The Incredible Whiteness of Spring

 

  

I've been thinking lately that if spring could have a sound,it would be soprano; high and  delicate. A note that is not held long but is clear and pure. That's what the flowers of spring remind me of. Spring flowers don't hang around for very long. This white Spirea seems to deteriorate while I look at it. It's fugitive; the flowers on their way to  becoming sturdy leaves.

 And how about that white clematis armandii? Does it have a powerful, sweet scent or what? I have a few flowers by my kitchen sink and the sweet, heavy scent almost knocks me over. Maybe I'm just taking in a floral curative. As I'm interested in all matters related to plants, I was curious what the Bach Flower Company had to say about the clematis. 

Bach flower remedies are extreme dilutions of flower material developed by Edward Bach, an English homeopath, in the 1930s. Bach believed that dew found on flower petals retain healing properties of that plant. The remedies are intended primarily for emotional and spiritual conditions, including but not limited to depression, anxiety, insomnia and stress.

Here's a partial description of what the Bach company has to say about the clematis flower:

"Clematis personalities are extremely creative and imaginative and do well in occupations such as music, fashion design, journalism, and film-making. However, when their creativity cannot be put to good use, they fall into the negative Clematis state - where their energies can take the form of exaggerated romanticism, delusions, and various kinds of eccentricity.


You may recognize a person in need of treatment with this Bach flower therapy by their dreamy look - an unfocused gaze and an attitude of slight confusion. Because they are never fully focused on the present, they have poor memories and little sense of detail. They simply can't take the time to listen well enough to absorb things". 

Yeah, pretty out there, I know. There is so much we don't understand in this rather unexplored world of our relationship to plants. They feed & heal our bodies. They heal and uplift our souls through their beauty. Why not our spirits?

Love to ya'll

 
"River" Usually sepia toned, but rose tinted for Valentine's Day. From a series of paintings on wild orchids from around the world. Watercolor on bamboo.

Pave Class

Here are the beautiful results from this weekend's Pave' Class. Pave's are easy to put together.They look deceptively simple, but sometimes simplicity is as difficult to achieve as complexity. And they can be so varied in the result that I think I've become even more hooked on them. 

One of the arrangements was made by 11 year old Gabriela who came with her grandmother. What a good eye she has. Now if we can only get some men in our class! 

Congratulations all!

We have this thing

Don't know what it's called. Jon remembers it being pulled out for serving holiday meals when he was a kid; maybe holding cranberry sauce and what else? The containers are small and shallow. In the spirit of the upcoming Pave' class I pulled it out from the dark recesses of the closet. You know, the one that holds things that almost never get used.  In the past I've looked at it from time to time and sort of winced at it and slid it back in. Too fussy for my tastes. Those fickle tastes, always changing. I don't know if it will get used for food (hmmm. maybe a barbeque?), but I sure love it as a Pave' container.

I made this pretty fast. The anemones left over from another project were springing open and I wanted to catch them. Taping was fast and it shows. So forgive the craftsmanship this time. I wanted it to get from me to you.

For Alice

Ah Geeze, that sounds a little like the beginning of a eulogy. Sorry about that! No, I just became acquainted with Alice by phone recently. She's sad she can't make it to the Pave' Class coming up soon. So here's some Pave's I made recently to tease all of you into the flower fold and to show Alice.

Yes, a Pave' Class at College of Marin is coming right up!
Pave's are low arrangements of tightly packed flower heads. You've seen them most often made with succulents planted in dirt for a wall hanging or table.These are short flowers heads in water in shallow containers. They are a great little option to have up one's sleeve for a low table, in the bathroom, side table....
There's a long tradition in Europe among other countries for using flowers this way. I found them a little more tricky to make interesting than I expected..Come play with flowers. Who is bringing the chocolate??

Note: Addition to the class: I'm going to do a demo only of a Valentine Pave in a small heart shaped box with tiny flowers in honor of the upcoming festival of love. Then we'll commence making Pave's in the container you brought.



Details:
College of Marin 

Feb. 8
Saturday, 10-2,
Fine Arts Building, Room 314
$68


marin.edu/CommunityEducation/schedule

Click on  PDF 2 Mb  next to the picture of the catalog to view the schedule on under pg. 24 in Home and Garden.  

Click on Community Ed Registration Form to Register

Little Bits

Marin County just had it's driest year on record.  I tend to start holding my breath with this kind of news in anticipation of this continuing dry trend and it's consequences.

80% of California water goes to farming. While there are many conservation efforts made for/by home owners, it seems to be a much more complex matter for farmers. In a sense that's good news, because so much more conservation is possible. 

Some little bits of things from my surrounds. The  tomatoes got clipped in November and stuck in water. They ripened and taste like summer. And my new love this year- grapefruit peels.

And Oh Happy Day! Presenting the newest member in my creative family of tools. It's the smallest 35mm type digital, a Cannon SL1.  It's still in the evaluation stage as we get to know one another, so far it's a joy and hey- it focuses when you want it to. It's a wonder these new cameras don't give birth; they have so many bells and whistles. Luckily you can keep it as simple or go as crazy as you want.

Pinestone

Ah, Pinestone. This vase came from the dining room of a home on a ranch that Jon's family owned; Pinestone Ranch. It was located just up the pass from Manitou Springs, a small town we lived in many years ago in Colorado. When Jon's mother passed away we had the opportunity to buy it. For many reasons it wasn't a good fit for us then. A road not taken. Though it wasn't for us, it was too bad it couldn't be kept in the family. But what else is life about but change?  So here's a homage to a beloved family home in the true west bedecked with the most luscious of local roses, amongst other little beauties. What filled this vase before my time with it?

Camilias are in

The most boring flower-not

I didn't expect to be writing about roses in winter. But it is California and there local roses available now that are wonderful. Got to confess;  I think the ubiquitous red commercial rose, that tight red bud plunked on top of a ruler straight stem is boring. I was speculating something along the line of the poor roses being held hostage by corporate floral industry interests. Then just before sitting down to write this, we decided to watch a movie made in the 1930's. In the opening scene the leading actress was blocked by a vase of those rose buds. So there's a tradition to this, eh? Could it be that somewhere along the line someone- men or women, wanted roses to stay that in that puritanically tight form? Maybe a fully open rose was just too..... suggestive. 

Or maybe I spend entirely too much time contemplating such matters.

These red ones have such heavy iconic associations they are rather challenging to use in fresh ways. This kind of challenge makes this work both hair pulling and really,really interesting.

The Flower and The Vase

 http://www.terrestra.com/floral/  

                       The Flower and The Vase 
       Thursday, December 12, 6:30-7:30
       30 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley  $45.

Here's a link to an event I'm very pleased to be sharing with Terrestra, a new store in  Mill Valley that sells many wonderful artisan crafted vases and home accessories. I'm going to be demonstrating some Holiday floral arrangements and talking about the pairing of flowers and vases- kind of a Flower/Vase 101. Registration is limited.

 Contact me at maryannnardo@sbcglobal.net or Terrestra to register.