Yesterday was the Winter Solstice: the first day of winter and the return of the light. The days grow longer and the nights grow shorter. Like Oliver’s bird, I grow ever more restless. I have an idea–ideas–unfolding from under my wings. Also like the white-eyed bird, I want to go to sleep. … More In Winter, We Rest
Well, there goes another month. November is flying out the same way it flew in–quickly. The door is opened to December and time shows no signs of stopping. Which, I’ll happily point out, is a good thing! Although some slowing might be nice. Here in the US we are bracing for another wave of Covid19. … More Nesting
BOO!Did I scare you? If I didn’t, I bet these Ghost Pipes just might. Also known as Corpse Plant, Monotropa uniflora is always a treat to find. I usually spot a few when walking through Umstead State Park. But this year, large colonies of these fascinating flowers were growing under a maple tree in my … More Ghost Pipes (Happy Halloween! đź‘»)
Read about the importance and beauty of native plants in my latest Garden Guru column for Seasons Style & Design Magazine. Click here: https://seasonsmagazinenc.com/the-garden-guru-6/ Excerpt:Why include native plants in the home garden?Native plants are an important part of a healthy ecosystem, but can they also be beautiful additions to our landscapes? “Absolutely,” says Steve Windham, landscape … More Native Plants for a Healthy (and Beautiful!) Home Garden Ecosystem
“Come with me to visit the sunflowers…each of them, though it stands in a crowd of many, like a separate universe, is lonely, the long work of turning their lives into a celebration is not easy.” ~Mary Oliver A quick hello! These photos were taken at North Carolina Museum of Art’s Park (Raleigh) last Sunday. … More Sunflowers and the Pursuit of Health and Happiness
Take a listen, if you’d like, to this 11-minute NPR program: On 50th Anniversary Of Earth Day, What You Can Do For The Environment
We are living in strange times. What used to be up, feels down. What was once down, feels up. Days go by as we wonder which day of the week we are moving through. How did we ever keep up with our lives before this? And why did things like labels, dates, and times really … More Hope
I planned all spring and summer to buy new garden ornaments to adorn Flora’s Abode, aka my garden. And here it is mid-September. It just didn’t happen. Unexpected healthcare costs, among other unexpected and expected costs, came up and of course there’s never enough extra for the fun, frivolous things, right? I wanted new birdhouses. … More Gratitude, Perspective, and Garden Art
Here it is–JUNE–already! Ok, not quite, but verrry close. The temperatures are rising. Yes, the humidity, too. It is North Carolina, after all. We had a nice spring this year; we don’t always. I’ve been sick a good part of this year with various minor ailments. So, I’m playing catch-up with spring cleaning–just kidding! I’m … More Arranging All the Pieces
Snail feasting on a hardy orchid (Calanthe) in my garden. We humans think we are smart, but an orchid, for example, knows how to produce noble, symmetrical flowers, and a snail knows how to make a beautiful, well-proportioned shell. Compared with their knowledge, ours is not worth much at all. We should bow deeply before … More The Orchid and the Snail: Happy Earth Day!
Giving Voice to My Astonishment 
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