A ‘Girlfriends’ Gathering

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Hi Friends!

A very warm welcome if you are visiting for the first time! 🌸 I hope you are well and enjoying early spring flowers in your corner of the world. Today we are going to revisit two special blog posts and take a little quiz. Please don’t worry, it will be an “open book” quiz… 😉

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It’s important to reread this post and this post from 2022 for the story of a very special ‘Girlfriends’ Gathering. Both posts are filled with such sweet memories!

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Two years ago, while helping to plan a special gathering for Susan Branch (my favorite author and artist), the owner of Prairie Path Books asked if I would create a “How Well Do You Know Susan?” quiz for the guests. It was great fun to look through my collection of Susan’s books and write the questions! (Once a teacher, always a teacher!🍎)

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As the long-awaited evening began, a very large gathering of excited Girlfriends arrived for an inspiring book talk with Susan Branch. Old friends and new friends were having such a wonderful time talking together as we all waited in a very long line to talk with Susan. It happens every time kindred spirits gather to celebrate Susan! So many cherished moments blossom whenever Girlfriends gather…

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The air was filled with excitement and there just wasn’t enough time for the “How Well Do You Know Susan?” quiz that evening. So, I happily tucked my list of trivia questions into my copy of Distilled Genius (A Collection of Life-Changing Quotations), as I waited for Susan to sign my book.

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Oh, how I love dipping into the beautifully illustrated pages filled with hand lettered quotations! Sprinkled throughout the book are several of Susan’s quotations, as well.

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Recently, as I savored the pages Distilled Genius, a paper fluttered out of my book. It contained the Susan Branch trivia questions that I wrote for that special gathering in 2022. 😊 Let’s try it now!

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It’s time to find out…

🍃 How Well Do You Know Susan Branch? 🍃

🌸 1. What was Susan’s first painting as an adult?

🌸 2. What was the name of Susan’s small cottage in the woods on Martha’s Vineyard?

🌸 3. Who is waiting at home for Susan and Joe when they return from their travels?

🌸 4. What famous singer did 17-year-old Susan and her girlfriend see, in his underwear, while hiding on his front porch?

🌸 5. What is “Morning Science?”

🌸 6. Who is Susan’s “Willard” newsletter named after?

🌸 7. When is Susan’s birthday?

🌸 8. What dream did both Susan and Joe share when they first met?

🌸 9. What was the best book Susan found on the bookcase in her little cottage?

🌸 10. What secret language can Susan speak?

🌸 11. What dream-come-true Christmas gift did Susan receive when she was nine years old?

🌸 12. Can you list the trilogy of Susan’s memoir titles in chronological order?

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Good luck to all! 🌸 At the end of the month, I will list all of the answers in the Comments section below.

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If you haven’t discovered the loveliness of Susan Branch yet, be sure to visit her blog! It just might be the most peaceful, happiest part of your day! (The icons at the top of Susan’s blog will lead you to some of her favorite posts.) Our world could use a whole lot of happiness these days…

Heartfelt thanks for being a special part of our ‘Girlfriends’ gathering here today! It’s always such a JOY to celebrate the beauty that Susan Branch creates for the world!

Perennially yours,

🩷 Dawn

(All of the Susan Branch quotations in this post are from her enchanting book Distilled Genius. 🩷)

Ten Things…

Hi Friends!

April showers are watering our gardens here in the Midwest and snowflakes are predicted later this week. Since today is the start of National Card & Letter Writing Month, it feels like the perfect time to sip tea while writing you a short letter!

Just the other day, this message from WordPress surprised me…

Whether we are longtime friends, new friends, or friends who have never met in person, you have become a very special part of this blog over the past ten years! It is a privilege to share my heart with you, learn from you, laugh together, and encourage one another.

Although you may have learned much about me over the past ten years, there might be some quirky, surprising things you don’t know!

Ten Random Things about Me…

🌸 I once participated in the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn. When we were in fifth grade, our dear aunt took took my brother and I to Washington, D.C. for our Spring Break. President Lyndon Johnson was in office and we were excited to join in this annual tradition that dates back to the 1870s.

🌸 I just LOVE to wash my car with a hose, bucket, and sponge! I remember often asking my dad if I could wash his car when I was young. I wonder if my neighbors think it’s strange to see me washing my car in the driveway so often. It’s fun for me! Years ago, a friend invited me to ride through the car wash with her because I had never been through a car wash!

🌸 I do not like roller coasters. I am happy to stand in the long line with friends. However, I always offer to hold the jackets (or babies) while brave friends ride the roller coasters.

🌸 Once I rode around the Indy 500 race track in a friend’s 1929 Model A Ford Woody Wagon! I will always remember that day as we circled the track at a top speed of 65 mph. Since my dad loved restoring antique cars, our family vacations often took us to national Model A Ford Club conventions in interesting places!

🌸 I have camped in the Midwest, France, Italy, and the Netherlands with friends! In my 20s, pitching a small tent in beautiful locations was the cheapest way to travel abroad. Our camping trips were always incredible adventures! Oh, the stories we could tell!

