Secret Garden

I’ve been waiting for the weather to finally be warm enough to garden. Our winter lasted forever, and it’s only been since mid-to-late May that it felt even remotely spring-like. But even then, the temperature would still drop to wintry temperatures overnight. Not ideal for planting young flowers and shrubs.

Gardening is a family affair for us, which is something that I’ve come to enjoy. My parents and I wake up early on a Saturday, hoping to beat the crowds at the local plant nurseries. Mom and I pick the flowers (Dad always insists on some blue or purple varietals), and Dad is in charge of paying and then loading up the car. The rest of the morning is spent in the dirt (literally) until every flower has a new home. The end result is a yard filled with bursts of color. It’s so refreshing after a gray, colorless winter.

My favorite flower (if you don’t already know) is the rose, so each year we add a few roses to the collection. This year we added a sherbet colored one and a red and white speckled one. I’m a huge fan of both! They seemed so unique to me. Because Dad favors purple and blue flowers, we have a lot of those scattered about as well. We’re still waiting for our lilies to bloom though, but they’re coming along nicely.

There’s something therapeutic about gardening for me. It’s peaceful, especially since we garden first thing in the morning. Our neighbors still haven’t emerged from their houses, so it’s just us and maybe some birds chirping. It’s nice, too, that it’s time spent with my parents. The older I get, the more I appreciate that quality time I have with them. And gardening is creative too. You spend so much time picking flowers and then laying them out to create something aesthetically pleasing. The yard becomes like an empty canvas, the flowers different tubes of oil paint.

 

Do any of you garden? What are your favorite flowers?

Floating Flowers

I love flowers, which you probably know if you’ve been reading my blog. I always have a bouquet in my bedroom, flowers appear in a large number of my blog posts, and come spring (after the snow melts and warm enough to put my down coat into storage), I’ll be in the garden section of Home Depot with my parents picking out this year’s blooms.

But sometimes for the sake of blogging and photography, I have to destroy some flowers to get the look I want. That means that I’m occasionally caught plucking petals from a beautiful rose or decapitating daisies. I also feel guilty about and have a difficult time throwing the flowers away afterwards, especially if they’re not yet faded.

When I was photographing my monthly favorites for March, I popped the heads off some white flowers from one of my mother’s bouquets to add a bit of spring to the shots. Although the rest of the bouquet had seen better days, these unidentified flowers still seemed quite fresh so I didn’t have the heart to throw them out. But I didn’t know what to do with them either.

Eventually I came up with the idea of a floating "bouquet."  I grabbed one of my mother’s candy dishes, filled it with some water, and dropped the flowers in. Now that I look at it again, it reminds me vaguely of water lilies in a pond. I’ve been pleased with the overall look of my floating "bouquet," which has taken up residence on my bedside table. There’s something very tranquil and soothing about it. I’m sure someone who understood the art and subtleties of Feng Shui could explain why that is, but for now I’m just going to enjoy it while the daisies keep.

Do you have any surprising uses for flowers?

Simple Pleasures: Bouquets

With a winter as bitter as this one spring and summer seem like they’ll never get here.  Everything seems so lifeless. The trees are bare and the lawns are hidden under inches of dingy, gray snow.  Gross.

To combat the winter-weather blues, I’ve taken to buying myself bouquets for my room. As I've said before, I think there is something to be said about how plant life can improve your mood (maybe even your quality of life?) and energize a room.  I look forward to my bi-weekly trips to Dahlia’s stand in Grand Central, which I’ve dubbed “flower day.” Original, I know. It may seem slightly indulgent but a smile and upbeat mood is worth $30 a month for 2 dozen vibrant roses, right? Right. Plus, there are two things that are cheap in New York City—manicures and bouquets—so I might as well take advantage of it!

Although I know spring will arrive eventually and I’ll finally be able to look out at our garden, I think I’ll continue with this flower day ritual. It’s such a simple thing, but it does lift my spirits, especially after a long day at work. It’s the simple things in life that make it worth living, no?

What are some little things that make you smile? xx