A Year of Compassion

Guan Yin - Bodhissatva of Compassion

When we were living in China we were once taken to a temple where we saw a small statue of Guan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion, with her thousand hands, each of which has an eye in the palm. I thought this was a grotesque image until someone explained that it was a metaphor for her compassion. It is said that Guan Yin has a thousand eyes to see the troubles of the world and a thousand hands to help.

I became fascinated by Guan Yin and continue to collect tales about her. In these days when so many are suffering from loss of jobs, loss of homes, who are sick and hungry I think of one story in particular.

One day Guan Yin was walking down the road, saddened by the cries of those who had nothing to eat. She stopped and looked down at a weed rustling in the breeze by the side of the road, a useless and noisy weed. She ripped open her bodice, and from her breasts dripped white drops of milk onto the useless plant.  When she had given all her milk, she pressed harder till drops of blood fell. The white and red drops became grains of rice. Sometimes she is shown in a gown patterned with rice foliage in commemoration of this gift to humankind.

My porcelain Guan Yin is just one of the many images my friend Ken has given me over the years. This image shows her with a few of her many magic tools, a bottle of the dew of compassion that she sprinkles about, a little brush to brush away the distractions that plague us, various magic pills and fruits to cure what ails us. If anyone can tell me more about her iconography I would be very grateful.

The most recent image Ken sent me was this from YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgHmSdpjEIk

“There is an awesome dance, called the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, which is making the rounds across the net.  Considering the tight coordination required, their accomplishment is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all deaf.  All 21 of the dancers are completely deaf.  Relying only on signal from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is intricate and stirring.  Its first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics.  But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People’s Performing Art troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries.  Its lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute.  The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival this year.”  Ken Beatty

May Guan Yin be ready with her dew of compassion this year, and may we all be ready to accept it and share it.

A Color Challenge

While spending a little time checking my favorite blogs, I saw that Mr. McGregor’s Daughter was having fun with David Perry’s color challenge.  MMD took Red, Green and Blue photos, but I stuck with red. I’m a sucker for red – all shades.

It was fun to look around the house and see what I could use. I took this photo through the bottom of  a beautiful red handblown glass bowl held up against today’s brilliant sunlight.

Obligations at the Edge

As I prepare for the new year I have been thinking about the importance of conservation, about preserving the best of what we have for the benefit of the next generations.  Today I am posting a piece I wrote three years ago after talking to an inspiring conservationist and speaker.  My inspiration is a gaggle of grandchildren, two of whom love to play in the old apple tree in our field, home and pantry to birds – and porcupines.

Even those of us who live in Greenfield or any one of the village centers where we have pretty yards and gardens, know we are very close to a wilder world. It is not all wilderness, of course. There are fields and farms, as well as the riversides and mountains. Sometimes we take all that loveliness for granted, but sometimes, when we read about zoning issues in the newspaper, we remember that there are pressures on this beautiful landscape.

The Conway School of Landscape Design is known for the excellence of its academic graduate program, but also for its sustainable design principles which reach out into the local community through student projects for individuals and towns. As part of their larger educational mission, CSLD organizes a series of free lectures every fall. On October 16, Frances Clark will speak at the Conway Elementary School about our ‘Obligations at the Edge’.

I was happy to have the chance to speak to Clark, who after a career in botanical gardens, and serving as President of the New England Wildflower Society, now works as a freelance botanist. She often works for the state and municipalities making inventories of conservation land. “I come up with a list of native plants, give descriptions of the land, and make recommendations on how to manage the properties. I suggest the best public uses of land, the kinds of interpretive signs to install, and where to lay trails so they don’t disrupt important plant populations,” she said.

When talking about our area Clark says the ecology of the region has been ‘resilient’. The first wave of change was from wilderness to agriculture. Now we are facing the major impact of housing and businesses. Clark asks the question, “If maintaining the natural landscape is a value, how do we minimize the effects of that development?”