🌸 I have an antique teacup collection. One of my retirement dreams was to enjoy lovely tea parties with friends. It was fun to look for pretty teacups in antique shops and flea markets. (There are only six teacups in my collection because there are six chairs in our dining room.) It’s so nice to pick herb/mint leaves from the garden to create special ‘tea’ blends!

🌸 My Passport is expired. For the first time in 45 years, I don’t have a valid Passport. When the time is right, my husband and I look forward to international travel again! We are always sharing our travel hopes and dreams!

🌸 I just love writing letters! Even as a child, when I would meet another little girl my age on vacation, I would ask her to be my penpal. Throughout my early teens, I had a French penpal. Letter writing helped all of my dear German friendships blossom over the years. Kindred spirits and letter writing go hand-in-hand. Letters always feel like ‘visits’ when friends are apart!

🌸 I am blessed to have dear friends in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s! I constantly learn from ALL of them and treasure the stories they share.

🌸 This quiet, little blog makes me truly happy!! It feels like being penpals with the whole world! I feel so fortunate to have met so many lovely people and to have grown so many friendships here on our blog.

The very best part of blogging is the comments that people leave! That’s where the true connections happen. I hope you will say “Hello” in the comments… and perhaps let us know something unique about you!

So glad you’re here!

🩷 Dawn

Vertumnal Days

Hi Friends!

The change of season seems to have arrived extra early this year. Daily walkabouts in my northern Illinois garden have been filled with unexpected surprises. Two days this week, our afternoon temperatures reached 72 degrees! My perennials are showing buds very early this year. The birdsong is swelling and the grass is so green. There is a vertumnal feeling everywhere I look!

With climate change, my very favorite season has arrived much earlier than usual. Our Magnolia tree, near the front porch, is already showing its color. Crocus, Siberian Squill, and Daffodils are in full bloom. I looked back a few years in my Garden Journal to confirm these noticeable changes. In 2017, the same bulbs and the Magnolia tree began to bloom in mid-April. So, we are already three or four weeks ahead of expected bloom times during these warmer, windy, rainy days of March 2024.

As we begin a new gardening year, I feel honored and so very blessed to learn and grow in my century-old garden. 💕 As I continue to write the story of this garden, many more changes are on the horizon. I am devoted to honoring this garden’s past… while celebrating its future!

It’s so delightful to have you join me on this gardening journey. There is sure to be plenty of new learning ahead for this gardener! I truly hope that you will share your experiences and offer helpful tips throughout the growing season. One of the special joys of gardening is chatting with gardening friends!

A recent change truly tugged on my heartstrings. Last weekend, my husband and I worked together to dismantle the sweet, white picket fence surrounding my beloved Herb & Tea garden. In 1995, my dad and I worked together to build this fence and the raised beds. It has always felt like the ‘heart’ of my garden. For so many years, I have enjoyed countless hours savoring my time spent tending this peaceful, little place.

Over the years, the white picket fence began to show its wear. Each Autumn, I would add another coat of white paint and even added white wire to strengthen my picket fence. Last Saturday, my husband easily hammered the fence into pieces, while I carefully stacked the pickets and tied them into small bundles. I think it was my way of cherishing 29 years of wonderful memories!💕

I do have exciting new plans! Later this growing season, I will move my Herb, Tea & Cut Flower Garden to a sunnier location alongside our house. It will have a new, vinyl, white picket fence surrounding new, taller raised beds. It feels like the perfect garden for me as I age. I’m still making plans… and getting very excited! We will remove some huge, very old evergreen bushes to make lots of space for the new picket fence garden. Eventually, I will transplant my herb plants and mint plants into their new raised beds. There will also be new raised beds for growing cut flowers.

🍃 Just wondering if you have any tips/suggestions as I begin to design the new 19′ x 12′ garden?

🍃 Do you have any experience with corrugated metal raised beds?

🍃 What width raised beds do you prefer in your garden?

Currently, I am enjoying Lisa Mason Ziegler’s brand new book, The Cut Flower Handbook. It is filled with so much valuable growing information and garden planning tips. I’ve never been a ‘seed mom’ before, so there is a great deal to learn!

The Cool Flower bed that I started last September had some success, but many challenges. All of the direct sown hardy annuals sprouted and were doing so well, until the bunnies found them. We quickly put up a bunny fence, but it was too late. Perhaps the birds also enjoyed some tasty seedlings? Currently, there are several sturdy looking Larkspur ‘Smokey Eyes’ plants and a few Chocolate Laceflower ‘Dara’ plants thriving. Their roots grew long and strong during the winter. The Black Eyed Susan ‘Cherry Brandy’ all germinated and quickly disappeared. I will be better prepared with wire cloches when I direct sow the Very Early Spring Cool Flowers six to eight weeks before our average last frost date (May 15th). We have a few nights in the 20s in the forecast. So, my outdoor planting day will be next weekend for these Cool Flowers. Growing cut flowers from seed is a whole new adventure for me!

I am also very interested in adding more Native plants to our garden this year. We are looking forward to starting a prairie garden in the space where the picket fence once stood! It’s just one way that we can participate in the fight against climate change! We have been helping in the Prairie Garden at our church and visiting local prairies. So we are excited to plant a small patch of prairie in our own garden this year!

