Hello,
Some time ago I wrote the following poem down on a 3x5 card and added it to my index of things I will never let go of.
Above the trees the sky is bright:
The sunny day, the starry night.
Around the world the children play,
Their minds are bright both night and day.
Sometimes we dream, sometimes we sing,
We each have gifts that we can bring.
Our hearts fill up with love and peace,
Breathe in, breathe out, let love increase.
This place is ours, our roots grow deep,
Our arms reach out to give and keep.
Sometimes we bend, sometimes we fall,
But helping hands help us stand tall.
And we in turn will help our friends—
The circle turns, it never ends.“Every Child’s Place” by Jonathan Potter (via the Writer’s Almanac) Emphasis mine.
This seemingly simple piece is actually quite profound. I’m so glad you’re here.
xo Lorene
My Colors This Week
July 19, 2023
Over time, I’ve learned to measure the year by garden rhythms, like sprouting, blooming, and seeding. But when it comes to my indoor plants, every day is new. I’ve had my variegated Hoya for years but every time the plant blooms it’s a delightful surprise—and one I can’t track to a time of year or specific event.
Somehow the delicate ballet pink blooms are both waxy and velvet at the same time. PSA: no mealy bugs were harmed in the making of this color study. Well, okay, one was.
July 20, 2023
Showy milkweed (Asclepius speciosa), aka butterfly weed or pollinator central. This bloom has a bit of a waxy/velvet echo of yesterday’s Hoya, in a quickly wilting sort of way. My plant reigns over the back border, five feet tall and sprawling under the weight of its deeply fragrant Sputnik blossoms.
In other gardens, showy milkweed is a host for Monarch caterpillars feed on the leaves. The velvety silver green foliage exudes a sticky milky sap when cut, but my plant is perfectly intact — although numerous insects are feeding on the rich nectar. Monarchs don’t get this far north over here in the West, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream.
July 21, 2023
Blues in twos
The big 4 birthday may have passed, but every day is a good day to celebrate the twins.
July 22, 2023
I thought I was planting ‘Sugar Magnolia’ snap peas but the pods on the giant vines are green not deep purple. Delicious all the same. And those bi-color blooms are gorgeous. Given my hit & mix with edible crops these days, I’ll count this as a win.
July 23, 2023
The anise hyssop is happy this summer with lavender bloom spires and fresh anise-scented foliage. I’m looking forward to ice tea and sprinkling the purple florets on my morning yogurt. Which is a good example of my shifting relationship with the edible garden.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever not feel the tug to grow food, but I’ve come to the (rather obvious) conclusion that the harvests I pull from my plot are small, at best, consuming time, energy and resources that perhaps I could make better use of. Flowers!
Yesterday I picked, peeled and blanched about 2-3 pounds of fava beans, I ended up with a scant cup and a half of the tender beans. Enough to make pesto and maybe a plate of pasta if I stretch it. I don’t know why this feels like failure.
This has been another edition of cultivating flavor. Now I’m off to the farmers’ market.
July 24, 2023
Even garden colors sometime seem unnatural. This clarkia, a west coast native annual, is independent and resilient. The plants show up every summer about this time. For at least the past 7 or 8 years these flamingo pink flowers continue to bloom from a single sowing of a tiny packet of seed.
I like the idea of flamingos (of the non-plastic variety) in the garden. My secret to matching this color is a quirky one—after all, my flowers aren’t feeding on shrimp, which is why flamingos (the birds) are the color they are.
My go-to pigment for this color study is the Geranium Pink sheet in my packet of Nicholson Peerless Water Color Sheets (right). I discovered these unique paints at a very cool art store in Berkeley years ago. Each sheet in the packet has a very concentrated pigment/stain that you activate with a wet brush. Frankly, most of the colors seem unnatural—except when they’re spot on, as in this case. Otherworldly geranium pink is the secret sauce.
July 25, 2023
Garden gifts despite early failure. Last year was my first growing ‘Purple Emperor’ nasturtiums and I fell HARD for the dusky mauve blooms, unlike any other nasturtium I’ve ever seen.
Not exactly the most cheerful bloom in the garden, but I dearly love them. It’s like Purple Emperor has dealt with life’s complications and channeled it all into an expressive, if slightly moody color. My batch of seedlings sown from saved seed died: sudden spring heat wave + distracted gardener = disappointment.
So I was thrilled to discover some self-sown seedlings in the garden, assuring this and possible future growing seasons. Sometime this gardener just need to get out of her own way.
Watercolor Workshop
Join me, Saturday, August 12, 2023, at Fleurs Creative Studio in Snohomish, Washington. We’ll spend a couple of hours exploring color in the garden, then you’ll have a chance to try your hand at creating a nature-based color study, or two. This is not botanical illustration but an exercise in learning to see with fresh eyes and an opportunity to slow down, focus, and savor summer.
All supplies are included and everyone who attends will receive a signed copy of my book, Color In and Out of the Garden. Space is limited. Sign up today. Complete details at fleurscreative.com.
For those of you beyond the Pacific Northwest, who are interested in attending (or hosting!) a color workshop, check out this page on my website.