Gardener's Bouquet

Hello, friends! Summer is in full bloom. Here on the coast we’ve had a wonderful summer so far. The weather has been beautiful. We do have the occasional foggy, overcast days, but on the whole sunshine has blessed us.

I’m excited to share this month’s blog with you. The blog is entitled Gardener’s Bouquet because really this blog is about a wonderful day in which a gardener blessed me with her kindness through a gorgeous bouquet.

This photo is of Connie, the gardener, once again blessing my life with gifts from her garden. While this particular photo is more recent than our story, you can see that she is once again bringing me flowers grown in her garden. You’ll also notice that there are Alstroemerias in her arms.

The day of our story, Connie appeared with an armful of pink, yellow, and white Alstroemerias. I was so overcome with delight, that I didn’t even think of taking a photo. I have yellow Alstroemerias growing in my garden, along with a smattering of pink ones, but I had never seen white ones.

Connie and I enjoy getting together to go to Farmers Market. The market meets just a couple blocks from my home, so it’s a fun jaunt together. I had no idea that this farmer would bless me with her bounty as well.

“Happiness is to hold flowers in both hands.”

— Japanese proverb

Connie’s kindness and generosity blessed me that day. Her kindness and generosity has continued to bless me each time she appears. She is always sharing the bounty of her garden: radishes, flowers, tomatoes, basil, etc. She is a professional landscape designer, and her love for gardening is infectious.

I was so delighted with the Alstroemerias that particular day, that I was moved to create a painting. I filled this pitcher with water and the Alstroemerias and began to sketch. And as I painted, the flowers stayed right by my easel until the petals scattered themselves in a gorgeous array around my studio.

I am delighted with the results. For some reason, the white Alstroemerias didn’t make it into the painting. A painting has a will of its own. And because it took me almost a year to complete this painting, the story is admittedly a little disjointed.

This painting is actually of the original bouquet on an antique wooden stand in my office. The books really are strewn around, as you see. The piano sits in the painting to the right, and the heavy, white, porcelain pitcher rests on ancient linen.

The open book in the far left is my French diary. I’ve drawn a sailboat in it to symbolize the days of sailing my family enjoys. I’ve also added in my green cello rosin, as it was sitting there and enhances my bow and delights me with its piney scent.

My flowers could never duplicate the intricacy, subtlety, and nuance of the original. I simply get satisfaction out of the attempt to make lasting the memory of a moment in time. I love being able to take my joy and make it last a little longer through a painting. And, by the way, the beautiful pink Snapdragons, were a gift to me from my daughter’s garden.

I want to thank my gardener friend for the gift of her garden. I hope that my simple attempt at recreating the effusive beauty of her bouquet helps her to understand just how much her kindness meant to me. I hope that through this painting and through featuring it in this month’s blog, that joy spreads further still and brightens someone else’s world, even if just for a moment.