Granted this insatiable quest for spring (echoed in antsy gardening blogs around the globe, I might add) is fueled undoubtedly by weeks of warm dry weather. Not a drop of rain. So of course I got my hopes up, shoving my guilt to the back of the room, knowing in my heart of hearts we desperately needed the rain as neighbors began predicting water rations and the inevitable parched lawns. But having arrived at one of heaven’s many doors last week in the heathers at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, I continued my search and who’s to blame me? Little did I know that the “worst” Arctic-fed storms of the season were about to embark on their journey through Northern California and that I would be left in jaw-dropping awe this week as snow levels dropped to the lowest I’d ever seen them, leaving the local hills reminding one of, say, Colorado, rather than California. (That mars one pictures, doesn’t it?) Armed with optimism I nevertheless went about like a soldier in search of spring, so who’s to say what season I am in? Maybe my own. And this is not a bad metaphor for the times I feel obliged to say. Here’s what I found.
Aww, the worthy and loyal crocus. Dave says these crocuses were out front when he bought his house in the 50’s and they have reliably come up every single year with no fuss whatsoever. What a great investment and what a treasure, no? And no wonder I’d think spring so close with these blossoming in a long row just next door! In any case, they have my attention and I’m banking on spring by their presence. (What are you hanging on to at the moment?)
And, of course, there was so very much more. (One simply has to look, right?) A lovely plum
One of my very very favorites, the acacia. (I seriously considered naming Antonia Acacia before she was born. I really did.)
This moss did not reinforce the notion of spring but it certainly caught my attention!
Good morning, pretty daffodil! Thank you for your beauty.
Having satisfied myself that spring was afoot in my own immediate world I ventured out to my dear friend Conny’s garden to see what was emerging there. Lucky me, Milli was on hand to greet me and keep me company. Hi, dear Milli!
I have loved her from the moment I met her and am so grateful to have her in my life.
Off we go.
This garden might be a bit further behind in what is opening, but the beauty abounds. Coral bark maple, so aptly named and gorgeous in the rain!
Something coming up here! They look like tulips, don’t they? I’m sure they are!
Cute little rosehips. Good they are in Conny’s garden and not mine. I’d have drunk them all by now as tea. They are such a good source of Vitamin C!
Having thoroughly comforted myself that spring is reliably just around the corner I head off to a favorite cafe and snuggle up in a big chair and warm myself by the fire. Yes, life is well and good and happening. Deep gratitude there.
Had I been mindful of the weatherman I would never have ventured out into a rainy day on the coast this week. But Spirit was very clear: you are going to the Botanical Gardens, today. OK, then! Donning gear I headed out to Ft. Bragg. I parked next to this rippled pond and went into a very empty entrance.
A very nice woman named Marian, most likely not expecting anyone on such a gloomy wet day, emerged from a side office to greet me. When I told her I’d come to do a shoot she offered, “Well, you know, the rhodies aren’t quite here yet. Maybe March or April.” I smiled. “I’m sure there’s something here! I saw lots of things blooming out front! I bet there’s enough out there for a post!” Marian was not looking convinced. “Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “It will stop raining, I’m sure.” I gathered my things and headed out into the increasing drizzle. In retrospect what ensued over the next half hour or so really did resemble one of those marvelous giveaways you hear about on tv where someone has half an hour to put all the groceries they want in the shopping cart, for free!
Picture me, near starving for color after a frozen winterscape, knowing the clouds are going to come crashing down on me and my camera, with an ever so brief window in which to catch all the best the gardens had to offer, beginning of February. No time to find out what anything was. Just time enough to capture, capture, capture the beauty of my surroundings, snap, snap, snap. Yes, that! Ohhh, that! Oh, yes, THAT! Beauty. Beauty. Beauty. How’d I do?
Beginning in front, as I’d suggested (I knew it was a treasure mine!).
My mind is going, “What am I looking at? What am I looking at??” I will rely on you to tell me. (No, there was not time to read the little sign! It’s raining!)
I was almost breathless looking at these magnolia buds, anticipating what the whole tree would look like, oh, say, in a month?
