Trinity: Stewardship, Wendell Berry, Chickens

The chickens will bring eggs, I thought.  

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Instead, they've given stewardship.

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8 heirloom chics, 4 breeds.  Some cats others livestock in personality.

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Nothing from the kitchen is wasted, every restaurant meal ends with asking for a left-over container.  Girls go wild for pizza.

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Almost 3 decades in my garden, What would it be now with their poop the entire time?

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More, What would I be like?  Yes, the girls have taught that much.

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Ironically, seeing several clients over a spread of years showed how easy chics are to caretake.

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Sadly, the Stewardship was invisible.

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America was founded upon this Stewardship.  Culture bypassed its tenants.

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  A particular client educates me with every third sentence and every hour starts a sentence, Wendell Berry says.  How can I not pass Wendell Berry along to you?

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Founding Gardeners, is the resource for Stewardship.

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I found what I wasn't looking for, one of life's deepest veins of gold.  From chickens?

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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara

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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

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Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

Garage/Atalier: Leverage Life & Garden

 Aside from the ubiquitously expected, your garage must leverage your life.  Beautifully.
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In my garage, below.

 Adore loading my so-ugly-it's-cute van for work, below.

Tools, chandeliers, speaking props & etc all awaiting to make life easier.

Vintage French garden chair made the move to the chicken coop.  And the ca. 1918 door is now a table in the office.

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How well does your garage leverage the caretaking of your garden?  Your life?

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Did you know this is an element of Garden Design?

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I didn't, until I went to Europe to study history's best gardens.  

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Garden & Be Well,  XO Tara

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Pics in my atalier, aka garage.  

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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

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Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

Edna St. Vincent Millay: Burn Your Light

Light from the garden, below.

Interesting legs, garden light a few of my favorite things.
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Oh my the criticisms, for decades, for leaning inward, to seemingly insignificant small joys.
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Edna St. Vincent Millay, "My candle burns at both ends; / It will not last the night; / But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends — / It gives a lovely light!"
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I met Peter Pan yesterday, and he wasn't lost.  With a bigger life I doubt I would have known.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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My bedroom, above, renovation still needs yellow/white French check draperies a la Charles Faudree.   Walls, Benjamin Moore - Sundress.  Hence you won't see more till then!  Painting by, Christine Gholson.  Truly, the light in my home is enriched by the garden.
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A quote in NYTimes long ago, "The more you go inward the more you outwardly connect." Pure permission, be-who-you-are.
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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

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Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

  

Overdose your Theme: Wicker Weakness

Overflow wicker, above, yet they're used at least 1/month.

Vintage wicker, above/below, glass topper for the sagging table top, below.  Adore the chipping paint.

Small wicker baskets, below, perfect for quick trips with keys, sunglasses, cell phone.

White willow English wicker basket, above, for Laskett.  Yes, he is moody.  What can I do, we're in love.

Tucked in the bedroom, above.  Mahogany Sheraton buffet arrived this color, & marked down 2x at the antique shop.
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Tool Bouquet over my fireplace.....
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Overdose Your Theme is merely an excuse for,  Wicker Weakness.
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At Lowe's this week the cashier asked, "Can I feel your basket?".  Girlfriend has Wicker Weakness too.  Along with great taste, it was a handmade Amish basket that day.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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Most of the wicker came from Thift Stores or yard sales.
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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

Little Input, Big Impact

A bit of meadow, stretch of wild wood, bench.  Done.

In the depths of winter, still, one of the best invitations.
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Pictorial definition, LITTLE INPUT, BIG IMPACT.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

Front Porch: Color Choices for Views & Guests

Built in the late 50's for the Queen's sister, Mount Corbett has a few original pieces remaining, below.

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This table wasn't designed for meals, propping feet, or bridge.

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This table leveraged conversation, cocktails, cigarettes (I can hear, & smell, the Zippo lighters shutting), & considering the era, 'stuff'.

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More than views, colors were mutedly chosen to show case people.

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How I would love to go back to the early years and see the clothes, hair, jewels.

