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IN SEARCH OF JAPANESE GARDEN INSPIRATION

James and I recently had a wonderful opportunity to visit several Japanese-inspired gardens in Texas, thanks to an invitation from renowned Japanese garden enthusiasts, Don Pylant and Jeanette Schelin. Over two sunny days in Austin and San Antonio, we explored two public gardens with detours to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center and a private residential garden.

On our travels, we enjoyed lively discussions about the art and philosophy behind Japanese gardens. Learning about the challenges of adapting these age-old principles outside Japan–from climate issues to finding the right materials–was eye-opening. We are grateful to Don and Jeanette for not only sharing their wisdom but also showing us the sheer dedication required to mirror the perfection of traditional Japanese gardens in the United States.

This experience has been a profound reminder of the dedication, passion, and resilience needed to bring such beauty and tranquility to life. We returned inspired and with a renewed appreciation for the intricate balance of nature and meticulous care these gardens represent. With all of our friends passionate about gardening, nature, and the calming influence of green spaces, we encourage the support of these precious environments as places of beauty that nourish the soul and bring peace to our hectic lives.

Contributed by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& grateful garden visitor)

Returns On A Garden Investment: A Daily Vacation 437104440 1151671165788595 5865124868526290264 N

Returns On a Garden Investment: A Daily Vacation

Another of the great joys of investing in a top-notch garden is the daily delight that pours in through the window “picture frames” and waits just outside my door to refresh me in every season of the year!

I can attest to the rest I experience when I look outside and see the evergreens filling with snow or the Japanese Maples radiating their myriad shades of green as their leaves open in the spring or turn brilliant oranges and reds in the autumn. And that is just from the inside of my home. When I step outside to stroll under the flying buttresses of our Dawn Redwood cathedral, or sit on the patio and gaze across the emerald lawn through the Japanese Black Pines while I sip my morning coffee, I experience the tranquility and repose with all my senses and am refreshed.

All of this without leaving my property. No.

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In Living Memory

Several days after my beautiful, lively mother stepped into eternity, my husband hung several bird feeders outside our kitchen window: ” . . . to bring you joy and remind you of her,” he smiled when he came inside. How perceptive his gift! In the almost-25 years that have flown by since her death, I have delighted in the daily menagerie that flutters around the feeders within easy view of my kitchen and office workspaces.

And each year, as our garden grows to provide even more shelter, I am the excited observer of new varieties of feathered visitors joining the regulars at the fly-in diner. In recent weeks, we have enjoyed visits from Redwing Blackbirds, Cardinals, a Rufous-sided Towhee, Bluebirds, and a couple of Cedar Waxwings! The vivacious activity outside my windows is a daily reminder–a living memorial–of my lovely, joyous mother.

Perhaps you are grieving the loss of someone dear to your heart. May I encourage you to establish a “live” memorial in their honor–a bird feeder or two, a patch of wildflowers, a graceful tree, a flowering evergreen shrub–close by, so that each day you can enjoy vibrant beauty “in living memory” of your precious loved one?

Contributed by Betty Hanselman
(Gardener’s wife and joyful bird watcher)
With gratitude for my mother, Miriam Keener Buhr
(January 13, 1926 ~ October 6, 1999), and mother-in-law, Winifred “Joy” Hayman Hanselman (July 3, 1922 ~ December 10, 1999).

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Children in Gardens…

“Even if she forgets the whole thing in her teens, later still, when she is grown up and has a first garden of her own, some misty memory of the pleasure of growing things will give her a head start over the gardener without any background, just as children who have spoken a second language, and forgotten it, can pick it up again in later years.”

~ Anne Scott-James (British journalist & gardening author; 1913 – 2009)
Happily shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& “garden grandma” to 9 granddaughters!)

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Returns on A Garden Investment: Good Health

During Covid, when we were all separated from others and sequestered within the confines of our homes, I read numerous articles about the benefits of having a garden or even just a few plants to tend. And indeed, in that bleak season of isolation and uncertainty, the opportunity to be outside tending something living was a gift.

Even though Covid is behind us, I still encourage you to get outside to tend your garden–not only because your garden plants need care, but because it is good for you, too! You’ll spend time in the fresh air and sunshine, staying active at a pace you determine. You’ll be rewarded with time to breathe deeply and quiet your soul as you work; you’ll reap the good health of the plants you’re tending and a property that is tidy and well-maintained; and you’ll be reminded, once again, of the beauty that surrounds you.

My hope for you is that after your day in the garden, you’ll go inside tired but happy, and Oh so grateful for the blessing of a garden to tend!

Shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& “tired but happy” garden nurturer)

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Garden Art

“Gardening is like landscape painting to me. The garden is the canvas. Plants, containers and other garden features are the colors. I paint on the garden of canvas hoping to create a master piece with my colors.”
~ Ama H.Vanniarachchy (Contemporary Sri Lankan author, journalist, painter, and archaeologist)

Joyfully shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& garden art beneficiary)

If the space outside your windows needs an artistic touch, look no further. Our garden artists will create landscape art for viewing from the picture frames (windows) in your home. Give us a call to get started: 717-653-1273!