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| Milk Thistle Royal Saskatchewan Museum |
Roaming the gardens
sets my prairie heart
beside bees and butterflies
gathering nectar and pollen
from native wild flowers,
while bugs and beetles
hide their busyness
in the wildness.
“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”
~ Mary Oliver, Yes!No!
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| Gardens at Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Regina ~ September 08, 2025 |
A flower bed ~
true marriage of nature
and the human hand.
Glorious colours and patterns
planted carefully, welcome bees,
butterflies (and cameras)
to these bright and bold displays.
“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.
To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.”
~ Alfred Austin, English poet
(1835 - 1913)
It's a stretch to believe that roots brought this scraggly plant to life and with blossoms! Solid rock
does not exactly suggest a quaint garden space.
I suppose the world feels like that solid rock to any age. I was going to say ‘a little one’ or ‘a toddler’, but then my grownup world does feels a bit rocky some days.
Yet, we keep forcing a life, good
or not so good, from all the rocks
strewn about the world. For me,
I’m pretty stubborn. I just keep
putting down roots with belief
and hope that they will grow.
“The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.”
~ Tennessee Williams
Bees need shelter in their busy flight from flower to flower
to deposit their pollen
to make nectar and feed
their queen bee. The challenges they face are many: pesticides, parasites and humanity’s threat. We plant milkweed and bee balm to offer them help, but shelter ~ Where is it? On my stroll through a garden, a cute little house stood barely tall, tiny holes in its face and midst the grasses and flowers. The
Native Prairie Garden gardeners had added a bee nest
with the bee balm, lavender, milkweed and such.
“Wherever there are bees, there are flowers, and wherever
there are flowers there is new life and hope.”
~ Christy Lefteri, author
Native Prairie Garden the entrance to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum across from Wascana Park. (saskatchewan.ca)
For more information about bee homes, go to: garden therapy.ca
Update:
Humdrum, mundane ~ two words that do not fit with this beautiful story. My second read of this story is fraught with the realities of war. I really didn’t want it to end, reading each page as a treasure. There is history in this story relating to the war between China and Japan. The tensions between Judge Teoh, and Aritomo, the gardener, because of the cruelties of the war, slowed their precious love story.
~~~~~
Original: September 2016
From the first page, the beautiful writing drew me into this story. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng opened our new season at my book group. What a wonderful read. The story opens in Malaysia as Judge Teoh is taking an early retirement from the bench in Kuala Lumpur. Returning to the Cameron Mountains, she plans to go Yugiri, the Garden of Evening Mists. She reunites with Frederick Pretronis on Majuba Tea Estates neighbouring Yugiri.
Judge Yun Ling Teoh is returning to the Garden to recover her past and honour her sister. They had both been in a Japanese internment camp when she was nineteen and was the only surviving member of this brutal camp. Later she was a research clerk in the War Crimes Tribunal while waiting admission to law school at Cambridge University in 1949. Her early retirement was prompted by early signs of dementia. Yun Ling begins to write her memories that span forty years from World War II through the early 1950’s and into the 1980’s before they are lost to her.
Yun Ling’s story unfolds in layers of present and past, much like the layers in the Japanese gardens that she and her sister loved. The memory of the gardens that kept them alive in the camp. Yugiri was designed and cared for by Arimoto, who was once the gardener to the Japanese emperor. Yun Ling, despite her hatred of all Japanese, determined to keep her promise to her sister to create a Japanese garden.
Spontaneity in her life was as contrived as the outlines of Yurigi, whose stone placements, foliage and pathways were designed and placed with thought only to the image. Beneath the surface of the present images designed to deceive, lay feelings of hatred, anger, and the guilt that only a survivor knows. The principle of shakkei or borrowed scenery, the use of nearby or distant landscapes, including the sky, is used in Japanese gardening. This principle seems to be a part of Yun Ling’s whole story. The past, the present and memory all shaped her story without intent.
Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize, The Garden of Evening Mists is a book I will read again.
