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“As for me, my internal pace is slow. Mine is the intrinsic slowness of the tree that embraces its growth and its blooming. Yes, I have a bit of its admirable patience. I had to train myself in it from the moment I understood the secret slowness that engenders and distills any work of art.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letter to a friend February 3, 1923
Since my retirement from a 9 to 5 job, I have embraced the slowness of life. Although it has taken me a while. Not being ridiculously busy for the sake of busyness. Finding what to do differently with my day. Rediscovering what makes my heart sing.
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The garden, digging in the dirt and breathing in fresh air as I noticed and fell into the rhythm of nature, these are what helped me find and embrace the slow pace of life. And I haven’t looked back. I relish and protect that slowness. Not filling up my schedule (if I can help it) to be busy. Busy now is naps, reading, walking, cooking, coloring and other things that bring me joy. That is my busyness and what I try to prioritize and schedule. (Pictured here are the flowers from mini hostas)
And literally my slow flowers are just beginning in the garden.
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Zinnia
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Cosmos
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Dahlia
As well as other garden flowers catching my eye….
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Coral Bells
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And calendula, although these will be few and far between because an overzealous landscaper decided my patch of calendula were weeds and he weed whacked them down as well as a hellebore he could swear was a weed.
My question was why would you whack them if you thought they were weeds as they would only grow back….and I am hoping they do. This is what happens when you rent and have to deal with landscapers who don’t know a weed from a flower.
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So when I slowly wandered amongst the garden flowers. I chose what caught my eye with no plan for a vase. And here is the result.
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Zinnias, hosta flowers with plum stems and coral bells.
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I found one cosmos open so of course that had to be part of the slow flowers vase with calendula.
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And the foliage used was peppermint. Just starting to flower. But I love the eclectic look of my slow flowers vase.
With this vase, I am joining in with the wonderful meme, In A Vase On Monday, from Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All the pictures shared in this post were taken with my Nikon Coolpix or iPhone camera, and manipulated on my iPhone using the apps, Pixlr and Prisma.
All original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View, 2010-2024. Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.