The Spirit Garden – An examination of life through flowers and plants

When one tends a garden, one tends to contemplate life. It’s very simple. Sometimes this examination is purely on a physical level; i.e. the plants right in front of our face. Other times it’s a more of a philosophical nature, one that reaches beyond the border of our property, nurturing our senses towards self introspection, leading to the creation of a spiritual garden.

If nothing else, gardening has taught me much. Not just about myself, but many life lessons have been transferred from plants to this person.

When one views the world as a garden, one is more apt to engage nature with all the senses, as well as the mind and heart. Simply by observing and engaging in what nature has to offer, people have the ability to grow, not unlike a garden.

Equate weeds to negativity and flowers to the good things in your life. Take some time and pull the weeds out or they’ll spread, choking out all the flowers you wish to flourish.
Equate flowers to human beings. A diverse garden with many types of plants is worth celebrating and exploring. Can anyone, gardener or not, imagine a plot consisting of only one type of flower? How utterly boring.
Equate your garden to where you’ve been and how far you’ve come. A garden never stays the same and like life, change is inevitable.
Some plants wither and die. Chuck ’em in the compost and move on. Sometimes nothing will keep them alive. That goes for some relationships, too. People are really like flowers and will add joy and happiness to your garden, and not take it away.
Corporate gardens are easy to spot. Usually heavily manicured, clipped, and planted overnight with annuals for instant gratification, they reside in front of many a sterile building, appearing like oppressive backdrops touting perfection, which is not possible in reality. They lack creativity and offer little or no benefit to local wildlife or sustenance for pollinators. What does bloom is dead-headed, discarded, and never allowed to set seeds for next year. They devolve in to a barren environment for most of the year, and tall poppies need not apply.
Cutting back taller flowers will not make the smaller ones look better.
Stay connected to your roots. Many a plant in my garden can be traced to a memory, a friend, a family member who may no longer alive, or a beloved place I can no longer visit. Nurturing those plants keeps those memories alive!
Every plant has its season. Enjoy them as they bloom. Live in the moment, as does each plant. Know that when it has finished blooming for the time being, it will be back next year to enjoy all over again.
Spending time in nature is healing. Don’t just work in the garden. Take the time to sit and enjoy the effort you’ve put in to it.
A garden won’t grow without water. Sometimes in life it rains, but this is good for the garden, and the sun will shine again.
Some people will not like your garden. That’s okay! Each garden offers the personality of the gardener. If they were all the same, the world would be a very boring place indeed.
The power of contemplation originates in abandonment of self. For example, if I’m feeling down or dwelling on something, I go to the garden. My thoughts stop inserting themselves and my focus is on what’s in front of me instead of what was troubling me. Gardening really is like burying your troubles in the dirt!
Gardening is a living canvas. As an artist who could not paint for several years, I found another way to be creative by designing my garden, and others, which offered an alternative outlet to explore all kinds of ideas, colours, textures, all the while offering inspiration to get back to painting when the time was right!

Shall add to this as I go along!

Would love to hear your garden thoughts.

Thanks for visiting!

In appreciation of spring – poets and portals

The beginning of T.S. Eliot’s poem, “The Waste Land,” opens with “April is the cruellest month…”

Truly, I couldn’t agree more with this assessment.

Here in Ontario, we’ve sampled just about the worst role of every season during this one month alone. April’s weather forecasts were not on their best behaviour, offering only a few days taste of the tantalizing weather yet to come.

In my neck of the woods, the temps dropped overnight and it actually snowed. Thankfully a light dusting was all we received and most has now dissipated.

In any case, most poems about spring are uplifting, giving us hope for rejuvenation and renewal in our own lives and our gardens. These written words are like doors opening to better times ahead… an optimistic tête-à-tête, or a literary sightseeing adventure, taking us from death towards the newness and rebirth of spring.

These portals are waiting to be cracked opened by the reader. It seems that doors and books have much in common! One may encounter something entirely more pleasant on the other side if the door handle is turned or the cover flipped.

With that in mind, I stumbled upon (a snippet of) a poem like that only this morning while perusing Pinterest.

Intrigued, I tracked down the rest, enjoying the lovely imagery offered, that in my mind sum up the best parts of spring!

“April Weather” by Lizette Woodworth Reese

From – A Handful of Lavender (1891)

Oh, hush, my heart, and take thine ease,

For here is April weather!

The daffodils beneath the trees

Are all a-row together.

The thrush is back with his old note;

The scarlet tulip is blowing;

And white – ay, white as my love’s throat –

The dogwood boughs are growing.

The lilac bush is sweet again;

Down every wind that passes,

Fly flakes from hedgerow and from lane;

The bees are in the grasses.

A Grief goes out, and Joy comes in,

And Care us but a feather;

And every lad his love can win,

For here is April weather.

Links with further reading and information about the author:

The first flowers of spring – Friday Flowers – Crocus

Happy to share that the lovely little crocus flowers are holding their heads up high in the garden.

