as the cooks (wasband/his parents) cooked, setting the table, and washing again when the meal was done.  A bargain.

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Decades pass, still no skills arranging flowers/greenery, yet a confidence in adoring bringing a meadow, or parts of a meadow inside. 

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Seems boring, but stay with this little story.  It is about Garden Design.

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"In the course of creative endeavors, artists & scientists join fragments of knowledge into a new unity of understanding." Vera John Steiner, Psycholinguist. 

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More than merely adoring meadow arrangements inside, I adore meadows outside.  Tara Turf, a mix of what's local, native, historic, friendly to soil, fauna, us, pollinators.

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Designing landscapes with Tara Turf, I attach their historic framework, local canopy/understory trees/shrubs.  Native, friendly to soil, fauna, us, pollinators.

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These are the gardens discovered across Europe, I studied historic gardens there for decades. 

 

 Pictures, here.

Now, living in a ca. 1900 home with Tara Turf, I've learned more.  Cutting greenery for the house, excess foliage & clipped ends of stems, I drop at the base of shrubs/hedges.  Zero clean up or taken to a compost pile.  All dropped where it grew.  Feeding the soil.     

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Feed the soil, feed the worms, feed the birds, and you've just started a potent link in the chain of pollinators.  It began wanting to put meadow plants on the table with a good meal.  

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"Living the questions embracing uncertainty allowing for intuition." Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875-1926.

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Outer weeds, in vase, above, we have along our rural roads.  The 'flower' I can't quite make out.  I do know, I'm on the hunt for a tall heavy vase, and roadside meadow weeds its first companions.

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"...only the ego can blind an artist to the recognition that all creative work begins with imitation before fermenting into originality under the dual forces of time and consecrating effort."  M. Papova. 

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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara

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Timeline learning the facts, above, decades.  If you're more stubborn than me, I want to know you !

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Update: Beloved's 3rd liver cancer treatment was done and it's another 2 weeks until results can be taken, previous results, tumors gone..  Amazingly, he got a call, his liver transplant may be done before  end of the year.  

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Hmm.  We've walked this road before.  So.  We're living in preparation, yet fully living life.  The bigger scare, not fully living life.  Beloved had quite a moment yesterday.  He told me how I can run his team of men while he heals from transplant.  Told him, My job is to keep you fed, meds on time, clean sheets/clothes/sponge bath, handling administrative tasks, not listening to any complaints.....

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Lifting you up in prayer, this global pandemic

9 comments:

Barbara Pilcher said...

Those are my kind of "flower" "arrangements."

We'll all be sending our best thoughts to you and Beloved in the weeks ahead.

CC said...

Good luck in finding a lovely vase, hopefully before Thanksgiving. Growing up in a rural area, I loved the fall/winter 'weeds' in the unused fields. It was a treasure hunt finding the most unusual weeds for our Thanksgiving table.

Wishing you & Beloved happy, peaceful thoughts.

Penelope Bianchi said...

Oh how lucky beloved is to have such a warrior woman at his side. You are such a wonderful example for women everywhere in this most trying time.
You are creative, gifted,brave and noisy.

the perfect combination to achieve incredible results everywhere in your life, in your work, in your relationships, and your care of your beloved.

People with medical conditions and medical treatments need warriors with them every step of the way. I wish you both every possible miracle....and I believe your support and belief will pull him through.

Much love to you both.......and my prayers are with you. You go, girl. You are the best.

Penelope Bianchi said...

p.s.

I saw those exact pictures yesterday.....financial times...trying to figure out how to send to you......and here they are from you.

spooky, actually.

so much love sending to you!

La Contessa said...

OH TARA..............MY FINGERS AND TOES ARE CROSSED AND DOUBLE CROSSED!
THAT FIRST PHOTO THOSE CHAIRS TOOK MY BREATH AWAY.........
I WILL BRING THE MEADOW INSIDE TODAY!!
I AM SUPPOSE TO DIG OUT A PUMPKIN AND GIVE IT FLOWERS AS A VESSEL.....would much rather DO WHAT YOU DO!!!
BREATH........DAY BY DAY.........and maybe just NOD OKAY BELOVED like you're LISTENING NOW!
WE KNOW YOU CAN DO IT ALL ANYWAY!!!!!!
XOXOXOX

Dewena said...

As if a post of yours could be boring! Gleanings from our wild road patch are my favorites to bring inside. Oh that dining room! Those green chairs and lavender napkins.

Tara, praying for that liver transplant to take place by the end of the year! I know you will be the best nurse he can have when he comes home. Take care, both of you!

Gene said...

Such beauty and intention, achieved only by elevating what might be composted to become what might make beautiful any interior room.
And integrity, I think. I would say arranging what comes naturally around us reflects integrity with our surroundings.
Alas, I am running out of ideas for pine needles!
Gene Deerman

patricia said...

can´t express myself in english properly... my heart is with you ... it´s been so much time learning from you...

patricia said...

I can´t express myself properly in english...I wish you all the best. It´s been such a long time learning from you...