Thankfully, this single flower was gracious and kind enough to open prior to my arrival so we could all have a blessed sneak peek! It’s enough to make you swoon, isn’t it?
I look at these impressionistic pinks and say, “Were they moving? Was I?”
Satisfied I’m off to a good start I pass through an entryway into the back area where the ample gardens are in their glory. Here’s a very brief look at what I first saw.
Mind you, these gardens go waaay back and include a cliff house, a small private cemetery, a vegetable garden, a rose garden, a pine forest, a Mediterranean garden, and trail after beautiful inviting trail. (You can bet I will be documenting poco a poco!)
My winter eyes immediately were drawn to this fanciful chair!
And at that very moment the rain stopped! Oh, thank you, Rain Gods, for showing mercy on a humble gardening blogger anxious to share your garden bounty with her readers! Run!
Not quite sure where I am or where I’m going, and never one to use a map, I turn to the left and see this.
I have two simultaneous thoughts. One is remembering Marian saying, “Well, there are some heathers…” so I think these must be the heathers, never seeing in my life anything beyond those poor representations in supermarkets at the wrong time of year, and the other is my mind saying, “There is a sign! Take a picture of the sign! Someone will care!” So I did it for you, whoever you are.
And that’s probably as much naming as you will get out of me on this journey, my dears. But who cares? We have discovered The Heathers! Look at this!
It is only beginning to dawn on me at this moment what I have stepped into, but in the minutes that followed I found myself awash in mystical beauty.
Stepping back, just a bit, here was the most stunning spectacle I found before me. Darlings, when the time comes, you know, that inevitable moment, to cross to the Other Side, may they just bury me among the heathers and let my soul reside in heather glory forever. Amen.
A path emerged and I wended my way back towards the front.
(The heathers are lovely, lively, deep but I have promises to keep.)
Emerging, more glorious images were there to be seen and caught and shared.
the golden bush…
the precious tiny fuschia…
this bench, oh so inviting in summer sun, I’m sure…
the rhodies, hinting of what will be opening in spring, when I return!
Finding this gorgeous water feature I was just about filled up, as you can imagine.
Next time I will be employing one of those wagons to take home some personal treasures for my garden. Today I am fully enriched with all that I was blessed to find. On a rainy (unlikely) day.
Thank you, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. We look forward to our return!
Unable to actually shout from the rooftops, my new optimism, shared by millions around the country, found visual expression in a potted evergreen out front of my house. Passersby find themselves quietly grinning when they spot the red bow on the decorative flag now planted in the pot. Coupled with the enthusiasm is a renewed dedication to making a pragmatic difference in my personal practices. Here is a list of what I’m pledging to do.
1. Pledging to USE those Portable Shopping Bags.
Since my last post I am happy to report that I figured out just what I needed to fully implement the carrying of portable shopping bags into the grocery store, to alleviate needing paper or plastic bags. I learned that I needed four large bags to make it work. I made remedy straightaway by adding these three great fun purchases to the one I already owned.
Before I go into the store I now ask myself how many bags I will need for my groceries, and take that many in. Often one is enough. I realized that what ultimately worked for me was to approximate what I’m accustomed to over many years–large paper flat-bottomed bags. And I took a page from a reader last week and am religiously putting the emptied bags back on the front door handle, ready to go back into the car. Problem solved!
I must add that I found another kind of bag in shopping for the above, highly recommended to me. It’s kind of a glorified ChicoBag, in that it’s also nylon and rolls up. But it apparently has a much larger armhole, for carrying; does not need to be stuffed back into anything; and, best yet, has a wide assortment of designs. (I still think the Fun Quotient is important.) They are called Envirosax.
2. I will be even more diligent about turning off the lights.
I’m already pretty habituated to turning lights off that are unnecessary. I brought this awareness into my life in grad school when I studied Deep Ecology and was introduced to the concept of Global Warming. I tend to keep lights really low and sparse in the evenings for another reason–keeping the house lights dimmed or minimal is a great way to slow myself down after a stimulating day, and prepare for a good night’s sleep, the cornerstone of my good health.
