The first hush

“It's quiet now. So quiet that I can almost hear other people's dreams.”
― Gayle Forman, If I Stay

And Into the Darkening

It's that time of year. The light is contracting, all is in silhouette as we await the snow queen's arrival. Here in the Great White North, November is rarely cherished, or even welcomed. I think, however, we have to look into the heart of November and find the lessons in the month. What does November teach us? There may be wisdom in its silence.

 

For me, November is time to turn inwards and look to the warmth of home, family, good food, good books, and good music. I can't get enough poetry in November. Funny, that. And this year, I am completely smitten with the following piece of music. It is my November muse.



Hope you are finding your light in the darkening days.

Edit: If you are looking for a charming read for these indigo evenings and like YA fantasy (like I do!), I highly recommend Wildwood by Colin Meloy, singer and songwriter for the Decemberists. The book has beautiful, quirky colour plates illustrated by his wife, Carson Ellis. Find the Globe & Mail review here.

If you're feeling the need for a poetry fix, check out Canadian poet, Alexis Kienlen here. I've read her first book and can't wait to read her second.

Enjoy!

The Belles of the Ball

Now, I don't know anything about orchids, but when I was at the Muttart Conservatory with my Dad a couple of weeks ago I spied these beauties shimmering in a little nook.


These exotic blooms are surely princesses visiting from a faraway land

Here for a mysterious floral ball

Where they will dance with a swish of silk to the rise of cellos

and dazzle their suitors

before slipping away at midnight

with a slight curtsy and a blush.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

And it Snowed on the Eighth Year

This is a quick post to declare "There is snow!”



So, of course, I had to rush outside this morning with my camera before it melted away.

Why does the snow today make me happy?

Well, it is rather beautiful.

And it does take me back to a day,

eight years ago, when the snow fell outside an old clinker brick church

like soft, lazy feathers, as we kissed and hugged our friends and family.

Yes, eight years ago on a Saturday like this we were married.

One of my finer decisions in life, I must say.

Honey, ya cleaned up real nice ;-)

The Quiet Garden

Last Sunday was the putting to bed of the garden. I found myself approaching this ritual with a mix of melancholy and tenderness. I haven’t had this garden very long and it’s barely a garden, really, there is so much still to do, but I have fallen sweetly in love with it.

Of course, there was the thrill of planting my first bulbs – a bright counterpoint to the quiet grey day.

I deep watered in my new trees and shrubs, after having soaked the stand of spruce along the back the weekend before. I sprayed “Wilt-pruf” on my spiral Alberta Spruce to help it through the winter. I could have covered it or put a burlap screen up but I really enjoy looking at it in the winter with snow accenting its curved lines.

We planted the tender rose, Sterling Silver, in the ground with hopes of overwintering it. I couldn’t bear to part with it, after all.

I left the blooms on the hydrangeas (‘Unique’ and ‘Little Lamb’) to enjoy out the window as well.

In a spot facing my kitchen window, I created the little vignette above with a bench and urn to give me something to look at over the winter.

Since it is now pitch black in the backyard in the evenings after I get home, I’ve even been thinking about adding an uplight on a timer to make the scene glow in the evenings and highlight the beautiful spruce trees behind the bench. I’ve never done any garden lighting before but it might help inspire my winter dreaming.

How do you keep your garden dreams simmering over the winter?

The super secret late season bulb patch

November 1 seems awfully late to be doing anything of the planting sort in the garden, but if you are going to try something new just do it, I say.


And these do look rather lovely. I wasn’t planning to plant bulbs this year. I have never planted any before and wanted to wait until I get my tree plan sorted and some hardscaping installed before I planted much else. I was avoiding having to move things in and out of the ground yet again.


But these sweet bulbs found me. I was at the monthly hort society meeting last Monday and I won these bulbs as a door prize. I yelped and ran up to claim my prize. I was thrilled until I realized it was super late in the year and I didn’t even know how or where I would plant them.


I decided to plant them by the back door in a new bed that has nothing in it but a lovely Holmstrup cedar. I wanted them some place I could sit and gaze at them as they poke out of the ground in the spring.

And I know they will. I am very heartened about this because I see that a couple other northern gardeners have recently planted bulbs and they are much more experienced than I.


The only thing I am worried about is the squirrels getting them, hence the sheet over them. I just hope it doesn’t act like a red flag does to a bull. No bulbs here, squirrels, no siree. Just a sheet taking a rest on the ground, so best you keep moving along. I hear there’s lots of pinecones thataway.


Now that I’ve done it I am pretty excited by the idea of flowers in the spring. Wish me luck!