It feels like the time for magical conjuring is wafting around. Pulling on my hem, calling my name through the breeze. Nights filled with vast dreams, so real, I have to convince myself it was a journey during sleep, and not real time happenings.
Thick clouds, darkened skies which I love, meet me today.
And so I begin…
Collecting.
I just received a huge box of goodies in the mail, plus finished a huge project.
I will photograph to share both in a couple of days.
Both things inspire me to plunge into enchanted realms.
I gather herbs, flowers, candles…
Thank you for stopping in.
I took a smattering of photos this morning in drizzly glorious weather.
A darkness by day sets the mood, as we gather in the garden.
Collecting, searching…
Here’s your tea, careful it’s hot, now come this way…
If you will.
The colors we choose, the petals and leaves, have to be those that infuse the being…
Light sources of hope and magic unfold…
Misty clouds, here we go…
Through the front garden, here come the flowers.
Which seem to get strong all summer, then explode with blooms in September and October.
Vines twirl about.
Making me ever so thrilled.
Blues in the garden always astound me.
Pinks take my breath away.
Stealing my heart.
Purple and fuchsia, I don’t know what to say.
Bountiful zinnias.
I wished for them every day.
In winter, in early spring, I begged for them to find me again next summer.
Now it is that time, and again they are here.
I always feel so lucky.
When flowers make it.
You wouldn’t believe the lengths I go to, to ensure they survive.
Rabbits, gophers, toads, rodents, oh my.
Dealing with them kindly.
Zinnias own a piece of my heart.
And without them, things sort of feel incomplete.
So many blooming about.
Reds, pinks, oranges, purples and more.
Oops, here we go…
Around the giant wall of 15 ft. tall oleander bushes, behind the white swing in the front garden…
Passing the gypsy wagon, and over to the courtyard garden, which borders the office and gallery and wagon.
It’s mysterious over here.
Gypsy wagon and bath…
Crimson petals.
But even better than that, a secret to show you…
Outside the gallery, where dichondra grows in a circle on its own, so sweet!
A volunteer gourd vine grows up the unsightly power pole I told you about in spring, remember here?
(sadly, the electric company meter reader will never see it, he reads our meter electronically, and never comes in)
I couldn’t be more excited about it.
It’s a major nature gift for a gourd lover like me.
How could you learn to L O V E a power pole that sits right smack outside your lovely gallery window?
Well it’s old wood, which is good.
But still.
Here’s how.
A volunteer gourd vines covers it, and then proceeds to have a whole bunch of birdhouse gourd babies!!!
My neighbor and I counted 12 HUGE ones this morning.
Aren’t we so easily amused?
Haha!
Heavy as can be, so how do they just hang there like that?
She asks me, and I ask she?
So wonderful, what a gift!
A treat, makes me wildly giddy.
Gourd love abound.
As I clip the tallest flower.
Or should I say, the tallest rose stem I have seen, maybe, ever?
Thorny as heck too.
I collect in my skirt, I collect in my basket.
Delightments galore to conjure this and that.
Like oils and soaps, and candle infusions.
Hello marigold.
Thank you for living with me in seclusion.
Oh yes.
Where’s Vanessa?
Where has she been?
Why isn’t she at the party?
Why doesn’t she want to come out to play?
Something must be wrong.
Ahem.
Or could it be, that she has found her happy?
And, she ain’t leaving?
I found a happy place in me, in my gardens.
They help me balance my mind and heart in the most real way.
Petals and pups and paint, and a mad hatter too – fill up the voids of a younger me.
Voids I had almost forgotten.
If I can help it, I never want to leave.
I am aware of the gift of here, this moment.
In one breath it can all change.
So let me hide out here, for a little while longer please.
40 – 50 years would suffice.
Lover of nature and quiet and snores of a dog.
Conjuring up this and that, oh, I hear rain from up above.
I think I have rhyme of the brain because of a recent project.
We are all mad here.
And we like it.
Are you mad, and like it too?
I hope so!
Oh yes, I do.
Happy Weekending!!!!
Loooove, V
See ya soooon!
ps: A word(s) on music.
Do you have songs that totally identify seasons of your life?
I do.
They’re endless really.
I bet you do for sure too.
Some remind me of pure winter, and my 3 boys, flannel, crocheting.
This summer I have played a few songs on repeat.
Way too much repeat maybe.
CocoRosie, We are on Fire.
I love the chorus.
+
Sierra with her wonderful voice at 2:57 can be on repeat forever as far as I am concerned.
Tearz for Animals is really good too.
Always love hearing Antony with CocoRosie.
I put them on my Ipod early this summer, and have listened over and over and over.
Also, don’t forget, Bat For Lashes’ new album (The Haunted Man) comes out on October 15th.
Most excellent.
Can’t wait for my copy.
And Tori.
New album called Gold Dust, which revisits older songs, interpreted as she sees them today.
20 years later for some of them.
Curious about this indeed.
I hear these are the songs below.
