Posted on by Donna

Beauty

“Always remember the beauty of the garden, for there is peace.” 

Author Unknown

 

As my spring flowers bloom and fade I am reminded of the beauty around me.  Of the tattered garden strewn with fall remnants; dead leaves, seed heads and stems.  Left as cover for insects and food for birds.  The warmth of the last 2 weeks has pushed many lovely bulbs up through the mish mash of waste to shine through and show off their beautiful blossoms.

It is Word 4 Wednesday and the word I am contemplating is tracery:

  1. ornamental work consisting of ramified ribs, bars, or the like, as in the upper part of a Gothic window, in panels, screens, etc.
  2. any delicate, interlacing work of lines, threads, etc., as in carving or embroidery; network.
Hmmm…this one is a puzzler.  At first I thought how am I going to write about this.  I know, I will look for ribs and bars in my garden and how they frame the sky or the blooms.  Just look at the gorgeous crocus above.  I love the tracery within their petals.  Maybe that’s it I can find flowers with lines and patterns.  It is too early for spiderwebs another wonderful illustration for tracery.  Of course it could mean a blueprint or plan, and I could write about my veg gardens and the plans for this year.  No, none of these thrilled me, and I was drawn again to the word beauty.
My garden is rushing to life around me, too fast, a month early.  No slow lingering beauty, but a race to bloom and fade barely able to notice it.  Trying desperately to keep up with each new flower or change.  Then suddenly the weather cooled this past weekend.  It has gotten downright cold.  Now the garden looks more like a damp cold pile of debris with a few colorful booms catching the eye.  Where is the beauty now?  It is still there lurking just underneath the surface or peaking bravely through the soil to show itself despite the obstacles.
And as I look about this landscape before me, I see that my garden is not a tracery of interlocking perfect lines.  It is not in my nature to achieve this outward perfection in my garden or in me.  I love the beauty in the chaos, the disorder; the beauty that is the imperfection of nature.  Of what will be because of or despite my best efforts.

What I see before me, is a reminder that beauty shines outward only when first it starts from within.  I have strived my whole life to achieve that beauty within not realizing it has been there all along.  I was reminded of it when I came across these profound words recently.

“Beauty is not in the face; Beauty is a light in the heart.”  —Kahlil Gibran

The seed of beauty was laid a long time ago when my parents taught me to be a good person; a loving, giving person.  One I would want to be friends with.  And in my garden I see myself.  Who I am despite trying to be someone else. I have given myself and my garden over to the true me.  Beauty to me is not the perfection we all seem to think of.  It is not the airbrushed image.  It is your own style that shows your uniqueness.  And my style is a love for nature.

 

 

My soul lies within my garden.  It holds within it my peace and solace…and utterly fabulous beauty that shines outward with each new and missed bloom taken sometimes by a tragic occurrence like a freeze.  It is defined by those who visit, and have chosen my small piece of heaven to find food or shelter, or perhaps just a place to stop over as they go on to their destination.  I aways feel privileged by these visitors.  From the smallest bee to the deer that forage on my yummy garden set before them; a splendid feast.

 

Along the way I have also discovered that my garden is indeed a tracery of interlocking of threads.  Those that tie together the ecosystem within it.  They are carefully woven and I am careful not to disrupt the beautiful pattern of life they display.  And with this discovery comes the revelation of a light within my garden and me that shines bright.  The light enhances my being making me feel well and whole and at one with my garden oasis.  The world is more tolerable, kinder indeed within this web of life as it breathes deep and long.

 

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Next up on the blog:    I’ll be updating my garden and showcasing a couple of original poems on April 2nd.  I’ve decided to change the title of these posts from Gardens Eye Verse to Gardens Eye Journal during the garden season.  I hope to show some vegetables and flowers all grown from seed by GBBD.  And soon it will be time for another Garden Book Review.  My  Simply the Best series, that ties in with Diana@Elephant’s Eye, will be highlighting a favorite native bloom in my meadow on the fourth Wednesday of the month to coincide with Wildflower Wednesday.

I hope you will join me for my weekly posts, every Tuesday, at Beautiful Wildlife Garden.  I have had some interesting vistors of late and it is always fun to see who will drop by just in time for a post.

 

Please remember, to comment click on the title of the post and the page will reload with the comments section.

 

All content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View.  Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.


70 Replies to “Beauty”

  1. Maybe your best post yet? You are wonder with words and they seem to make up every part of your being. Tracery is a hard word to image if you expand the word, and you did such a fine job. I forgot to put in the word itself into the post from the word generator. I was so surprised it popped up since it had a direct relationship to landscaping. You define your garden by those that visit, I think in your case, it is designed by what you ‘put’ into it, and that is your entire self.

    1. Wow you think it is my best? I think it ranks up there as my writing improves..I am flattered as always Donna. I do put myself into the garden which is why it too is evolving and finding its voice!

  2. Donna, what a real and profound truth you wrote. I feel close to your feelings about garden and gardening, even though they could be misunderstood by someone. Saying you love chaos could sound a little weird somehow! 🙂
    You have such a crowded agenda for your blog I wish I was half the organized person you seem to be!

    1. Alberto thank you…I can tell you feel the same about your garden…I am organized because of my profession I think…if I wasn’t organized about the blog it would never get written…

  3. Donna I love the comment about the imperfection and chaos of the garden. This time of year is always such a paradox in the garden because of all the spring growth along with the live oaks dropping all their leaves and pollen. I feel like I’m always so frustrated by the mess. This year I’m really trying to embrace it. One of the reasons for the tree hugging session the other day! Your writing and expression of your garden is beautiful.