Her first answer is that we should not build densely. But if you live in an established suburban neighborhood there are things you can do to preserve biodiversity, and the ecological integrity of your land. For example, she says that barrier fences like stockade fences that reach down to the ground can impede the movement of wildlife like turtles and salamanders. I have to admit that this downside to fences is one I had never considered before.

She talks about avoiding poisonous pesticides and herbicides, and even about the dangers of bright lights. Bug zappers may comfort us, but Clark want us to remember that bugs provide sustenance for birds and bats.

She also cautions about feeding wildlife including birds. “My husband and I feed the birds in the winter and it is a great joy to watch them. But as soon as bears start coming out of hibernation, we put the feeders away. At that time of the year birds have more food. Besides, providing water, even in winter, is as good a way to attract birds. Instead of bird feeders, plant viburnam, dogwoods, blueberries and other plants to feed the birds.”

I don’t live in a suburban neighborhood anymore, nor do I live at the edge of conservation land, but I do feel an obligation to the land and to the future. There are some principles of conservation biology that are very easy for me to practice.

Clark says, ”Nature likes it messy. Keep messy edges. Grass seeds for the sparrows. Dead trees attract woodpeckers. Big dead trees provide food, but also den sites.”

Anyone who visits End of the Road Farm knows we have lots of messy edges. Our only fences are old barbed wire fences. We have hedgerows that provide shelter and food for birds. Our pond, built as a fire pond, certainly attracts wildlife.

Over the 25 years we have lived here we have seen a great change in the amount of wildlife. Wild turkeys are a common sight. I used to tell deer hunters that there were no deer; now there are substantial numbers. We have even seen a bear or two.

One of the conservation issues we have become more aware of is the damage done by invasive species like purple loosestrife and bittersweet. We pulled out the autumn olive that we got years ago from the conservation district, and are now going around to find the seedlings that planted themselves. We are also battling hops and yellow flags. My young grandson Rory had a great time chopping down the yellow flags that appeared in the very wet Sunken Garden this summer, checking them daily to see if the plant was recovering and needed more whacking back.

In the end, for me, conservation is about leaving at least a little part of the world in better shape than I found it. I have grandchildren and just last week my first great-granddaughter was born. I want to leave them with a world that is healthy and beautiful. I treasure the walks the children and I have taken through the woods, noting bear and tiger trees, as well as the wolf trees that I explained provided food and shelter for birds and animals. The woods and fields, so various in their moods and textures always delight. This is what I want to endure.

Between the Rows  October  2006

Christmas Trees – of a sort

When we woke early on Christmas morning we immediately lit our Christmas tree, but we also admired the majestic yellow birch out in our field. This is the most notable tree in our landscape; it still shows the damage wrought by last year’s historic December ice storm.

It would be pressing a point to say that I did any gardening over the holiday weekend, but I did devote some time, energy and nerves to prepare another type of Christmas tree . . .

I began with a genoise jelly roll. It turned out beautifully, if I do say so.

Then I dusted  the jelly roll with confectioners sugar and rolled it up with waxed paper – while it was still warm. I got that tip from Martha Stewart last week.  While it cooled I made some chocolate butter cream and prepared three meringue mushrooms. The mushrooms were made in two pieces. The cap and stems were attached with the help of a little butter cream.  Making the butter cream look like tree bark is fun.

The finishing touch with spun sugar cobwebs. Caramelizing sugar so that it can be ‘spun’ isn’t hard, but you have to keep a close watch on that very hot sugar.

The Christmas log is all done!  Christmas with three trees – one in the field, one laden with lights and ornaments, and one on the table. We are still celebrating.

Books for the Gardener

Just about everyone knows that I am a reader. Therefore there is nothing (well, almost nothing) I like better as a gift than a book.  When I had regular paid employment I always prayed that the day after Christmas would be on a weekend so I could devote that day to reading my Christmas book. And I’ll confess, I often bought myself  a book – for just in case, but I never needed to worry.