Flavor. Yes, Anastasia. Jackie’s Strength. Cloud On My Tongue. Precious Things. Gold Dust. Star of Wonder. Winter. Flying Dutchman. Programmable Soda. Snow Cherries From France. Marianne. Silent All These Years. Girl Disappearing.
Oh, Flying Dutchman.
Met me in my painting worlds in my younger days all the time.
Comes out October 2nd.
Can’t wait.
Since we are talking Tori, one of my fave performances ever is here.
The bridge at 3:03 – 4:21 is heart love.
OKay, I am leaving now 🙂
Longest post evah.
I think I got just a bit too happy to see a new post up. Pumpkins abound, music galore…autumn is coming…
Vanessa:
Thank you so much for sharing your garden today. I really needed to get lost in your flowers and vines and gourds.
I am still so so heartsick and lonesome after losing my little Junior Bug on Wednesday. For a few minutes, while touring your lovely yard, my heart was lifted. Even if only for a few minutes.
Thank you.
xoxo
Kim
Gerushia’s New World
All Mad? Absolutely… Is there any other way :o)
Queenie believes the voluntary gourd is an extra special gift from your garden to you for taking such good care of it!
Have a wonderful weekendness.
Always, Queenie
I love spending time in the garden with you, Vanessa. There is so much beauty and magic there. It always makes me smile when you share snippets of it with us – I can only begin to imagine how magnificent it must be in person! I love Bat for Lashes, too! Cannot wait for the new CD. And I am most intrigued by the new Tori release. Have you seen the video for “Flavor?” http://www.vevo.com/artist/tori-amos Enjoy the weekend! xoxo
I know, its beautiful isnt it? The colors and everything.
Love her…. (flavor videoI mean)
Miss Theresa, also – I looove all the characters – and seeing her out in
the world. Love, V
I love your beautiful garden. My hubby shares your love of zinnias. We have more this year than ever. I need to be saving seeds. We’ve had rain again so things are looking better around here.
I love music. Lately it is big band music I listen to a lot. And there is a local radio station called hippie radio that plays the music of my youth. Songs I can still sing along too. I Like a variety of music. That was a very good video.
easy to get lost in your wonderful words and flowers….thanks for sharing
I am so happy to loose myself in your fairy land of flowers.
The colors are unbelievable! Hope you are feeling better and your bruises are fading.
If I were to name music that enchants my soul, most of it would be classical like Ravel’s Bolero, The Aquarium on Carnival of the Animals, Brock’s Scottish Fantasy (marvelous elf music to dance to!) Chopin…ALL of Chopin’s music, Debussy’s romantic flowing music …Rachmaninoff…music from all of the Harry Potter movies; Enya; Yanni; music from ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’; ‘Rhapsody In Blue’; Carnival by Duke Ellington; I do like a lot of musical movie scores like ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’…sometimes it’s the music that makes the movie. I did see a lot of rock and roll bands live, growing up as a teenager…The Who, Buffalo Springfield, Jefferson Airplane, so many of those songs bring back fond memories of carefree days, the Flower Power Days!
I know you are enjoying the rain!
Oh yes, I love the classics too!!! I love so much different kind of
music myself – music is the greatest thing ever!!! Or at least, one of
them 😉
Blog: http://www.aFancifulTwist.com
Website: http://www.VanessaValencia.com
In a message dated 9/7/2012 9:03:26 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
Dear Vanessa, I so love visiting your beautiful, magical world here…
Your precious garden…that vine! Oh my!
Really, I cannot find words to express how incredible your little piece of heaven is…
Music for me is feeling…always feeling…thank you for some of these wonderful suggestions..love to explore…
Blessings and light,
– Irina 🙂
I enjoy spending time with you in your garden of flowers and greenery. Such a beautiful place to go and think and get lost in it all, a place you can think about everything under the sun. I enjoyed the video very much.
As far as being mad…we all are..and that’s the only way to be. I love it all.
How are you feeling? Wonderful I hope.
Your garden pictures are always so amazing… You make it look so easy. But I know Tucson, and I know it’s a lot of work to accomplish what you’re doing there… which is one of the many reasons I love looking at your magical miracles!
Thank you Cynthia!! I live about 30 minutes north of Tucson – so its
a higher elevation and a tiny bit greener. Still very hot though – and can
be very dry too. So, I do have to water every morning very early. I
cant believe some folks never have to water, haha! Amazing!
🙂
The last Cocorosie album was released the day Piper was born. Maybe I should stick a copy in her time capsule? Like we’ll have CD players or even mp3 stuff in the future. She’ll open it on her 18th birthday, and be like…..what is an 8-track, Mama?
Your garden….sigh. I’m so crazy about zinnias, too. In fact, “Zinnia” was on the name list for our baby. Do you say Zin-ee-uh or ZEEN-yuh?
Vanessa, call me crazy but your gourd vine pole reminds me of Jack in the bean stock!
I love the Madonna in the garden! Just Lovely!
What types of morning glory are you growing? The colors are Ssoooo BEAUTIFUL amongst the vibrant awesome Zinnias!
My marigolds didn’t even make it this year!