    1. Cat thank you for your lovely comment…I must remember to hug my trees this week…that post of yours was wonderful!

  4. Tracery is a hard word, but your thoughts are thoughtful and beautiful. I like words that make me look inside myself, look around myself, and see something new. Thanks,
    Elaine

  5. Fabulous post! I almost had tears in my eyes reading this. I could feel so much emotion in your writing. I loved your “seed of beauty” of being a good person. And that your “soul lies within” your garden. So much here for contemplation.

    1. Holley I actually teared up reading your wonderful comment..thank you so much and I am glad the post spoke to you!

  6. Loved this..’Beauty to me is not the perfection we all seem to think of. It is not the airbrushed image. It is your own style that shows your uniqueness. And my style is a love for nature.”..I should use this for one of my quotes..with your permission of course…Michelle

  7. Amen! I love to visit formal gardens where tracery is commonplace. Formal gardens with mazes and labyrinths and knot gardens surrounding Gothic style buildings are gorgeous, but they are not me. Give me a garden that’s friendly, relaxed , welcoming to friends and just a bit wild!

    1. I knew we were kindred spirits..can’t wait for my irises to grow this year… remember I still owe you at least one iris (purple and yellow I believe) this year and anything else you may want!!

    1. I was shocked to see the hepatica a month early..it is bravely surviving although the flowers are much smaller this year..poor thing in the wet and cold…

  11. Your openess shines out in this post Donna – love the way you’ve tracked it all together from the tracery of tree outlines in the crocus to the criss cross of patterns and visitors to the garden.

  12. “Only Allah weaves the perfect rug”… Our creations will always be imperfect, and to strive for perfection is in a sense hubris and sets us up for a down-fall. Much better to love what we have, warts and all, and make the most of it by enjoying it.

    After all, imperfection is the root of the idiosyncrasies that makes us fall in love with people and gardens alike, it’s like the difference between a “home” and a “showroom”.

    (God, how many metaphors, metonyms and similes can I pack into a short comment? Many, it seems.)

    1. Thx Frances..it is moss which is blooming (if I can even say that)…it was a rather stunning picture I was lucky to capture.

    1. Thx Dona…life has been busy and I was away from Blotanical but not blogging..it has seemed to return to a manageable flow and I am happy to be back…thx for asking!! Ciao.

  19. Very well written Donna, and i really love that phrase “love the beauty in the chaos”. I always say that too “organized chaos”. Our garden in the province is mostly managed by my 82 yr old mother, and when i am younger i always disagree and didn’t appreciate the way she plants something, or all of them. Then i changed my perspective, call it a ‘bodiversity garden’, and from then on i don’t have problem anymore. Lately, i realized i am just following her style, and i also plant anything anywhere, more beauty in chaos! Or even if we don’t do something, it will still be beautiful, because nature is designing it. Perfect!

    1. I absolutely agree Andrea…nature takes over and has her way so now I try to follow her rhythm and am much happier!

  21. So beautiful, Donna. I spent part of vacation reading amazing snippets from The Moment I Knew and When One Door Closes. Hugs!

    1. Joey how lovely to have you visit…I know you just got back from vacation..so glad you are enjoying the books!!

  22. Pretty profound stuff, Donna, and I am mesmerized by the photo of the Crocus. Your posts are always thought provoking and I learn new words to ponder!

    1. Thx Loret..I like pondering life…these crocus give me so many wonderful shots every year..I can take dozens and come back day after day for more…

  23. Donna – your post stopped me in my tracks. Lately it seems like everything is a foot race. Speeding through work, speeding through home life, speeding through the internet – the faster you go, the more behind you feel?

    Right now – you remind me to take a breath, quiet the noise and enjoy the gifts right in front of you … especially because they are elegantly and beautifully imperfect.

    1. Shyrlene thank you for such a lovely comment…I am so glad the post spoke to you and gave you pause…I am trying to live more in the moment..it is hard with everything speeding past us…I want to savor the quiet slow moments in my garden…so happy to have you visit!!

  24. Hi Donna,

    Lovely photos and it’s far too exciting at this time of year just watching things grow. I’m still enjoying spotting things coming up that I’m certain were not there only a few days ago 🙂

    1. So true Liz…though now that the weather has cooled the garden has slowed a bit so I can catch my breath…I need to make sure I spend every day in the garden.

  25. Spring looks beautiful in your garden, Donna, those crocus are so lovely. The changes to your blog sound exciting, I hope your readership will increase.

  26. I’d not thought of it before but ‘tracery’ is a good word. I like seeing the little mosses too. (And that’s a special photograph you have at the top – of crocuses.)

  27. Hi Donna! I don’t use this word often. You explained it and illustrated it very well, and your pictures are great as always!

  28. A garden too perfect is like walking into a show piece living room, where everything is perfectly ordered and complimentary, but people walk by in search of a comfortable chair! Your garden is a reflection of your soul, beautiful and full of depth. Wonderful post!

  29. What a truly beautiful post, so soulful, I loved it! I just had to share this with my husband, really well done Donna. You have taken a word and brought it to life through words and gorgeous pics! Thanks for sharing…Cheers Julia

    1. Julia how lovely your comment was as I discovered it Monday morning…it was such a wonderful surprise. I am honored that you shared the post!

  30. You have very beautiful plants and your photos show them off really well. It is also nice to read relevant quotes that make your post all the more interesting. What an inspiration!

  32. Gorgeous photos as always, Donna! I can tell that your soul most definitely is in your garden and what a joy it must be for all those visitors lucky enough to find it. I know it is a haven for them as it is for you, and I love that you welcome all all kinds of critters with open arms! What a gift you give to the world through this blog and through your garden. That’s the most beautiful thing of all!

    1. Oh Aimee your comment touched my heart and brought me tears of joy…I am overwhelmed and really am at a loss for words…all I can say is thank you and it doesn’t seem to be enough!

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