A new garden season always excites me! However, we will have a BIG challenge throughout May and June here in Illinois. “Cicada-palooza” is just around the corner! 😩 Cicada broods XIII and XIX will emerge at the same time. This has not happened since 1803 and won’t happen again until 2245. When these large, red-eyed insects emerge from the ground, they will fill the air with ear-splitting sounds. Cicadas are not harmful to humans or pets. They do not bite or sting. Newly planted trees and shrubs will be at risk however. This 2024 phenomenon will be a once-in-a-lifetime entomologist’s dream!

Our older neighborhood filled with beautiful, old trees has been ‘ground zero’ for the 17-year cicadas twice since I’ve lived here! Oh my! Last time, we were shoveling the dead cicadas up with snow shovels. The nearby zoo collected the cicadas to feed the animals. I cannot even imagine what awaits us during May and June this year. It will be most unpleasant in the garden for quite a while. 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’ll do my best to keep you updated with breaking ‘cicada news’ reports.

On a brighter note, it’s time for “The Great Grow Along” (a free Virtual Garden Festival). This annual event occurs over three weekends, with so many interesting presenters! The weekend topics include:

🍃 March 16-17 Flower Power Party

🍃 March 23-24 Kitchen Gardens/Growing Vegetables

🍃 March 30-31 Native Plants & Pollinators /Earth Friendly Gardening

If you’re interested, it’s easy to register here using just your first name and email address. (You can attend any or all sessions that sound interesting. Just scroll to the bottom of the Agenda to register.) It has been very interesting in past years! 🌸

It’s lovely to have you along on my gardening journey this year!

🌱 What’s happening in your garden this week?

🌱 What are you most excited about in your garden this season?

So happy you’re here!

🩷 Dawn

Dawn Rituals…

Hi Friends!

Happy Leap Day! Isn’t it delightful to have the gift of extra day at the end of our shortest month of the year? It feels like the perfect time to brew a cup of tea and write you a letter… 🍃🌸🍃

I truly cherish my early morning rituals. For many weeks, however, I had been struggling to find the best way to take advantage of the early morning solitude. I’m devoted to nurturing all of my healthy, creative rituals. When they began to fall out of sync, it felt like a very important invitation for new growth!

For many years, I have been beginning each day by writing Morning Pages. Julia Cameron encourages us to write three pages longhand immediately upon waking. My best, most productive, creative days are definitely the days that I write my Morning Pages!

For many, many years, my Self-Care bullet journal has been my most important tool for encouraging and nurturing my healthy habits. Tracking my sleep, workouts, daily step count, creative practice, and gratitude have been vital to my health and happiness.

Last November, as the cold weather arrived, it felt like the perfect time to reach for my favorite fitness walking DVDs. Early morning, indoor, aerobic walking is also a perfect way to begin my day!

I really struggled to find the best way to consistently practice all of my important, healthy, self-care rituals. I experimented with the order of Morning Pages, bullet journaling, and working out. I tried doing some of these healthy habits in the afternoons or evenings. That just wasn’t working either. 🤷🏼‍♀️

When you are an ‘early bird’ named Dawn, it’s best to prioritize important healthy habits early in the morning! My days fill up quickly with caregiving, home responsibilities, family time, volunteering,… and gardening season is just around the corner. There must also be time for making art, writing, and spending time with friends! 🩷

So, I have made a change in my dawn rituals…

and I am very pleased with my new plan!

In her book, Wintering, author Katherine May encourages, “Celebrating that change in the presence of others made a difference.” So, I hope you will celebrate with me, as I embrace my new dawn rituals ~ for my heart health, brain health, creativity, and happiness. Encouragement from friends is always a blessing!

Throughout February, I have been enjoying my Walking Workouts at 6:00am. 😊 I choose either a 2-mile or a 3-mile workout. The aerobic workouts target all parts of the body and feel like a much better workout than walking outside. (I also love walking outside!) Walking definitely lifts my spirits, too. During February, I walked indoors 42 miles (67.5 km). Such an energizing way to begin my days!

After my Walking Workout, I’ve been updating my Self-Care bullet journal. It feels like giving myself a ⭐️ for making healthy choices and nurturing my creativity each day! Next, as the sun streams in through the window, I settle in to write my Morning Pages. Lately, I’ve been listening to music as I write! (Erik Satie has been my 🎶 muse this week.)

This early morning nurturing has made a positive impact on my creativity. I have spent more time in my Paper Garden studio this month. I have also been enjoying my Artist Dates: the Spring Flower show at our local conservatory, a visit to a wonderful Orchid nursery, and a lovely time watching old family movies (to see all the things I loved to do in my very early years)! 💝

By 8:00am, I’m ready for my healthy breakfast and a quick check-in with my favorite gardening YT channel. (See the Inspiration page at the top of the blog.) It’s such a good feeling to know that I have made time to nurture myself before the rest of my day begins!

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🌸 We would love to hear about your morning rituals. What works best for you?

🌸 We would love to celebrate your successful morning habits with you!

Thank you so much for stopping to visit today!