“Memory is like patches of sunlight in an overcast valley,
shifting with the movement of the clouds. Now and then
the light will fall on a particular point in time, illuminating it
for a moment before the wind seals up the gap,
and the world is in shadows again.”
~ Tan Twan Eng, The Garden of Evening Mists
Title: The Garden of Evening Mists
Author: Tan Twan Eng
Publisher: Weinstein Books
Publication Date: 2012
Format: Soft Cover
ISBN: 978-1-60286-180-0 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978-1-60286-181-7 (e-book)
Type: Fiction
The prairies are known for wheat fields and industry ~ no foolish flowers
or graceful stands of trees
especially for my grandparents and pioneers arriving on a flat, open plain,
only wanting land, but somehow
trees, flowers, and vegetables
sprouted and grew
with the patience of farming families and
the longing for green growing things and bright colourful flowers
While the fields were quilted
in green wheat, blue flax and yellow canola
it was not like the abundant gardens of home
so gardens with potatoes, onions and carrots were planted
even if precious water had to be sacrificed to keep them alive
there was only waving grasslands and sky burning bright blue
or gray with clouds if luck brought rain with a crack of thunder
the only relief, the night fall that erased the vast emptiness of the prairie
Now the descendants of my grandparents and pioneers
keep planting - not just fields of waving grains - but
graceful trees, foolish flowers and vegetables of many kinds.
“After the sunset on the prairie, there are only the stars.”
~ Carl Sandburg
Beneath the blooms
tangled vines grow
sprouted from the soil
Community is like that
rooted in the histories
of residents new and old
With each new resident,
another flower can grow
in the garden that is community.
“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.”
~ Ruth Reichl, author
A wanna be gardener, to be like many in my farming family, I do keep trying. Still haven’t adjusted to container gardening. It seems so confining! These 8 Hens and Chicks had been confined to a very small pot that I purchased late this summer. Don’t know what my idea was, but I’ve always loved these little succulents. Today, I spread a Canadian Tire flyer on my cupboard and freed them, dirt and all. They were getting increasingly dry, not to mention crowded. Once I separated them all out I found the mother plant and provided a separate pot away from the crowd of kids she had around her. Right now they all look quite happy in there new and spacious homes. Now to see if I can keep them all alive and healthy!
"Gardening is learning, learning, learning.
That's the fun of them. You're always learning."
~ Helen Mirren
Something Small
“Unless I’ve learned something new everyday, I don’t count it as a good day. Might be something so small that no one else notices it.” Grandfather and grandson were in the garden clearing it up for winter.
~~~~~
“My grandfather was about to give me more of his wisdom of his ninety years. I really never minded it. When I was a teenager, I sometimes got annoyed with hearing the same old stories, but as I got older, I just loved hearing them.”
“Kind of like when I watch TV reruns and know what the character’s going to say?” Richard and his grandson, Joey, were working on the garden he planted every year. “That’s right, son.” He raked over where they had pulled out all the spent potato plants. “Your grandmother’s going to be happy with all the potatoes we've found.”
“Grandfather! I found another one. It’s really tiny but is that what your grandfather meant?” He held up a tiny purple potato no bigger than the end of the old man's thumb. “Sure is. And if he found one like that, he’d get down on his knees and dig into the dirt to see if there were more. Sometime there wasn’t anything, but sometimes he find one or two more.” Then he’d say “Alway pay attention to the little guy, Richard. He’s got friends that are just waiting to be noticed, to be looked after.”
“What happened to the potatoes he’d find?” Richard was ready to throw the little potato away. “Why, he’d gather up what he had, take them in the house and your great-grandmother would make a potato salad. And if there were a lot of little ones, she’d cook them up for supper.”
~~~~~
Quiet settled on the back yard. Only the late summer sun, a junco chirped, and a breeze rustled the drying leaves. The two gardeners picked up their rakes and hoe and put them away in the shed. A spider web was draped across one corner of the fence by the shed. Richard stopped and watched the spider at rest in the middle of the web. In the past he would have ripped it off, paying no attention to the spider. He felt different. “Grandfather, what do you know about spiders?”
