MinxterBLOOM

of Northlands do not do well in Southern climes.  I miss them.  While river birch trees charm me, they are drab compared to the white and paper birch trees of my childhood Montana home.  What to do? Enjoy Gustav Klimt's renderings of these pale-bark trees.

Forest of Beech Trees, circa 1903, byt G. Klimt, Austrian painter and muralist.

A company in England-- Willow Kits --will sell you willow whips and plans.  You can build bowers, tunnels, arches, and teepees that within a year or so will sprout.

Love this idea. I will have to watch for willows on my bike rides.

I once grew sunflowers -- tall and gangly Russian Giant or Mammoth -- and Heavenly Blue morning glories through them.  For two of three children.  The last darling was not yet rooted.  I did love the blue rambling in the yellow. But the thing with morning glory plants are the next generations:  tenacious little sky blue urchins. Not entirely unwelcome, but my goodness, we do love some plants more than others. 

Children, however, can be loved so completely and eachly:  the miracle of love times itself and supercalifragilisticespeallidocious.

I found this blogger on Blotanical who writes about natural design of playgounds. I wrote about the green spirituality of playgrounds in 1994 for Sojourners. I found the article on line and include this clip:

Certain physical settings trigger a feeling of one's smallness in the cathedral of otherness. Sometimes unnerving, mostly deeply rewarding, this experience is common in nature. What is it about creation that moves the soul in two directions at once: on a dead-eye trajectory toward God and into the quiet eddies of inner space? Many people whose self-described spiritual commitments are not with conventional religion or institutions report their encounters with nature in expressly spiritual terms--commune, unity, creative, divine, healing, restorative.

                                                                                                     Puff? Blow.

 

Making and folding your own seed packets.  Like cook books -- and garden books, too -- part of the pleasure is simply imagining a garden task or opportunity.  This generous lady has a number of seed packet templates for free downloading.

 In my garden, the self-seeders are Nigella (blue shades), Feverfew, and Rose campion.  What about your exurberant progeny?

This Blotanical blogger (Lost in the Landscapes) mentioned Greenfingers. You can catch a clip of lovely Helen Mirren in classic, British gardener clobber*.  I though immediately of a PBS series lent me last year by a neighbor. 

Here is the trailer:

Rosemary & Thyme is British -- natch -- starring Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris as gardening detectives Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme.  Delightful little bon mot, especially if you are too tired to hold a book. Visit the website, for details on episodes and ordering information by clicking into this "garden journal."