Warmly,

🩷 Dawn

Hearts and Flowers

Hi Friends!

On this frosty February morning, as I walked past my potting bench in the garage, I stopped for a few moments to hold space in my heart for someone very special. It happens every time I see the tiny, handmade Ukrainian flag that hangs above my garden workspace. It happens every time I glance out the window where the dried Clematis vines still cling to our white arbor.

I wonder if any of the kindred spirits, who visit our blog from all corners of the world, might also be thinking of the same remarkable woman? It’s important to share her story and some of the ways that we can help her.

Alla Olkhovska lives and gardens in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, only twenty miles from the Ukraine-Russian border. I truly admire Alla’s strength and courage for sharing her story and for her tireless efforts to make the world a more beautiful place. Alla specializes in rare flowers at Linden Grove Gardens, where she works each day to care for the flowers and collect their seeds. Clematis are Alla’s very favorite flowers. Her inspiring story is filled with love, hope and resilience!

I first learned of Alla’s story last December, from another incredible woman, whose work and passion for gardening I greatly admire ~ Erin Benzakein, at Floret Flowers. Erin thoughtfully produced a powerful, short film to share Alla’s story with the world.

I will let Alla and Erin share this remarkable story with you… in their own words.

Below is the full, short film Gardening in a War Zone…

Every time I hear news about missile attacks on Kharkiv, I think of Alla and her family, and all those impacted by this terrible war. Lately, Kharkiv has been in the news very often, so they are often in my thoughts and prayers.

❤️ Erin also wrote a lovely blog post sharing more of Alla’s story here. Click on Blog and look for the December 12th post: The {Farmer} & the Florist Interview: Alla Olkhovska. In this post, Erin shares several ways to help Alla and her family. Erin also includes links to all of Alla’s social media.

❤️ Visit Alla’s Facebook page for her link to beautiful, insightful article about her, published in The NY Times on February 8th.

❤️ Alla recently shared her work with Clematis flowers in this interview on The Flower Podcast…

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❤️ Alla’s You Tube channel Linden Grove Gardens also has interesting videos. (Just click Closed Captioning for English subtitles.)

Hearts and flowers will always remind me of Alla and her family.

Heartfelt thanks for taking time to watch Alla’s story.❤️

So very grateful for your visit today!

Perennially yours,

🩷 Dawn

Beginnings…

Hi Friends!

What will you remember most about January 2024? Here in the Midwest, January brought us many snowy days, dangerously cold temperatures, gentle rains and several foggy mornings. Our snow has finally melted. This morning, as I walked through our winter garden, I was so happy to see the healthy, green foliage of the ‘cool flowers’ that I direct sowed in the garden last September! My heart was warmed by tiny, green growth at the base of many perennials throughout the garden, too. So, I truly hope for another thick blanket of snow to protect the garden before our next deep freeze. I wonder what surprises the next seven weeks of winter will bring us? ❄️🌨️☀️

How did you prepare for the beginning of this brand new year? Sharing our traditions and inspiration among friends is one of the special pleasures that I look forward to on the blog every January! I hope that you will share with us today, too…

A favorite quote from Maya Angelou and a bit of mixed-media, stamped artwork create a meaningful ‘welcome’ in my 2024 Self-Care bullet journal.

For me, the new year always means a brand new, dot-grid, bullet journal overflowing with blank pages… and new possibilities! As the month began, I spent many hours happily creating the new pages in my 2024 Self-Care bullet journal. It always feels like I am truly creating a new beginning!

Using stencils, Distress Oxide ink, and a blending brush, I created the January ‘welcome’ page. I added a lovely quotation from author Beth Kempton, too. Using art supplies in my journal just makes it more fun!

This year, I’m celebrating my seventh year of keeping a Self-Care bullet journal. Adding splashes of color and artwork help to keep it interesting! Tucked behind this January ‘dutch door’ page, I wrote a focus statement for the month and a long list of things that I was looking forward to in January.

Each month, I also create pages to track my daily sleep, workouts, and number of steps. There is something very powerful about transferring the data (in ink, in analog form) from the app on my phone and my Fitbit onto the pages of my journal each evening. This really helps to keep me accountable when it comes to important healthy habits! 😉

Each evening, I also add to my Gratitude page (so very important during life’s stressful times), list a daily Creative Step, and what I did to Nurture myself during the day. This nightly bedtime routine only takes a few moments and is such a peaceful way to end each day before drifting off to sleep.

My journaling desk is my favorite place to begin and end each day! 🩷

For the past three years, I have also enjoyed a lovely morning routine at my journaling desk. My Morning Pages journal holds my thoughts on creativity, my worries, and my creative plans for the day. Inspiration gathered during walks in nature and my weekly Artist Date are often a topic in my Morning Pages. Inspired by Julia Cameron’s brand new book, Living the Artist’s Way, this month I have begun writing for guidance in my journal. Perhaps this will also become a daily practice.

‘Dutch door’ pages hold my growing list of Creative Affirmations.