3. I pledge to buy more things locally.
I know myself well enough to know that I am not going to get fanatic about strictly buying locally. I have lived too many places on the globe to want to limit myself to that practice. I require more variety. And for as long as mankind has been on the planet I’m pretty sure trade was an integral part of our human condition. But at the same time I am now noting where things were grown and thinking about how much fuel it took to get that (fill in the blank) in my hand. I may well boycott whatever it is and see if I can find a local alternative. I’m ever at the local farmer’s market and buy whatever I can from people in my locale, creating a win on many levels. So raising my awareness of where things came from is a good new barometer.
Another thing to bear in mind in this same realm is to think for a moment where the money I just spent is going once it leaves my hand. Will it go back to a remote corporate headquarter, and thus leave my immediate community straightaway? Or will it feed a local family who might also reinvest those dollars into the farmer’s markets, etc.? Just something to ponder.
4. I pledge to unplug my cellphone charger.
Someone reading this will be able to tell me exactly what the benefits are, I’m sure. For quite awhile I poo-poohed this notion, finding myself thinking, “Oh, come ON. How much energy could we be saving?” I preferred the convenience of having the charger perpetually plugged in. Know what got me? The ad on tv where the young man is asking the teenage girl in jeans if “that is her cellphone charger” which is plugged (perpetually) into her bedroom wall, which she promptly denies. Until her cellphone rings. In her pocket. Which she tries, uselessly, to ignore. Cracked me up. And I said, “OK, I got it.” And I’ve been unplugging ever since. Thanks to the brains and creativity of whoever did that psa.
5. Car stuff: I pledge to drive more slowly, drive more evenly, keep tires at correct air pressure.
I know you know that driving more slowly and more evenly saves energy. And, most likely, you are all aware that our tires have an optimal air pressure which we need to maintain monthly. If we do these right we will save 1% on our energy usage. If we all did that it would surely add up.
6. I pledge to get off catalogue lists that have no interest to me.
Gardeners, take note! We especially get tons of catalogues that we truly have no interest in receiving. Am I right? I’m promising to take the time to notify the folks who send me ones that are off purpose for me (and thus them).
7. I pledge to dry even more of my clean washed clothes out of doors.
I still grin when I think of a dear friend of mine who is married to a lovely Englishman of a particular upbringing telling me, “My husband would never let me dry my clothes outside.” (What??!) I thought that was pretty hilarious that there could be social implications about where one’s clothes are dried, though kind of endearing in a weird sort of way. (Maybe it’s because I love them both.) But, really, it’s not hard to imagine that in some neighborhoods laundry hanging in the back yard would not be viewed as appropriate. But when examined, why not? I always have some sort of handwash going on, especially in summer. I own clothes that require special handling, and dry cleaning is not my preferred way of doing things. So those things promptly go outside in the sun to dry. I actually enjoy the process. But admittedly, getting all the towels and sheets out into the glorious sunshine is not top of my list, though I started moving in that direction, strangely, when I heard Martha Stewart mention that if you line-dry towels outside, they truly would fluff up if then placed briefly in an dryer. I tried it and it worked, so increasingly more clothes are going up in the sun once the weather stabilizes. I feel like I’m giving a bit of moisture back to the Earth that I don’t think makes it back into circulation to the same measure if I use the clothes dryer (even though there is a vent to out-of-doors). And why use the energy when the sun’s energy will do the job? The clothes smell better and they benefit from the sterilization from the sun.
Dear readers, this is a humble list, but pragmatic. I have other lists that involve other parts of myself, particularly as Making a Difference applies to my business life. That list is very long standing. My purpose here was to address the kinds of things I might do in my daily routine that would make things better. Applied to many this list alone would make things even better.
Unexpectedly, in pondering this post I synchronistically crossed paths with the work Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are doing, inspiring folks through their Presidential Pledge video. I feel honored and privileged to make it available to you. It’s worth watching more than once, I find, and each time it has touched my heart and strengthened my resolve as I realize how widespread and common this impulse has become. Finally.
