A Stargazer Hydrangea to Gaze at
This Sunday was sunny and warm, the kind of Sunday where you just want to set up a lounge chair and read a book. Instead, I worked in the garden. I weeded for a while and then transplanted my Stargazer hydrangea, a lovely pink shrub with pointed flowers.
A 30-Day Blogging Challenge!
We're about a month away from The Forgetting Flower's release so I thought it would be fun to do a 30-day blogging challenge. It will be super hard but I'm going to try.
On Being Astonished and Capturing the Sight in a Poem
Here's one insight poet Thomas A. Thomas shared during our chat the other day: "There is enough awfulness in the world, and I pay attention to that too. But I want to look at what makes the horrors worth fighting through, what makes the suffering bearable." Check out this interesting poet and nature photographer.
7 Heavenly Flowers That Will Enchant You in Hawaii
Hawaii is far away from just about everywhere on the U.S. mainland and crazy-expensive. Yet it’s enormously popular. Why? It’s the warm sunny weather, the lush landscapes, and the relaxing escape that comes with vacations. But most of all, for me, it’s the heavenly flowers. Interestingly enough, Hawaii had very few endemic plants before Polynesians settled the islands. They brought…
What You Can Do to Prevent Bee Collapse
Years ago, I was trimming English lavender at a client’s house in Seattle. It was a sunny summer day, the kind of day for which I was thankful to work as a gardener. As the sun warmed my arms, I cut the fragrant stems with my pruners, shifting my kneepad a few inches at a time. The bees hovered and…
Overcoming the Guilt of Not Writing
Sometimes, when I’m gardening, I feel the guilt of not writing. When I’m writing, I sometimes feel guilty about not gardening. And I don’t mean having fun in my yard, though I love to do that too. I mean gardening for work, for money, my day job. I own a tiny (as in me) gardening business where I either design a…
Writer in Motion, or Not
Every day that I haven’t been working in a client’s garden, I’ve been revising my novel. I stay inside and sit, feeling my body spreading out in a weird, sedentary ooze. I have a Fitbit now and I feel the lack of motion, the lack of steps. What I lack in motion I make up for in neuropathy in my hands.…