My Morning Pages always end with several creative affirmations (from my Self-Care bullet journal, shown above). Over the past three years, I have discovered just how valuable these strong, positive statements can be! In her groundbreaking book, The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron reminds us, “Affirmations help achieve a sense of safety and hope.” As I close my journal and watch the sunrise from our kitchen window, I feel more centered and ready to face another busy day. Julia Cameron’s words are so true, “Morning Pages allow you to happen to your day, instead of your day happening to you.”💕 When I must miss a day of Morning Pages, I can definitely feel the difference all day long!

Words of inspiration as the new year begins…

Choosing a ‘word’ to guide me throughout the new year is one of the most powerful ways that I welcome each new year! Every Autumn, I begin listening for “One Little Word” that will help me grow in powerful, new ways in the new year. As I listen with my whole heart, a ‘word’ always finds me! Throughout our home and garden, there are visible reminders to focus on my ‘word’ each day ( on the fridge, on tiny banners, on bookmarks, on garden stones,…).

The definition of nurture in my Self-Care journal.   
The star word ‘gentleness’ will support my word this year.

This year celebrates my thirteenth “One Little Word.” I can already tell that this will be a very important year of growth as I focus on my new ‘word’ nurture and continue to mindfully practice all twelve previous words! Throughout the year ahead, I look forward to sharing inspiring books, new artwork, and lot of new learning, as I focus on nurturing myself… and the flowers and herbs in my garden, that fill my heart with so much JOY.

My 2024 ‘word’ nurture is surrounded by all of the previous words that continue to help me grow in new ways.

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I learned something new today… and I thought you might enjoy this video about the tradition of Candlemas Day, too. 😊 

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Heartfelt thanks for visiting today!

Hope you will share…

🌸 something that you enjoyed during the month of January

🌸 a January tradition that you love

🌸 your ‘word’ or goal for 2024 (We will all cheer you on!)

Shine brightly sweet friends,

🩷 Dawn

Savoring ‘the Hush’

Hi Friends!

I hope you are well and savoring heartwarming memories this week. Author Beth Kempton refers to the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day as “the Hush.” It’s such a peaceful, relaxing way to describe this time of memories, reflection, and preparing our hearts for the beginning of a New Year filled with new possibilities! Are you feeling “the Hush” this week, too?

Our Christmas celebration was filled with so many special moments… visiting our nearby conservatory, delivering a cart filled with healthy foods to our local food pantry, visiting with neighbors, a Nativity pageant performed by excited children on Christmas Eve, candlelight and Christmas carols, and meals shared with family. Each moment was a beautiful memory. Truly it was!

Sometimes, however, the most cherished holiday memories are simple moments of unexpected JOY!

Our Christmas ‘Gift’

As we drove to our house on Christmas Eve morning, I mentioned to Dad (92 years young), that we had a little ‘construction project’ that needed his help. (This did not seem out-of-the-ordinary, since my parents were always helping me with projects after I bought my cozy, little home more than three decades ago.)

Imagine Dad’s surprise when he discovered a tiny gingerbread house kit waiting for him on our dining room table! The gingerbread walls, roof pieces, and bowls of tiny candies were all ready for Dad. He couldn’t wait to get started building! 🙂

My husband, my dad and I all took turns holding the walls and roof as the icing hardened. Before long, it was time to add candy to decorate the tiny house and garden.

As we worked, happy memories flooded our hearts! While we were growing up, our family always waited excitedly for ‘Gingerbread Weekend’ each December. My younger brothers, Johnny and Jeff, would help my Aunt Gilda mix large batches of dough, roll it out, and carefully cut all the pieces for each wall, roof, chimney, window and door. Together they baked the thin, sturdy gingerbread pieces. Aunt Gilda’s kitchen smelled just heavenly! We would all gather the next day to assemble and decorate all of the little houses. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and our whole family arrived with bags of tiny candies for our annual Gingerbread House Party. Oh, the laughter and smiles, as we helped one another pipe the icing onto the crisp gingerbread cookies to create charming, little, one-of-a-kind houses!

What JOY we felt this Christmas as we made new gingerbread memories together! It was my husband’s very first gingerbread ‘construction project.’ Dad and I shared our favorite stories of the special people who gathered over the years to build our gingerbread houses long ago. Now we have sweet, new memories to preserve our family gingerbread tradition.

Three glowing candles graced our table on that special day, in celebration of the lives of my dear, sweet mom, Darlene, and my dear brothers, Johnny and Jeff. 🤍🤍🤍 Sharing our favorite memories and stories kept them close and softened our sadness. It was a beautiful day we will cherish forever! It was our very best Christmas ‘gift.’ 💕

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I always cherish this quiet week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. ”The Hush” is such a meaningful pause, a quiet time to reflect on the past year, focus on gratitude, and contemplate exciting, new intentions for the coming year. Setting up my 2024 Self-Care bullet journal and choosing a new journal for my Morning Pages help to prepare my heart for the year ahead. I enjoy writing all of the birthdays and anniversaries on new calendars while thinking about all of the special people in our lives. I’ve been finishing up our thank you notes, too.