“I think it’s important to find the little things
in everyday life that make you happy.”
~ Paula Cole
I avoided purchasing plants this spring. Wanted to evaluate the sun and wind on my patio. My plans? Planting should be in spring time………but after a twist of my arm - a very gentle twist - I accompanied my good friend Donna to the Plant Ranch. I wasn't going to buy anything. Just looking. But then I decided on a late summer garden: A Halpen Blue Hosta. Hens and Chicks just slipped in my hand. They both seemed to fit the bill. Both are hardy to this Hardiness Zone (3b), but I was told by the nursery owner that they may not make it through winter. So, they’ll have be houseplants part of the year! Or tucked in very carefully. (The skinny floppy plants are ginger shoots that have been pushed aside to accommodate the newcomer.)
“A late summer garden has a tranquility found no other time of year.”
~ William F. Longgood
Plant Ranch
5909 13th Avenue
Regina, Sask
Website: plantranchregina.ca
A sweet face not to be missed!
Even tucked away from the heat.
Backed by another favourite,
beautiful orange snap dragons ~
Grandma and Grandpa’s garden.
There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colours
are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”
~ Elizabeth Lawrence
Where to Land
Rita, Phil’s mother, was worried about her son. He was almost 30 years old and didn’t seem to have any direction. At one time, she thought he would do great things. Become a big shot lawyer, like the ones he watched on TV as a boy. She wasn't that sure he was ever interested in law, just the way most of the lawyers dressed. She shook her head and muttered. “Always the fashion plate. He had to have after school jobs just to keep ‘in style’. Always had girls flutter around him. They’ve all gone to University and my boy is working construction.” Her husband Ralph came out to the garden. “Rita, are you talking to yourself or the birds?” He knew she chattered on to herself, especially out in the garden. Sometimes she was talking to the birds or the squirrels, or the calico cat that sat on their fence where tulips bloomed. “Oh heavens Ralph! You scared me. I’ve pulled out a weed instead of planting my tomatoes!” She sat up on her knees, wiped her hands clean of dirt and squinted up to her husband. A floppy straw hat shaded her eyes. Ralph helped her up. “Come to the patio. I’ve got some ice tea for us and a couple of sandwiches. You’ve been out here in the sun for two hours and need a break.” Rita gave him a peck on the cheek. “Careful, I’m all dirty and sweaty. Ice tea sounds about right - I am hot and thirsty. Did you make the sandwiches yourself or did you stop by the Deli down the street?” Ralph pretended to look guilty. “You caught me. Can’t fool you, can I? It was the Deli - they gave me some Kosher pickles to go along with the sandwiches. There’s a salami and Gruyere cheese, and a vegetarian one. You get to choose.” They ate their lunch in silence, enjoying the early afternoon sun. “Are you still worried about Phil, Rita? Working with his hands, outdoors, is good for him. Gives him time to think about what he wants to do. Who knows? He may want to get out of the manual labour part and take over my business. Make it a family affair. What do you think?” Rita poured herself another glass of ice tea and passed the pitcher to her husband. An innocent look on her face she said. “Well, if I recall, you were one of those rude guys that whistled at girls from two stories up on a scaffold. I didn’t think you had any direction either.” Ralph leaned over to his wife, looking a bit of a devil. “And if I recall, you were a little bold yourself……..asking for me a date without even knowing me!” She stood and put her hat and garden gloves back on. “I don’t want him taking over the business unless he ………I just want him to be happy. And right now, he doesn’t seem to be. He just gets up, takes the lunch I have ready for him and goes to work. Gives me a quick hug before he goes. When he comes home, he barely says hello and goes upstairs to get out of his work clothes. Yes, I am still worried about him…..Thank you for lunch, honey. I need to get back to my planting now that the shade has come over the garden.”