Here are some reading suggestions for the reader and gardener on your list.

Right Rose Right Place: 359 Choices for Beds, Borders, Hedges and Screens, Containers, Fences, Trellises, and More by Peter Schneider  (Storey Publishing $19.95). If you’ve never grown a rose before, just browsing through this book with its glorious photographs of every kind of rose, you will decide you must have one. Or maybe ten. Not only will you be seduced by their loveliness, Peter Schneider, who has been growing roses for 30 years, will tell you how to do it easily and successfully. As the title says, all it takes is choosing the right rose for the right spot, and you are ninety percent there.

Schneider begins with a description of the versatility of the  rose family and what makes each rose family distinctive.

The main part of the book is divided by planting sites, in beds and borders, climbers, miniatures,  tree roses, etc. In each section are photographs of individual roses, with a description of their color, flower size, hardiness zone and hybridizer or family. This is a section you will ultimately want to read with a rose catalog by your side.

The final section is clear information about growing roses, from proper planting to dealing with  insect and disease problems and the odd ‘blind shoot.’

After spending an afternoon with Double Delight, Summer Dream, Souvenir de Malmaison, and Compassion you will be glad for the listing of reputable rose nurseries at the end of the book.

Bloom-Again Orchids: 50 Easy Care Orchids that Flower Again and Again and Again by Judy White (Timber Press $14.95)

An orchid plant in bloom makes a good holiday gift. It becomes a perfect gift when accompanied by this book. Actually, it would be best to refer to the book before buying an orchid in order to choose one that is most likely to live happily in the recipient’s house.

Judywhite  begins with general description of orchids and the care they need. Most orchids are epiphytes, growing on a tree in the tropics. There are terrestrial orchids that grow in the soil, but it has to be a ‘very loose, well drained soil.” Finally there are lithophytes that attach themselves to rocks.

For each orchid listed she has a 12 item check list that will detail their requirements and attributes including whether they have large flowers, sprays of multiple flowers, whether they have intense color and pattern, or fragrance.

For me, the most important things to know about any orchid I might buy is the light and temperature requirements. In general she says the orchids she has chosen can live on east, south or west windowsills..

She has established temperature ranges that she calls Warm. Which is days of 68 degrees or more, and temperatures no lower than 60 at night. The Intermediate temperature is 60 degrees during the day, and between 50 and 60 degrees at night. In my house I would need orchids that tolerate Cool temperatures of 55 degrees or higher during the day, and between 40 to 50 degrees at night.

Proper fertilization is also important. Judywhite remids us that orchids generally live in the jungle and get very little nourishment at a time. Her motto is “Water weekly weakly.”

Each orchid is photographed to give you a clear view of the differences in flower form. There are the cattelyas,  and phalaenopsis (moth orchids) which may be the most familiar, but there are many other others including those that resemble spiders, and octopuses, and those that smell like chocolate.

Books provide a lot of information and inspiration for the gardener, but other sources include horticultural societies. Membership ($35 for basic level)  in the American Horticultural Society includes 6 issues of the bi-monthly American Gardener magazine which has excellent articles about all aspects of gardening and plants, profiles of fascinating plant people, book reviews and more. Members also get discounts on books and programs, and entry fee to 240 garden shows and botanical gardens throughout the U.S. while supporting educational programs

Membership ($50 basic level)  in the Massachusetts Horticultural Society will give you a free ticket for the Boston Flower and Garden Show, back after last year’s hiatus, as well as subscriptions to Organic Gardening and Garden Design Magazines. Members also receive The Leaflet, the e-newsletter that comes by email. For a full listing of all the benefits and discounts, and a full description of the organization’s projects logon to the website.