The first blooms in spring offer any gardener something to cheer about!

One clump of crocus has a view (of what I’m calling a small glacier) on the driveway.

Thankfully milder weather has arrived, so that snow is melting fast!

Crocus, like the narcissus flower, has its own connection to Classical Greek mythology.

It turns out Crocus was a mortal youth who, because he was unhappy with his love affair with a nymph named Smilax, he was turned into this plant by the gods.

In another variation of the myth, Crocus was said to be a companion of Hermes. He was accidentally killed by Hermes in a game of discus. He was so distraught about it that he transformed Crocus’ body into a flower.

A fitting tribute!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

A door closing opens new paths. Reflecting with gratitude about life’s changes

This past January I closed my brick-and-mortar boutique.

Faced with the prospect of new landlords, lovely people, but inevitably suggesting rent/heat hikes, or the alternative, a quasi-colonization of my beloved shop, the decision to close the store was the only course of action this very independent minded person could make.

As the dust gradually settles, I feel much better about the situation! After all, people are in business to make money, and even though I’m certain the store could have remained open as long as the status quo remained intact, it wasn’t in the cards. Unfortunately I wasn’t in any position to aid the landlords in their goals, nor they in mine. Moving on, I wish them well!

The business of Wall Flower Studio sprung up at home, so it now scales back to its roots! This is an exciting prospect.

I’ll continue to offer my products through various online e-commerce sites, offer lessons in online marketing, helping and setting up social media sites for other small businesses, and have enough time and energy to focus on garden design, photography, this blog, and that bloody book I’ve been putting off writing for the past few years!

Except for our basement, currently looking like a contender for that show Hoarders, with everything now home from the shop, I’ve actually enjoyed sorting and organizing, de-cluttering, (planning that garage sale in May), and having time to cook proper meals for my wonderful husband, much to his delight and both of our amazement!

This time at home has been a period of reflection about the evolution of the business over the past four years.

Yes, there were ups and downs, small personal triumphs and many frustrations that at the time seemed cataclysmic, i.e. flooding, mountains of ice/caution tape in front of the shop, driving in snow storms, moving the physical location of the store, and even a car accident, to name but a few.

However, ninety-nine percent of it was the most rewarding activity of my life so far, and with that in mind, I’ll always look back with a full heart towards that store.

Lavender Harvest

Corporate-types won’t likely understand this, but to have had the opportunity to fully engage with one’s true entrepreneurial spirit, and believe me, Wall Flower Studio began on a threadbare shoestring, I feel enormous gratitude and pride to have taken the risk to open a retail storefront. I had the pleasure of meeting many like minds and pursued my passion, even within the context of a small enterprise, which is what many might have judged Wall Flower Studio to be.

I think that’s something to write home about, even if I’m the only one who reads it! 😉

Upon reflection and turning a new page, closing the store doesn’t suggest the failure that I first feared it would. The only way to fail is to never try in the first place. I’d like to celebrate by declaring this isn’t the end of Wall Flower Studio, it’s a new path!

With that in mind, a big thank you goes to family, friends, and each lovely customer who supported this former shopkeeper’s independent spirit on Minden’s Main Street! It truly was my pleasure.

– Karen

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Poinsettia – Not my favorite holiday plant, but they do get a bum rap.

Having worked at flower shop for many years in Toronto, I’ve had my fill of poinsettias.

(Euphorbia pulcherrima)

Having said that, even though they’re not my favourite plant, (I’m more keen on other varieties in the euphorbia family), they do get a bum rap every holiday season.

Why the bad reputation?

Because contrary to popular opinion, Poinsettias can be irritating, but they’re not fatal.

Your pets & children might get a rash or an upset tummy if they eat a leaf, but it won’t kill them. That’s a fact. But I still don’t suggest eating them in any case!

I have other reasons for not liking them. First of all they’re susceptible to white fly which is practically impossible to eradicate. The little buggers spread to other plants too, especially hibiscus, but that’s another story for another post.

They also wilt at the drop of a hat. A cold draft will knock them unconscious, so don’t place them near a front door or heat vent, even if they look good on your hall table. Put some greens and branches in a vase instead.

Also, they’re rarely watered properly – People kill with kindness. Waterlogged soil lacks sufficient air, which drowns roots. These plants, when exposed to high light and low humidity, require more frequent watering, but never water if the soil feels wet. Too much water will cause leaves to curl and fall off.

So in my humble opinion, the poor things never look as good as they do in the flower shop… Obviously I won’t be popular with any florists/growers out there, but that’s okay.

So, even though I don’t particularly like poinsettias, one does have to defend something one’s not exactly thrilled about when truth has been turned into a false myth.

Still keen on a poinsettia? Go for it! I wish you success!

However I’d suggest choosing an alternative plant for the holidays … azaleas and cyclamens are gorgeous this time of year. Succulents are perfect for any occasion, especially if you’re going away. They like to be neglected any time of year!

And, doesn’t it just feel good to go against the grain sometimes?

Happy Holidays!