During ‘the Hush,’ I am also participating in a truly inspirational, ten-day Winter Writing Sanctuary with other writers from across the globe. Oh, it’s so good!!💕 Each morning, I light a candle, make a cup of tea, and watch a wonderful lesson, guided by author Beth Kempton, from her home in Devon, UK. Then it’s time to begin writing. Oh, my goodness, Beth’s heartfelt lessons and thoughtful, daily invitations to write are such a gift! I am so grateful for the time to write and Beth’s lovely inspiration.

Be sure to check out The Calm Christmas Podcast with Beth Kempton. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This week:

🍃 RELISHING ‘THE HUSH’ (Season 3, Episode 9)

🍃 WINTERSONG: Gratitude + Dreaming (Season 3, Episode 10)

I have enjoyed every single podcast episode this season and I think you will, too! You might also enjoy reading Beth’s essays on Substack and her Instagram posts @bethkempton. 

Thank you all so much for gathering here with me all year long. 🍃 Our blog just wouldn’t be the same without you! 🍃 Your kind, thoughtful comments have always been my very favorite part of blogging! ❤️ Let’s continue the conversation in the Comments today… 

Wishing you peaceful days filled with hopes and dreams that lighten your heart!

Take extra-good care,

🩷 Dawn

Garden Blessings

Hi Friends,

I’ve truly missed our warm visits over the past several weeks! All is well here, I have just been busy, busy, busy working on many outdoor painting projects and soaking up time in the garden as the seasons changed. 🍁 My perennial and herb gardens have already been touched by the frost, but my heart is filled with such warm, happy memories of gardening season 2023. My garden continues to be my happy, healing place each and every day.

Longtime friends will remember the heartbreaking loss of our 100-year-old, towering pine trees in 2022, with all of the special memories they held beneath their branches. (You can read about the those memories here.) Suddenly, our lovely shade garden became a sunny garden bed… filled with new possibilities!

I spent much of 2022 digging up tree roots and moving out shade plants. Ever so slowly, I began to create a new sunny garden bed, while a new house was under construction next door. I began transplanting perennials from other garden beds into my brand new sunny space. The whole time I was digging, I wondered what kind of fence the new homeowners would decide to build. Would it be black, wrought iron, natural wood, or a tall, white, privacy fence?

For an entire year, I secretly hoped for a white fence next door! One of my gardening joys has always been transplanting perennials throughout the garden. The artist in me has always imagined that creating a garden feels just like ‘watercoloring’ with real plants! I dreamed of a large, white sheet of watercolor paper… just waiting to fill with colorful plants! 👩‍🎨

Imagine my delight this Spring when our wonderful, new neighbors moved in 🥰… and put up my ‘dream’ fence just a few days later! I couldn’t wait to begin creating a beautiful, new Hummingbird Garden, in loving memory of my wonderful mom, Darlene! (Throughout my parents’ 25 happy years of retirement in Arizona, my mom found such joy from all of the hummingbirds that visited her feeder each and every day!) I couldn’t think of a nicer way to celebrate my sweet mom, than to invite hummingbirds into my garden here in Illinois! 💝

In May, I eagerly hung my new hummingbird feeder in this special garden bed. As the perennials grew, I sowed Zinnia and Cosmos seeds. A friend surprised me with red Canna lilies for the new garden.

Handwatering kept me busy throughout our summer drought conditions. Dear friends shared even more perennials to add to my new Hummingbird Garden.

Next I moved a very special sundial and a memorial stone into the new garden bed.

A gift for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, this sundial graced their sunny, desert garden for many, many years. It warms my heart every day! I also hung my parents’ Kokopelli wind chime near our new deck. (Kokopelli has been known as the Native American god of fertility for over 2,000 years. Whenever one plants new hopes and dreams, it is believed that Kokopelli brings joy and abundance.) With each gentle breeze, the chimes remind me of wonderful, family memories in Arizona for so many years!

After just one week, hummingbirds discovered their new garden!🙂 My heart melted. I’m certain that my mom was smiling, too! In years past, I never saw hummingbirds visiting my garden. It’s just delightful now to have hummingbirds along with all of the bees in the garden! We all take turns working with the flowers.

Our bee baths and mason bee house welcomed so many busy pollinators all summer long. 🐝

Deadheading the spent blossoms has always been my favorite gratitude practice in the garden. This year, I counted my blessings daily in the Hummingbird Garden.

By August, the Cosmos were flourishing. Hummingbirds traveled from the Canna Lilies, to the Cosmos, and then the feeder. They hovered so close to me, that I could hear their wings! Garden snips in hand, I would patiently wait my turn, savoring the beauty of each moment.

Old-fashioned Phlox and Rudbeckia ‘Herbstsonne’ thrived in their new garden bed. These Phlox plants have been growing in my garden since before I moved here 36 years ago. I just keep dividing and moving them from place to place as I watercolor with real flowers!👩‍🎨

As I ‘button up’ my garden for 2023, I am already dreaming of more changes in next year’s garden beds!🙂 Until then, I look forward to spending time in my Paper Garden studio downstairs… where the sun always shines and flowers are always in bloom!

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With endless gratitude to ALL of our Veterans and their families for their great sacrifices.