Finally, right in our own backyard we have Nasami Nursery, a part of the New England Wildflower Society, the oldest conservation group in the country. Since we have all become so much more aware of the dangers of invasive plants and the benefits of native plants, we will find NEWFS an excellent resource. Basic membership is $50 and provides unlimited free admission to The Garden in the Woods, discounts at many nurseries including Nasami, discounts at many educational program, discounts in the gift shop, a regular e-newsletter, and access to the botanical library with more than 4,000 volumes.

The only drawback I can see to these organizations is the more you know, the more plants you will decide you need for your garden – but then Christmas will come again next year, too.

Between the Rows  December 19, 2009

Merry Christmas

“A star rose in the sky, and glory from on high
Did fill the night with splendor.
Came birds with joyful voice to carol and rejoice
With songs so sweet and tender.”
             The Carol of the Birds

Merry Christmas to all! We wish safe travelling to all those moving from here to there to celebrate with family and friends. May joy and laughter fill all your celebrations.

My Berry Bowl

Yesterday Elizabeth Licata at Garden Rant wrote about Tovah Martin’s new book, The New Terrarium. I haven’t ever made a terrarium but at least three and possibly four years ago a dear friend gave me a berry bowl for Christmas.  Elizabeth’s post reminded me that I hadn’t seen it for a while.  I went to look.

The berry bowl, planted with moss and partridgeberry (?) has always lived in our Great Room. It is usually not heated in the winter. Last  winter, because of new insulation, it actually got below freezing. At one point I must have moved the berry bowl from the shelves where it could be seen and enjoyed, to a corner of the shelf, hidden by pitchers and forgotten. The plastic wrap ‘lid’ was seriously dusty, but the plants thrived.

I’ve never opened the berry bowl, and never watered it. Having found it in the shadows, I set it on the kitchen table where it could get some sun and feel a little love. It was not long before I could see moisture condensing on the inside of the bowl, so I moved it out of the sun where it  could feel loved, but not so hot.

My berry bowl shows that it doesn’t take much, or maybe nothing but benign neglect, to keep a terrarium going. Still, I am going to get The New Terrarium Book because Tovah Martin says terrariums are a perfect place to grow orchids. I’d like to try that.

The Old is New

Between the concern about GMO seeds and a difficult economy, gardeners are more and more interested in seed saving. The Seed Savers Exchange has been around for years and is now celebrating 35 years of helping people find and continue growing heirloom, open pollinated seed for hundreds of vegetables and flowers

Kent and Diane Ott Whealy founded the SSE and you needed to be a member to get seeds (and they were free) from the owner of the seed. I knew that the Whealy’s were eventually able to start growing heirloom vegetables and flowers for seed, but I was surprised by the colorful, glossy catalog that arrived in my mailbox – so different from the plain listing with descriptions of plants I got many years ago.

You can now order from this beautiful catalog with items like Long Island Cheese squash for pies, Rat Tail radishes (you don’t eat the roots), Opalka paste tomatoes, as well as Snail Flowers grown by Thomas Jefferson. Hundreds more are in the catalog and online at the Seed Savers Exchange website.

If you become a member you will get a 10% discount on catalog seeds, a quarterly magazine and many other benefits.

The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company was the brainchild of 17 year old Jere Gettle. This company is celebrating its first dozen years with a gorgeous catalog with heirloom seeds from all parts of the world. There are Russian tomatoes like Black Prince from Irtusk, an Australian Butter squash, and melons from America, Asia, Europe and Africa.  It’s like taking a trip around the world in vegetables.

Baker Creek offers flowers, too, Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden-Gate, Sweet Williams, and Purple Passion cuphea! So much love in the garden.

This is a company that has grown to include a seed store in Petaluma, California, festivals, and blogs. Logon to the Baker Creek website for information about all their projects.

Both companies offer books, and other items.  Here it is, not even Christmas, and the gifts of catalogs and dreams are already arriving.

Solstice

All hail the Winter Solstice, December 21, the shortest day of the year. The sun will only appear in the sky for 9 hours and 4 minutes. Winter has arrived.  Snow covers the fields, and frigid winds blow.

