Sowing and Stitching

People keep looking at me funny when I tell them with great enthusiasm that seeds really are tiny miracles-but it's true! When I send a half a teaspoon full of little seeds in an envelope down the road or hundreds of miles away, I know without doubt, that I am sending a seed-bomb of extraordinary miracle power. Given a little care, luck, time & some earth & a little moisture, invariably that minuscule capsule holding the true pattern & identity of a pansy, forget-me-not, mignonette, love-in-the-mist or a zillion other possibilities will activate it's little life force & soon unfurl & replicate identically to it's parents; no matter how far from home it roams. Well, of course there are always, rogues, renegades & exceptions, but miracles all, non-the-less!
Through this year I have sent seeds all around the country- to gardeners in big cities, small towns, on farms; to those who are just beginner gardeners & those with fine gardens-all with a little dream or intention of growing beauty & fabulousness. Last week I was startled to find that I was to send three lots of seeds to this delightful Admiral Gardens in the Chatham Islands.

I recently bought some vintage Sanderson oilcloth from a lovely lady called Barbara. I was thrilled to find this card tucked in at the top of parcel & when I turned it over I realised that Barbara Anderson was the artist. Isn't it delightful.

Spring Garden Tour

Chelsea- Sanderson oil cloth

That same week I found two parcels in the letter box on the Monday.

One was from my dear friend Betty (Wood Fairy) England!

I restrained myself & rushed inside to carefully open & savour the envelope...filled with kind messages & bluebell seeds from Glover's Wood.

It is such a remarkable thing that we could then google & instantly see, precisely, where Glover's Wood, Charlwood is. And as it turns out-it is but a stone's throw from East Grinstead & the house where Rob's father grew up. In our search we noticed this picture of a charming stile in Grover's Wood.

We had been talking about making a stile so we could more easily & less precariously hop through to our nice neighbour's next door.

It would go just here. 

It's a nice little spot around here in the winter time when the plum tree has lost it's leaves.

It could be just the right place to use these old window frames (there's another one somewhere!) that we saw at a garage sale just down the road last weekend. The safest way to get them home was to rush back with the two trolleys & ( also precariously) wheel one each home again.

They're a bit rumpty & pretty fragile but they'll have another life with us yet. This old green glass is very special. & very old.

I have found that life & gardens can both be sown by seed.

We get to choose every single day just what we will sow, pay attention to & water & what we will not.

Fostering community is a good-to-sow-thing - a few weeks ago I spotted an add in our "Neighbourly"  group for a trailer load of wood chip mulch that some "neighbours" wanted to give away instead of taking it to the dump. I happened to be the first to phone & with in half an hour the mulch had been delivered & I had sent Ben on his way with many thanks & mandarins for his children.

My newly acquired "old" wheelbarrow that I found at the Restore Shop (they build houses for people who can't afford one through Habitat for Humanity) happy to help distribute the mulch all around the garden. 

A great time to get areas like this tidied up for the winter.

The other parcel that arrived that Monday came from a lovely Trade Me customer who I had sent two Country Homes magazines to and in return I received a hand written letter, cool stamps, Cath Kidston & a gardening magazine- how delightful was that! And since then, some lovely book recommendations too, as Sandi is an avid reader.

The morning sun was still low when I sat at the writing desk here & paused to think of all the things I was grateful for, when I looked down to see the rainbows scattered around in front of me...

shining richly on the fairies dancing in a spring meadow.

Aren't they adorable.

I love this time of year when bulbs & plants have to push their way through soil 

 to reach forth & flower

 & share their heavenly scent at front doors & the such-like.

Life is about sowing & dreaming & stitching, but also cutting out.

Nina (6) & I had the loveliest time cutting these out together last weekend. 

It feels so good to know that I have them all prepared ahead now.

The handmade life is a worthy life, a life of richness & lasting satisfaction.
 I wouldn't want to live it any other way.
I read a poetic article the other day & as I did, I thought- yes, yes that's it!

This extract came from a short article entitled The Handmade Life. 

...we are taught to respect the slow, attentive piecing together of the life we yearn for. 

Stitch by stitch we apprentice the craft.

We work in tandem with mystery, feeling it’s rhythms awaken in our bone-memory.

And we realise the patience it takes to make a life materialise.

There are no shortcuts, & it can’t be done cheaply, or en masse. 
The work is small, the work is slow & all we can do is stay with it.

As Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes says, “The shortcut, the easy way, always falls apart. 
Then one returns to the handmade life.

