A Visit to Debra's Garden

It pleases me to take amateur photographs of my garden,  and it pleases my garden to make my photographs look professional.

Robert Brault

She is retiring and by the time I get these thoughts and photos posted she and her husband Bob may already be packed and moved to a different state to be with her new grandson. I felt it important to journal the garden and present my own type of thanks for all the pleasure the garden has given me in the years past.

It always inspires me to watercolor and take photographs. I love to sit in the large old wooden garden chair. Debra brings us out pieces of fresh baked tart and cups of perfect coffee. The dishes are old and mismatched with tiny flowers and worn gold on the edges. My coffee is handed to me in a pottery mug I made when I was 18 in my first pottery class. 

Here is a place of friendship, beauty, peace and tranquility. Everywhere my eye settles is another composition and collection. It is the perfect place to lie back in the chair, close your eyes and take a deep lovely restful nap.

"Terracotta Angel & Old Wooden Garden Chair ... Nap Time! "

The Welcoming Bird at the Garden Gate

"A Palette of Magenta,  Cream and Greens ... Oh my! "

When you enter Debra's Garden there is a small stone path that leads towards the house. Moss and the tiniest leafy plants have filled every seam between the stones. On both sides are luscious borders.

"Gentle Borders "

Frilly lace in frozen greens,  delicate colors like spun linen.

I couldn't take my eyes off these sweet flowers.

There is a wine barrel on the left of the stone path as you make the turn towards the front door. It is full and rich with succulents of all kinds. 
I love Hen's and Chicks. My mother used to have many varieties of them. She would tuck them into every corner of the garden and any tiny space in a planter. I have a special fondness for them.

"Piggyback"
There are many of these planters in the garden. Each with critters and crystals & full of life.

"Gorgeous Hues"

"Wild Blackberries ... The Real Deal ! Unforgettable Flavor"

FRESH BLACKBERRY JAM
4 cups blackberries
 1 cup white sugar
 2 tablespoons cornstarch
 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Mash blackberries. 
Stir in sugar until juices form. 
Stir cornstarch into 1 Tblsp. of the juice
Mix with berries & put in a saucepan.
Bring berries to a boil, stirring often, until jam is thickened, about 15 minutes.
Stir in cinnamon and allspice. 
Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Put your jam to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled. Stir in lemon juice.

"Purple and Pink Paradise"
I can feel the warm sun,  smell the sweet fragrances and can't wait to grab my paints, or quilt or draw or something pink & purple ... !

"Cranberry,  Candy,  Petticoats, Dancing, Eyelashes"

"Simply Beautiful"
There is a bliss about a well turned garden. I believe God's hand is truly at work here. It is impossible to not feel something sitting before the simplest of evidence ... a tiny fluttering life a butterfly, bloom, leaf or bee.