~~~~~
Phil did come home as usual in time for supper, his mother just cleaning up from her gardening day. She did love her garden. Instead of barely speaking to his mother, he almost lifted her off her feet in a big hug. They danced across the kitchen, almost knocking Ralph over as he was setting the table. Laughing and singing, he let go of his mother and hugged his father. He suddenly realized what he was doing and stopped and said “I’ll just go upstairs, wash up and change. Be right down for dinner.” And then he was gone. “What just happened here, Ralph? I’ve never seen him like that since he graduated with honours.” Ralph had visited with Malcolm, Rita’s brother earlier in the day. “I suspect he has something to tell us at dinner. Some good news that may ease your worries.” Phil ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, crisp blue jeans and a fresh t-shirt on. “Yes mother, Uncle Malcom talked with Mr. Digby at that old Beaufort Estate. I don’t have a full time job out there, but I can work with him….Mr. Digby that is…..he’s the butler you know. Right now, it’s more like an interview and then just a couple of hours a week. I’ll have to keep my construction job, but I think there’s more for me to do than wield a nail gun.” He looked at his father. “I hope you don’t mind, dad. Construction’s ok and I like some of the people I work with, but it’s not in my blood like it is in yours.” His father just shook his hand. “Of course I don’t mind, son. You need to find out, like most of us do, where you want your feet to land.”
“‘I want to make my mark,’ he says.
‘But what target, I wonder, are you going to hit’”
~ Cecil Castellucci, Boy Proof
A Pair of Gardeners
“First time we knew of it, Elizabeth.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth glanced at Samuel.
“Come now, Sam, it can’t be; don’t you remember when we told all our stories?”
Usually Samuel was right, but she had caught him up this time,
“Sure enough, Elizabeth; forgot all about that. That was the first time we ever heard about the folk that read our stories.
“Let's get past that, talk about what we need.” He sat down, pulled his ever present pencil and notepad from his shirt pocket. “Tea there, Elizabeth?” He’d hardly finished talking when his tea and sandwich were in front of him. Cook sat across from him with her lunch. The two of them met every year to talk about produce. What he was to plant and what she would need for the kitchen. First things were much the same: tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and corn. “I do need more corn than last year. I use it about as much as I use the others. Are you planting those raspberries this year? Sure hope so.” Not spring yet they wanted to get started. Seeds packets were on full display in stores.
A quick knock on the kitchen door, followed by a cheerful “Good morning! Anybody here?” Dez had seen Samuel go in the kitchen door. Cook called out “We’re in here having early lunch. There’s enough sandwiches if you’re hungry. Who are you looking for?’
“Great! I am looking for lunch. After last weekend out with Matt, my fridge is empty. But I also want to talk with you Samuel about getting started in the orchard.” A couple of sandwiches, a mug of coffee, she joined them at the table. “Did you bring that electronic thing with you to take some notes?” Samuel wasn't about to give up his old school ways, and Miss Dez insisted her shiny ‘pad’ thing was better. “Well first it’s a walk through to see what needs taking care of.” Dez set her sandwich down, and opened her iPad. Ran her fingers over it till a page appeared on the screen. “What’s after that? When do we get the trees pruned? What sorts of things do I need to watch for on the walk through?”
Elizabeth finished her tea and sandwich and let the two of them discuss the orchard. Once those two got talking about planting and growing things, she had better things to do. “I’ve already called the tree people. They’ll be out here next week to take care of the pruning.” He turned. “Elizabeth, are there anymore of those sandwiches?”
“Already bringing them, Samuel. And there’s some of those big oatmeal cookies you like.” She poured him another cup of tea before taking the pot away. “Now get back to telling Miss Dez what she needs to do.”
He turned back to Dez. “To start with, you’ll be looking for any winter trash that’s blown in, then any windfall apples that haven’t composted yet. Don’t want them creating a problem. Look for any bugs or diseased trees.”
~~~~~
Lunch over, the two gardeners got up, absentmindedly cleared the table. “You two go on, I’ll finish clearing up.” Elizabeth held back a laugh. Half of the lunch dishes were still on the table. Samuel picked up the last cookie. He and Dez went out the kitchen door, still talking about the coming growing season.
~~~~~
“Life begins the day you start a garden.”
~ Chinese proverb
**Authors note: At the beginning of this episode, I have introduced the theme for March : ‘FOCUS’