Nowadays people grumble about the shortness of the days and complain about seasonal depression. Yet we are able to turn on the lights and heat, put on some music, and go to a well-stocked pantry to get ready for supper.

The weather man routinely makes predictions about sun or storm with reference to how inconvenient it will make our commute to work or other necessary activities of the day. How modern we are that ordinary bad weather has become an inconvenience, an irritation to be endured.

In ancient days the lengthening night was cause for fear. Would food stores last until planting season? Would the warming sun really return?

Newgrange

The winter solstice was anticipated and celebrated. Most of us are familiar with Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain in England. Recently I learned about Newgrange in Ireland. It is calculated that this megalithic structure was built 5,000 years ago, probably before Stonehenge and before the pyramids. It is hard to imagine that these ancient people, who I certainly never thought of as having sophisticated learning, not only noted with accuracy the movement of the sun, but were able to design and build, with great precision, a structure that would capture the winter solstice sunrise.

Did those ancients sit around in meetings to discuss the need for such a structure? Did they argue over their site? Were there specialists in their group who made calculations of the sun? Were there others who designed the structure? Who organized the workers to build this extraordinary building? Who was the boss? It is so hard to imagine how they worked without pencils or paper and with no meeting minutes.

Newgrange eventually disappeared into the mists of time. It was rediscovered in 1699 during road construction, but only since 1962 have there been major renovations that have resulted in its becoming a tourist destination with only a few people(because of space limitations) chosen by lottery allowed in to observe the solstice light.

The solstice has been important to many people in many cultures for centuries. Maeshowe in the Orkney Islands is similar in admitting the winter solstice setting sun. It is sometimes described as the greatest architectural achievements of the prehistoric peoples of Scotland. Recently an African ruin, Great Zimbabwe, that had been identified as an old royal castle that may have sheltered the legendary Queen of Sheba has been reconsidered as a solar observatory.

We don’t need to go any further than our own continent to find examples of ancient solstice markers. In North America, one of the most famous such sites is the Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, built a thousand years ago by the Chacoans, ancestors of the Pueblo people.

Some cultures came to talk about the solstice as the dying and rebirth of a god. In Egypt Osirus died and was reborn as a baby. In the third century the roman Emperor Aurelian blended several solstice celebrations into what he called a celebration of the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. In Tibet there is a celebration of the dying year.

We have no local megaliths and the lengthening night is no longer fearful, but all around us at this season are the lights of celebration on the streets and in the shops.

Lights play an important part in the decorations of this holiday – Advent wreaths, Christmas tree lights, and the 9 candles on the Hanukkah menorah. These lights symbolize the coming of the Christ Child, and the victory of the Macabees when they rededicated the temple in Jersusalem in 165 BCE.

Most of us probably don’t think about symbols when we decorate our houses for the holidays and yet we are surrounded by elements that were important to people in ancient times. There are the evergreen trees that did not die in winter, and the yule log that is a reminder of the ever-turning wheel of time.

I am particularly fond of a story that is told about Martin Luther. Legend has it that Luther was wandering in the woods on a snowy evening working on his sermon. Finally the cold drove him out of his reverie, and he was struck by the beauty of God’s brilliant stars shining above forest of evergreens. When he arrived home he took the little evergreen tree which was ready to be hung upside down as was the custom, and set it firmly in a pot and decorated it with candles to echo the stars.

I don’t know whether it really was Luther who invented the lighted Christmas tree, but I do feel that the lights on my Christmas tree connect me not only with Luther, but with the ancients who feared the lengthening night and celebrated the coming light with hopefulness.

Between the Rows 2007

Gifts that Fit Like a Glove

            The dictionary defines the word gift as “Something that is bestowed voluntarily.” Sometimes, at this time of the year with Christmas garlands  around every product in the supermarket, drugstore, department store and  boutique there doesn’t seem to be much of the ‘voluntary’ available.