I am so grateful to celebrate Veterans Day with my wonderful dad (92 years old), who served in the Army in Korea. We are thinking of all of the men and women in our nation’s military serving around the globe. Prayers for peace everywhere…

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Heartfelt thanks for stopping to visit today!

🌸Can’t wait to hear what you have been up to lately!

Hope you will leave a comment to let us know…

Take good care,

🩷 Dawn

‘Heart’ Work

Hi Friends!

The weeks have flown by much too quickly! You have been on my heart during September and it’s the perfect time for a little update. 💕 Today’s story begins HERE, in case you need a refresh.

Summer 2023 has truly been filled with ‘heart’ work! So many of my days were filled with the joy of practicing my creativity in new ways. I could hear my dreams of Cut Flower growing calling me to learn and grow. Throughout June and July, I read several books and learned from several flower farmers that I admire on You Tube. That’s when I first discovered a gardening method that was completely new to me!

Lisa Mason Ziegler does a deep dive into the this very interesting planting method in her fascinating book Cool Flowers. By planting certain hardy annual seeds in autumn or very early spring, gardeners can enjoy stronger, healthier hardy annuals that bloom earlier during the spring and summer months.

With over three decades of experience growing perennials and herbs, I have had very limited experience growing from seeds. Zinnias and Cosmos are the only annuals I have grown from seeds in the past. The time was right to take on a new creative adventure! So, in early August, I ordered very special seeds from Floret Farm, a small Cut Flower Farm in Washington.

As I waited for the seeds to arrive, I felt such delight in the creative possibilities of a brand new Cut Flower bed in my garden! It was time to get to work. I was determined not to expand the number of garden beds, so that meant transforming an existing perennial bed into a blank slate for experimenting with the Cool Flowers technique. It was time to start digging…

Writer Julia Cameron stresses the importance of ‘filling our creative well’ by dipping into the well of our experience. So that’s exactly what I did! In August, I began the challenging job of digging up a large bed of daylilies that had been flourishing behind our house for likely 100 years. I had to dig deep into our clay soil to remove all of the large clumps of tuberous roots and tiny rhizomes of countless orange daylilies. The rhythmic, repetitive action of digging primed my ‘creative well’ day-after-day, for two weeks. Thirty-three hours of heavy digging proved to be quite a workout!!

My senses were filled with the feel of the soil, the smell of the wet earth, and the sounds of the geese flying in v-formation overhead as they began heading south. I enjoyed the buzzing of the bees and other pollinators as they traveled from perennial blossom to blossom nearby. As I dug, I noticed the leaves at the very top of our Autumn Blaze maple slowly begin to change colors. Often my thoughts turned to the two women that gardened here (1922-1950 and 1950-1986) before I purchased my cozy, little bungalow with a big garden thirty-six years ago. I feel very honored to continue their gardening tradition here.

As September began, I finally had a blank slate, just right for planting and nurturing tiny seeds… and special dreams! As I carefully measured and divided the 12′ x 8′ bed, and created wood chip walking paths, I felt excited for all of the possibilities that awaited. On September 10th, I sowed seeds for Black Eyed Susans and Chocolate Laceflowers. (I’m already seeing some very tiny seedlings!🙂) The Larkspur seeds were direct sown on September 21 (after chilling in the freezer for ten days). In the very early spring I have a few other varieties of seeds to sow in the Cut Flower bed.

Following the excellent advice in the Cool Flowers book and expert tips from Danielle at Northlawn Flower Farm on You Tube, I planted plenty of extra seeds in each row, and will thin the seedlings in the springtime. I left enough space between rows to hoe any weed seedlings that may also grow. Danielle recommends hoeing the new Cut Flower bed every two weeks until the ground freezes solidly.

Throughout the fall and winter months, I look forward to continuing to fill my ‘creative well’ with anticipation! My new Cut Flower bed will be growing in unseen ways as the plant babies develop long, strong roots that will help to support the tall flower stems in the spring. It will feel heartwarming just thinking about what is happening below the surface when our cold weather arrives here in Illinois (Zone 5b).

I have very special plans for my new Cut Flower bed in 2024.

Can you keep a big secret????

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I dream of being the secret Flower Fairy at my favorite Senior Living community!

I always picked fresh bouquets from the garden to bring to my mom (who taught me to garden). One simple bouquet each day made us both so happy! I would love to continue our special tradition, in loving memory of my sweet mom, Darlene.💕Over the past two years, I have really missed bringing bouquets to brighten someone’s day.

Just recently, the secret Flower Fairy has begun making a some special deliveries throughout the Senior Living Community. (I haven’t even told my dad. So please keep my secret, if you happen to know anyone living in my favorite senior community!!) It is such a delight to quietly create these little bouquets of JOY!

I have been gathering blossoms from my perennial beds and snipping foliage from my Herb & Tea garden. It is such fun to secretly deliver happy, little surprises from the Flower Fairy, without being seen by anyone. I quietly leave a bouquet on the little table next to an apartment door, slide a little card under the door, and hurry down the hallway to make another delivery.

Tiny gifts from the heart, grown with love!

Honoring my dear, sweet mom, Darlene,

whose whole life was filled with

bringing JOY to all! ❤️

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Thanks so much for visiting today!

