Growing Pains
and tending to tomorrow...
Hello,
Everyone’s talking about a surge of back-to-school energy yet I find myself sapped of enthusiasm and completely over the 2025 growing season. I’m ready for summer to be gone and I’m looking forward to a moment of celestial equilibrium on the autumn equinox. And rain.
My garden is parched and depleted -- as am I.
This isn’t unusual for this time of the year, yet somehow it always catches me off guard. Just like in life, pain, disease and other challenges are part of the natural course of growing and tending. Most of the (50) tomatoes at the community garden have some sort of leaf spot and the winter squashes are ghostly with powdery mildew. I’ve spent hours researching various blights and remedies which seems very on brand with “life writ large” as I wrote about last week.
Fortunately, I know from experience that the same garden and natural processes that are defeating me today will, with the passage of time, lift me up and spark anticipation as I plan and plant for the future. Spring blooming bulbs have been ordered and I’m looking forward to a delicious color palette of tulips for next year’s bouquets. I’m waiting for the weather to cooperate before I tackle moving a few plants and dividing the PCH irises that I meant to get to last year but never did. Time on my knees in the fall garden is golden in all sorts of ways.
From a less whiny perspective, last night’s dinner of tomato pasta (essay with recipe below) with caramelized zucchini and eggplant fed us physically and psychically. We ate on the deck as the sun went down, and the day cooled off almost to the point of needing a sweater. It was lovely and restorative. Here’s to tending to those we love and allowing the garden to carry us forward. I’m so glad you’re here.
xo Lorene
Love Apples
This recipe means the world to me and very likely is special to cooks and their loved ones the world over. The original is from the inimitable Marcella Hazan and is readily found all over the internet. This is my take on what has become a way to serve up "love on a plate.” I hope you’ll join me, all you need is an open heart, tomatoes, butter, and a sin…
Recent reading: Ana Bianchi is celebrating Color Curious, her new book that launches later this month with a daily exploration over on Notes that centers on my favorite topic! I preordered my copy of the book, how about you? Follow Ana Bianchi on Substack
Recent writing: Rockin’ the Garden in The Seattle Times.
Talking about: Local writer Sheryl Wiser interviewed me for a story she wrote for the September issue of Sound Consumer. Check out The Timeless Art of Seed Saving and How to Start.
Shop Talk
Did you catch my “crummy commercial”? Preorder your 2026 In Living Color calendars. Get $5.00 off each calendar when you enter the code: YAY2026 at checkout on orders placed now through September 30, 2025.
Calendars will begin shipping in late October.
Let’s Color
These three rocks have lived on the windowsill in my office for years. I found them at the beach one day and loved how they fit together and appear to cuddle. Who doesn’t occasionally need a good cuddle.
From a blossom that’s delicate and fleeting, poppy seed heads are remarkably sturdy and resilient. I keep this venerable pod around for its sculptural form and nuanced colors.
After a certain exploratory incident last fall involving the Littles and milkweed seed pods, I vowed to never again let clouds of fluffy seeds loose anywhere near my art desk. Instead, here I am with a ripening cardoon seed head that’s loosing its progeny that are finding their way into everything, including my paints. The anemochorus morphology of the flossy pappus that look like botanical fireworks allows the seed to disperse on the wind. It’s also well adapted to floating around my studio carried by the breeze from my R2D2 air conditioner.
After wrangling cardoon floss, I looked more closely at the individual seeds. Their subtle colors are fascinating.
Extending a warm welcome to seed season.
Oh, my! What a feast for the eyes - all just wondrous. Thanks so much. I've ordered the calendar and CANNOT wait for it to ship!
Lorene, would you mind sharing the name of the materials you use? I am fairly new to water color, and love the effects of Daniel Smith but yours seem to have a different and enticing effect! Im Trying to learn a variety of mark-making, paintbrush control, color mixing, etc., all at once!