This past fall I finally put in a deer fence and added a gate to my small garden. I have a white Victorian house and after much thought decided to paint the fence and gate BLACK. In fact, “Panther Black.” It was kind of daring.
I painted it in the early spring before any flowers or leaves on the trees. It was a surprise to some, but I liked it, but now that the peonies are out and the garden is in full force, I think it’s a marvel.
When it snows for the first time I’m out in the garden looking for tracks of deer which have been invisible up to now. I’m tracking where they go so I can put up barriers so they don’t get near my beautiful Hemlocks and Japanese Yew which they will chew up and devastate.
Deer tracks….which way are they going?
Deer are all around these parts, but not a problem until winter when they start foraging.
Winterberry – Ilex of some sort that grow wild near the roadside
in an old basket for picking apples.
I live in an amazing part of the country with snow, moon, cherry blossoms in spring and autumn colors like these just showing off a month ago. How quickly things change…
Autumn colors just a month ago
The Tea Ceremony as we know it today was created in 16th century Japan by the Tea master Rikyu. The flowers in the tea room are placed according to his insight and reveal an aesthetic of simple restraint. He said “To arrange flowers is to express the life of flowers.”
Each flower is enjoyed for its distinct color, shape, size and seasonal bloom. Equally appreciated are the vases that hold the flowers. They”re varied: rough pottery for use in winter, baskets in all shapes and sizes for summer, smooth bronze and blue and white porcelain for formal occasions. The flowers and vases have stories to tell, and in the tea room they are talked about and admired.
excerpt – A Tea Garden in Tivoli
