A Very Good Life: March 2016

Digging It In Diamond Bar

Our little Eden, complete with the occasional snake, is USDA Zone 9B. Nested high in a chaparral filled valley, ground level is 957’ above sea level. The view is incredible. The specific climate is mostly Sunset Zone 20. I don’t want stalkers, so we’ll skip the GPS info. It is pretty glorious to live here in the land of 2 seasons: Fire and mudslide.

This journal is filled with enthusiastic strivings to fulfill the suburbanite fantasy of keeping a country home.

As context is important, on occasion a bit of history or commentary on current events is dropped in.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Romance in the Garden - Seal Beach Presentation

"What I do and what I drink

include thee

as the wine must taste of its own grapes."

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Romance in the Garden. This was the promised topic to present the Leisure World Garden Club of Seal Beach.

Sunset from our backyard

Preparing for the talk, visions of romantic moments tumbled through my conscience. So varied the experience of a romantic setting; there are as many possibilities as moments in life.

Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder, The Garden of Eden(1615)

Time to stop. Think. "What is the common thread?" I asked myself. How do I explain the sublime beauty of why love made real requires more than passion? More than scheming. More than hard work.

Reno loves, and is loved.

My thesis is that the divine difference between man and beast is that while both are capable of love, only humans are capable of romance .

May 2011. My husband with our dogs

Our dogs give us love. We give our dogs love. Only my husband and I are capable of romance with the other.

My neighbor, Sandra, when she looks over the fence, this is her bird's- eye view of our garden in middle spring.

Just because the heat bares down hard here, calling this a "hell strip" isn't accurate.

Truth is beauty. Beauty is truth. Romance is both. When romance emanates from the garden, it fills the world with what the world needs more of. Doesn't it?

Gardens begin with a bit of dirt. A vision of what could be, if only...

Through desire, mystery. With anticipation. And excitement...

Pruning is an opportunity for fragrant bouquets

Romance elevates the ordinary to extraordinary. By imagining beautiful gardens, and finding ways to incorporate inspiration, in a way which is authentic to our lives, this is the truest path to happiness in this life.

The slide presentation was filled with examples from my own garden, as well as my scouting and writing career. From just a pot to over an acre- plots, gardens begin with a bit of dirt. A vision of what could be, if only... Through desire, mystery. With anticipation. And excitement... a romantic garden is accessible to all.

Some potted roses, live mint and a copy of Denise Schreiber's delightful spiral bound Eat Your Roses were given out as prizes to the wonderful audience, who blessed me with their time and attention.