You have put Love, Sweat and Tears into your garden and we are SO very lucky to see it grow! Heavenly!
The music that I gravitated towards this last few months is some Richard Marks and Sting, plus whatever my teens maneuver in the car as I am there personal Taxi! Quite the variety! ; )
I am quite mad indeed. Madly in love with all my mad zinnias! They are just the best and I am getting soooo many lovely flowers off them it is amazing. I have just planted some more seeds of various types. I know it is probably too late in the year, but I just couldn’t get it together any sooner. I just want them to start to grow to fill my empty garden spaces and then even if they don’t come to flower or anything by winter I will still be happy. Growing things just makes you feel so good!
Ps. As far as music goes you should check out a band called Ryanhood. They are a local Tucson band and I am just loving them right now! You can watch the videos for their songs Second City and After Night Came Sun on youtube.
Oh how I love your garden!Your flowers are so beautiful!Thanks for sharing your photos!
Oh my goodness! Your yard is sooo BEAUTIFUL. I would never want to leave it either. Such a peaceful inspiring place to live. The birdhouse gourd vine on the pole is just awesome!
Thank you so much for sharing your lovely space with us!
Take care,
Tracy M.
Laure, I say Zin-ee-yuh 🙂
Your garden is so beautiful, I don’t blame you, I’d want to stay there forever, too. That shell pink zinnia is mouth watering. Enjoyed reading this post a lot. Diane
Congratulations on your gourd vine! How generous of it to beautify the unsightly telephone pole!
I do not pay as much attention to music as I should, but I have to say that you are the best photographer of flowers and their mystery!
(You also do pies proud!)
Your Jack-In-The-Beanstalk Gourd on the power pole is Magnificent and truly Enchanting… like something straight out of a Fairy Tale. It compliments your wonderful Garden Beautifully.
Dawn… The Bohemian
thank you for your garden tour…i wonder if i could sneak in and live under one of the vines…i’m quiet and wouldn’t be any trouble, plus i love to pull weeds! 🙂
have a wonderful weekend, miss V.
love & blessings
~*~
Vanessa, your garden is such a delight! I know all the effort you put into it, to make it so…you love it, and it shows (it loves you back!) – I told Mr. B, I’m so tired of watering; next year I just want to have two pots, one on each side of the steps…of course, I really don’t mean it. 😉 We finally got rain, and that seemed to bring out an infestation of white flies! Have you ever dealt with them? My beautiful rosemary has them, and I thought it was resistant to such things -:(
Interesting question Laura posed; my Mom always said ZEEN-yah, but I say ZIN-e-yah. Have a great week!
Anne and the Kitties
Your garden if full of beauty and magic, but that is due to your hard, hard work. I’ve started gardening later in life and it is a complete joy to see the blooms and colors. Lots of roses lavendar and dahlias in my garden. Your garden continue to be an inspiration.
Here in Maine autumn is coming with cool nights and our short days. I love the crisp, cozy feel of this time of year.
Just love walking in your garden. I so wanted zinnias this year, but they didn’t grow. I am not sure why, but so sad. So your zinnias particularly made me smile to see.
Your photos and garden are as lovely and magical as always, Vanessa!
Thank you for all the wonderful musical inspirations. I will listen to them as I go into the back and dream about growing a vine to cover the pole in my yard!
Vanessa, I LOVE your garden. How I wish I had one like it. How did you create such a wonderful place? Did you map it out and do it yourself. How?????
Oh Sharon, thank you. Its strange, I have been thinking about that,
because folks have asked me. And I think it just totally evolved on its
own over years. I never plotted or planned the flower garden. I did
the enclosed veggie garden, but not out front which you see in the
photos.I just was like I think I will put this here, and that
there. But I never planned it. And when I brought my 2nd arbor from
my other house, it made sense to make a sort of entry arbor way into the
garden. Then, I found flat rocks and sat for 3 hours in the hot a couple
years ago, and put down a little rock path within the arbor. Each thing
just evolved on its own. No plan. I sort of just followed the shape
of the space I had. But I bought so many plants at one point, I sort of winged
where to put them. Then somehow I ended up with a winding garden with
paths. It was all very odd but turned out okay in the end, haha!
I think if a person has an idea in their mind of what they would like, then
start with a loose plan and build on there.
For example, if a person had an open rectangular space – I would say, plan
something in the center, then all around the perimeter, and as plants grow and
thrive over years, add, expand mold move around….
🙂
Blog: http://www.aFancifulTwist.com
Website: http://www.VanessaValencia.com
In a message dated 9/10/2012 12:14:56 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
Your garden is enchanting…and so full of splendor.
Next year I’m planting gourds.
Thanks for the lovely tour.
Hvala za ovo piÅ¡em. Ja stvarno osjećam kao da ja znam puno viÅ¡e o tome nego Å¡to sam uÄinio prije. VaÅ¡ blog stvarno donio neke stvari na vidjelo da se nikada ne bih razmiÅ¡ljao o prije Äitanja. Trebali bi nastaviti ovo, Im siguran većina ljudi će se složiti da ste je dobio dar.
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