            And yet, sometimes a gift is not only truly voluntary, it is inspired, perfectly suited to the recipient at that particular moment, a gift that fills a secret need or desire. My first Greenfield Christmas was the first Christmas after my divorce and all the familiar traditions seemed long ago and faraway so it was not easy for my five children.

            I had a housemate, Wendy, who joined us (with her dog and eight puppies!) in September and left us just before Christmas to tend her injured mother, but not before she had given each of the children a gift. Chris received the Guiness Book of Records, something I never would have thought of, which kept all five busy for hours, but I especially remember that Wendy gave Betsy, age 9, a little flashlight to keep under her pillow because she had somehow learned that Betsy was newly afraid of the dark. This was not a gift to be shrieked over, but a gift to be kept close for its quiet comfort.

            Not every gift we give will achieve this kind of perfection, but I think gardeners are among the easiest people to delight. Any gift connected to the garden is an acknowledgement of the passion that the gardener has for her (or his) plot, and a message that the giver shares vicariously in that passion.

            I took a walk through my two favorite and local garden shops and found any number of things that would make ideal gifts for the gardener in your life, and even for yourself as you decorate for the holidays.

            I go past the Shelburne Farm and Garden Center at least once a week, and it is hard not to stop and see what is new. Pat Schmidt knows how I feel about solar power; she was quick to point out the solar powered fairy lights that come on automatically when it is dark enough. They can be strung on an outdoor wreath or other decoration. A string of 20 lights is $29.99, and a string of 48 is $34.99.

            SF&G also has energy saving LED lights: $19.99 for five huge blue and white snowflakes, and $29.99 for ten large bright icicles.  Festive lights are always an important part of holiday decorations, indoors and out.

            Those who require a houseplant or ten will always need a pretty pot. New England Pottery has a variety of pretty ceramic pots in pink, coral, yellow and blue in various sizes, including self watering pots so that if you go away for a week in the sun you won’t need to worry about your plants dying of drought.

            The Shelburne Farm and Garden people love the birds. They have birdfeeders of every description for every type of seed attracting every type of bird. I was particularly struck by the colorful and whimsical feeders that resembled bird houses. Of course they have 40 pound bags of seed as well ranging in price from $26. to $40. depending on the seed or seed mix.

            Gift certificates are available, as well.

            In Greenfield I frequently stop at the Greenfield Farmer’s Exchange on High Street because they have such a huge variety of items.

            My husband does not like the unlovely compost bowl by the kitchen sink and would probably like one of the 1 gallon handsome Compost Keepers. They come in a variety of styles, bamboo with a plastic insert for 39.95, bright ceramic for $26.99 or shiny stainless steel for $38.99.

            Every year I become more devoted to garden gloves. The Farmer’s Exchange has a full range of soft jersey gloves for adults and kids, the Atlas nitrile gloves that I particularly like for only $4.95, and West County leather gloves for $24.95. Different types of gloves for different types of chores. The bright colors in all types are cheerful, and make them a little less likely to be lost in the grass or weeds when you finally have to pull one off to complete some particularly delicate task.

            You can also give your gardener a head start on the growing season. Botanical Interests is a fairly new, family owned seed company. Seed packets of vegetables and flowers range between $3.49 and $3.99. The packets are so pretty they need no wrapping and would beautifully top a Christmas stocking.  I was interested to see that BI has seeds for the castor bean. This is a huge annual with large dark blue-green leaves tinged with red, and funny fuzzy beans.  I wouldn’t grow this if I had little children around because the beans are poisonous, but the plant is stunning. I would only need one or two. They are big!

            The Farmer’s Exchange also sells gift cards at a 10% discount, which means a $10 card only costs $9. I am a great believer in gift certificates and gift cards. I understand that many people in my family don’t know enough about gardens in general, or even my garden in particular to know what is needed or useful and that the gift card they choose will make it possible for me to have just what I need.

            Enjoy your shopping. There are people to be made happy, and it doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money.           

Between the Rows   December 12, 2009