Instead,

alone on the veranda, I was the color.
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My Ken Doll did  construction & landscaping at Mount Corbett a few years ago, hence my afternoon lolling in the pool & enjoying views while he gabbed with friends at the estate.
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Garden & Be Well,     XO Tara
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Pics taken this month in Jamaica.  We both wanted to prune the hedge blocking the views.  Alas, or maybe good for you, Mount Corbett is for sale.
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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

Be Prepared: Wine & Canapes

Have you noticed the Cool Chicks, (ok, roosters too), are always prepared for unexpected Wine & Canapes with friends?

   Stopped by a friend's garden yesterday, and we sat, above, comfortably ensconced on her front porch.
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Notice her Fairy Garden, above?  No accident it's charming.  She creates/makes/sells them nationally.  Several styles, colors, sizes.  Have had 2 in my garden for over a decade.
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No longer exclusive, you can now order her Fairy Garden houses & troughs direct, Mary Braswell.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Mary did not ask me to post this nor will I receive any monetary funds for doing so.  We are friends.  
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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon.

Hedgerow Farm: Buck Valentine

At work last Friday, Valentines, below.

Buck was flirting.  Resting his chin on a shoulder, nibbling hair, rubbing his lips along our jaw.  

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We had finished work with preliminary siting of the new timber barn & I had time to tag along with other chores.

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A subdivision child, watching a horse behave like a loving Chihuahua was a first.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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And, that SMILE on Farm Hand !!!  Farm Hand always overlaps my days at HF, yet we rarely get to speak, merely wave at distance.  He's always in motion.  

If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon.

Val-Kill, Royals, Tara Turf

FDR & Eleanor hosted the King/Queen of England at their home.  Appearances mattered greatly in this era.
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A dip in Val-Kill's pool, above, was included amongst the entertainments.
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Tara Turf touches the coping, trailing to a dirt path & wild wood.
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Contemporaneously with pioneering Tara Turf it was intuitive, Tara Turf is a status symbol.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Put, This I Remember, by Eleanor Roosevelt on your list if you haven't read it yet.  Cote de Texas has more about the royal's visit with Roosevelt's, here.
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Amazing path, Tara Turf as status symbol.  A meadow or pasture, life itself, are merely empty spaces to be taken at whim for financial gain in popular culture.  Truly heart rending.
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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon.

Table Top Heat

Home Depot has propane outdoor heaters in a half-pint size.

Table top sized.  Easily moved.  Where have I been?
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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara
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Lost provenance of the pic.
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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon.

Ackee Tree: Fruit in Design

We are provisioned for as well as birds of the field.

This ackee tree made her message known.

I've gained a primal sense of gratitude to Providence, in a rich new vein.
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And, wonder why my horticulture degree did not teach inclusion of fruit bearing trees/bushes as a fundamental.
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If not for pollinators alone, or enjoyment of the crop, then at the minimum a nod of thanks from our spirit to the spirit of Nature which is beyond measure.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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Pics from Jamaica last week, this ackee tree was just-in-a-dirt-parking-lot.  Remember, when trees drop their leaves they are enriched by what they let go of.  Yes, trees pack the epiphanies.
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If you want a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, and causes you to tap the brake pedal, as you look in the rear view mirror heading out, become my client, local or on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me to speak to your group, local or out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Garden books by Tara Dillard, Amazon.

Color Echoes: Pamela Harper

On the way to Noel Coward's our driver needed to stop here, below.

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Color alone told me whatever is ahead is good.

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Gates were unlocked, below, and we were ushered into a courtyard throwing me decades back to a stay at the Dauphine Orleans in New Orleans French Quarter.  But.  This was better.

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Ken Doll asked, You liking this Baby?  

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He got a smile, I was speechless.  He grasped my arm, my eyes were everywhere & there were steps.  Then our driver, worried I would fall, was helping too.

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This aging lady stuff is nice, indeed.

Color Echoes well done always capture my attention.  

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Pamela Harper pioneered the concept & I heard her lecture at Atlanta Botanical Garden when her book was published.

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Sand & Caribbean were the starting point.

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Towels echo the walls echoing the sand.  

The pool, below, looks exactly like the work of my friend, landscape architect, David Cristiani.

Leaving this Faberge Egg of perfection felt like reignments being pulled off, by force.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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Pics taken last week, Jamaica.
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I doubt the Queen of Color, Maria Killam, has had 2 handsome men help her during a Color Swoon.
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What were my reignments for this day's outing?  Bikini, long-sleeved white linen shirt, flip-flops.  Perfect trinity.  Done.
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