One has to pick it up painfully, & piece it back together. 
Holding the overall pattern in one’s mind, but working patiently, piece by piece."

May your hands be blessed. 
May they know the magic they make.
 May everything they touch, touch them in return.

May your exquisite efforts soon show their shape. 

And that is indeed my wish for you dear friends & readers.
Thank you for popping in to see me.

We hold more in our own hands & hearts than we understand.
Planting seeds- a song to live by.

Video from KarmaTube

How to be a wild flower...

The day I came home to my true, authentic self was the day that I found peace.
-When I realised that I was here
 to be
 a wildflower....

To wander, to ponder, to gather, to savour....the wonder of life & nature.
Have a little look at Katie Daisy's book trailer & you'll understand what I'm talking about.


How to be a Wildflower Book Trailer from Gabriel James on Vimeo.

The wild flowers are the enduring ones, the unfussy & unpretentious blooms that flourish where-ever they find themselves & merrily, freely share their seeds around in wild places or treasured gardens. They etch themselves into the stories & the memories of the gardens of childhood & mother's love; attracting beneficial insects & gracing the bouquets of both brides & of children alike.
 Chocolate Lace Flower is a niece of Bishops's Flower also known as Lady's Lace & Lace Flower or even Bullworth & White Fennel.

 Charming & frequently medicinal too, there is a resilience amongst the wildflowers that is unmatched in the cultivated garden world.

 They are the ones that have stood the test of time yet are no longer available in the garden centres & commercial places. Still they remain the flowers that cottage gardener's still love to grow.
It is the time for collecting the seeds of these treasures & what a mess they so generously create...paper bags & baskets filled with stems & pods can be found on almost every surface inside & out of our little house.

 So, fortunately I recently found an old painter or paperer's box at the Salys...

 & I rummaged around for the exquisite seed packet pictures that I had tucked away from an old calendar.

 I used up some old paint that Rob had poured for me another time & that was now so lumpy as to be unusable but once I added a little water I had a good mix to wash the well-worn wood with.

A coat to two or modge podge to seal the pictures & I am now a good deal more in order.

Being a wildflower means that you are always learning & observing & looking out for stuff & wondering. And then, of course, you are amazed at every new find...like this Gum Emperor moth that I spied on the tarseal in the supermarket carpark as we were one day wandering through.

 I gently scooped him up & popped him in my bag with my foraged elderberries

 to take him home for care..

 admiration

 & revival.

 Astonishing it is, that such a brown moth emerges from this colourful caterpillar body. We used to find them in the pepper trees when I was child, but I've not seen one since.

I am enchanted by the colours of the summer hydrangeas.

 Bashing their stems with my little hammer has meant that they have lasted a week in a vase, in heat, undaunted.

Summer can be a little overwhelming at it's zenith & there is always much to do, but we managed to plan a picnic a week or so ago & just went...to the sea

 with rock pools

 and ancient native bush,

 where it is cool & primal & fascinating things grow out of trees.

 Wildflowers wind themselves along fences.

 The earth is moist...

& gifts are to be found on the sacred pathways. This lichen: usnea, the Maori call angiangi. It can be made into a tincture that will help fight bacterial infection anywhere in the body.

It grows very slowly & is precious.

There is a peaceful brook..

that is a perfect spot for a celebration picnic. We frightened a family of fern birds out of the long grass at the riverside. They are very rare & precious too & not very good at flying.  

 There are still times in my days when I notice that I feel quite shut in, shut down or sad.
And then one morning I read these words (you may have to click on the picture to see all the words):

And so that's exactly what I did.

And quite soon we had made friends, several actually.

I intend to invite them for tea more often.

After this little session things became quite clear on the matter & I realised that I could choose to no longer be bullied by another's refusal to allow discussion or honesty.

I recalled how precious I am & the tea soothed away the gloom. 

I admire this wonderful creation often, just now. It was a sweet gift from my dear nephew. I have blue-tacked it to my my kitchen cupboards so that I can see it a lot.

That's me with golden hair & Rob is driving. Lucy in the sky with diamonds!

It is a tree of life, I just know it.

Just as Katie Daisy's tree...of life.

I feel filled with life & wonder when I see these pictures.

Must be because I am a wildflower.

who wanders, gathers, ponders & savours.... the wonders of life & nature.

Much love to you all, dear friends & readers....how amazed I am that you come to visit me here. I treasure, always, the lovely things that you reflect & share.....& your kindness.
 You are marvellous! Thank you x0x0x