A Little Light
I found an old lantern in the attic of the garage. Originally, I planned to make it into a lamp for the guest bedroom, but I didn’t really want to dust it as it’s a little rusty. Then I got these fantastic solar LED lights that are warm like incandescent, not the harsh, retina burning blue that they usually are. At first I was going to put them on the trellis in the back garden, but we really needed some kind of light by the front door when we get home late at night. That’s what I had the idea to put the light in the lantern.
Perfection! It provides just the right amount of light without being too bright. We can see to get to the door and it provides a nice welcoming glow by the door.
The best part is that it’s solar. Sure there’s a little solar panel in the planter below the light, but that’s OK with me. I might eventually hang the lantern on a hook by the door and then put the solar panel on the roof where it won’t be visible. Overall, I love the look of this simple project, it’s the perfect way to add a little light to a dark corner of the garden.
Do you have any lighting in the garden?
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Quote of the Day: Shauna Niequist
“I believe that this way of living, this focus on the present, the daily, the tangible, this intense concentration not on the news headlines but on the flowers in your own garden, the children growing in your own home, this way of living has the potential to open up the heavens, to yield a glittering handful of diamonds where a second ago there was coal. This way of living and noticing and building and crafting can crack through the movie sets and soundtracks that keep us waiting for our own life stories to begin, and set us free to observe the lives we have been creating all along without even realizing it.”
Shauna Niequiest in Cold Tangerines
I was working in the garden yesterday and thinking about this quote and about this idea. An acquaintance passed away yesterday after a long illness. She was young, not much older than I am. She leaves behind her husband, it’s sad, very sad.
Death is never easy, yet it will come to all of us. We know it will come, we just hope it will be when we’re old and when we think we’ve lived enough of our life. None of us has the guarantee of growing old, another day, or even another minute. Life is fleeting, even if we live to be 100.
And yet somehow we still find ourselves going through our days without noticing the things that actually make up our lives. So often we are waiting for perfection to start living and enjoying. We are waiting for that big moment, for that trip, to reach a certain place.
Our lives are lived in every moment, and often these are the moments that are most important. We live our lives in our offices, in our kitchens, in our gardens, on our sofas. All of these seconds add up to our lives. When we look back at those moments with loved ones who are gone, they often revolve around these moments and not the big events.
I have fond memories of shelling peas with my family and making up songs while we worked (I can still remember the songs). There are memories around the dinner table, of playing cards, conversations in the car on a drive, an evening walk; these are the little moments that are the glittering diamonds in our memories. Enjoy these moments. Savor each day, each task, each flower, each person, each interaction. Life is fleeting, don’t waste it waiting for something big!
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GRLT Garden Tour #6
When I read the words “privet hedge surrounding the garden” in the brochure I knew this was going to be my favorite garden on the tour! I decided to save the best garden for last since it would be perfect for my Friday Favorite.
The entrance to the garden is a beautiful perennial bed with a short rock wall in it. When you come through the arch you are instantly amazed by the beautiful garden that unfolds before you. There are vegetable, flowers, grass pathways, hedges, a small greenhouse, big shade trees, and so much more.
My favorite part about this garden is everything, a great inspiration for the main garden in the back. I’ve been making plans an this garden is pretty close to what I want to accomplish.
What’s your favorite part of this garden?
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GRLT Garden Tour #5
We’re on to the next garden in the George River Land Trust garden tour series. The photos don’t really do this garden justice, it’s so hard to fully capture a garden like this one. It was built in a ravine behind the gardener’s house. She had to clear out the overgrown mess that was there and found a lovely little stream when she did. This was the result.
The sheer number of plants in this garden was amazing, simply amazing. The best part is that she says it’s low maintenance because she mulches everything well and the plants are all so close together.
What do you like best about this garden?
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GRLT Garden Tour #4
We’re on to the next garden in the George River Land Trust garden tour series. This was a small garden, very typical of what most of us probably have and work in. It was well done, with lots of interesting details. There were lots of edible plants tucked in throughout, the owners enjoy providing vegetables for their own table.
I particularly loved the typical shake siding with the light blue door, such a fantastic combo. The greenhouse on the back deck made from sliding glass doors was also fantastic. Mr Chiots and I paid particular attention to this since we have been collecting doors to build one for our garden.
What do you like about this garden?