🍃What’s happening in your garden? Let us know…

Can’t wait to share the biggest change in my garden… next time!!🍃

Happy Autumn days, friends!

Take good care,

🩷 Dawn

P.S. Grow little seeds, grow!!

Learning and Growing…

Hi Friends!

What does Back-to-School time mean to you?

Families have been very busy shopping for school supplies. The yellow school buses are already making their way through our neighborhood. From my garden, I can hear the high school marching band practicing their music for Friday night’s football game.

Last week marked the twelfth First Day of School of my Renaissance (the ‘R’ word that I use for my Retirement). I still dearly miss welcoming an excited new class of young students to my classroom for a whole new year of learning and growing. I will miss those days forever! 🍎

Now, as each new school year begins, I always make special plans for a whole new year of learning and growing… just for me! Throughout this new school year, I’m so excited to explore the ‘Cool Flowers’ gardening technique. For the first time, I plan to sow seeds for several hardy annuals in the fall and very early spring. I’m hoping to create a very colorful, Cut Flower bed with abundant blossoms earlier than ever before! I am growing these flowers especially for a secret, heartfelt project in 2024. 🌸

I’m just getting started …

but I’m learning from the best teachers!

In her book, Cool Flowers, Lisa Mason Ziegler shares all of her tips for sowing seeds of certain hardy annuals in the fall, when the weather is cooler, the rain and snow help to water them, and the garden pests are less active. The seeds will have a chance to germinate and develop a strong root system in the garden before the ground freezes. The seeds of other hardy annuals will be planted in the very early spring to give them a jump start. The seedlings will be stronger and ready to thrive during the spring and summer months when they are exposed to heat, drought conditions, and garden pests.

In this video, Danielle (Northlawn Flower Farm) shares her valuable experience, based upon the excellent book Cool Flowers. 🌸

I have also been savoring both of Erin Benzakein‘s inspiring books: Cut Flower Garden and A Year in Flowers. I truly admire Erin’s dedicated work to study the flowers she grows at Floret Flower Farm. She is devoted to growing and studying so many varieties of unique flower seeds. I admire her enthusiasm and love for beautiful, unique flowers and the years that she spends collecting the seeds from the flowers that she grows! (Growing Floret is a documentary series about Erin’s work on her flower farm in Mt. Vernon, Washington . I look forward to watching both seasons of Growing Floret one day!)

To celebrate my new year of learning and growing, I ordered four very special varieties of seeds collected from the unique blossoms on Erin’s Floret Flower Farm. They will have a place of honor in my new Cut Flower garden bed.

In the meantime, I have been a busy ‘bee’ creating this new flower bed. I am honoring my ‘word’ simplify for 2023. So rather than creating a brand new bed, I decided to dig up an existing flower bed behind our house. I have been busy digging up day lilies that have been living here much longer than I have! It’s tedious work, but I just keep digging whenever I am home and finish my daily garden keeping tasks.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the average growing season in my Illinois (Zone 5b) garden is 184 days. Using the ‘Cool Flowers’ method, I will pay close attention to our average first light freeze date (October 24th). Some varieties of seeds must be sown directly in the Cut Flower bed 6-8 weeks before that date. Other seed varieties will be started indoors and transplanted outside depending on their specific needs. My garden journal and a calendar will be most helpful as I learn and grow!

My passion has always been growing perennials and herbs. So, I’m very excited… and a bit nervous (in a good way!) to expand my gardening skills by attempting to grow annual ‘Cool Flowers’ for the first time. How have I never heard of this method in my 36 years of flower gardening? I’m so curious to know if you have ever tried direct sowing hardy annual seeds in the fall or very early spring?

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Let’s Share…

These are a few of my favorite gardening You Tube channels:

Garden Answers ~ Laura inspires us every day with her knowledge and her amazing gardens in eastern Oregon. Beginning the day with Laura, Aaron and their family is the perfect way to start my day!

Northlawn Flower Farm ~ Danielle is a Master Gardener in Pennsylvania. She shares so much knowledge and experience. Danielle sells her cut flower bouquets from her home flower stand. Wait ’til you see what she is planning next!

Dig, Plant, Water, Repeat ~ Janey is a Master Gardener in California. Her family just moved from their lovely, suburban home with a glorious garden to a large property in the countryside. Janey’s enthusiasm is contagious as she begins her brand new garden!

Regenerative Gardening ~ Briana (Flower & Branch Farm) is so knowledgeable and shares so much information on sustainable gardening practices from her fifth-generation family farm.

Flower Hill Farm ~ Nicole is a cut flower farmer in upstate New York. Last fall, she bought an old garden center in her small town. It’s fascinating to watch Nicole and her family restore and expand the Boon Street Garden Center. Nicole is so energetic as she shares the ups and downs of growing her cut flowers and everything involved in her new business!

🍃 Do you have any favorite gardening channels on You Tube?

🍃 What are you excited to learn in the coming months?

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Thanks so much for stopping to visit today!

I look forward to your comments! 🍃 Hope you will join in the conversation…

Perennially yours,

🩷 Dawn