Autumn Unleashed

It would be worthwhile having a cultivated garden if only to see what Autumn does to it - A Austin 1894

The leaves fall off the trees with a breeze

You can jump in the leaves

When they come together

They feel light as a feather

by Hannah 2002

The place is a mess, winds and rains have taken down bushels of twigs and leaves, and I am hopelessly behind on my garden chores. Most Novembers I am lining up bags of leaves in triple digit numbers, this year not a bag have I filled. Perennials are still limping along in some places, annuals are mostly gone, and Im letting it all happen .

Amazingly, here and there, little spots of beauty still emerge

The evenings are cooler, the skies are brighter and the rains are wetter . . . and after a long absence spent on indoor projects, I finally took the time to walk in my garden today, just to see what had been happening.  I was surprised and enchanted with the brilliance waiting to be discovered, and thankful that I took those few minutes. I could have missed all this!    

For at least a month now my garden has been the object of utter neglect - all the fussing and puttering that goes on in the enthusiasm of spring and  summer is long forgotten, and Autumn's beauty has happened entirely without me.  Well let that be a lesson to me and everyone, all of us who thought we were such necessary elements  in our gardens.  Guess what, life, the garden, it all goes on without us , quite nicely as a matter of fact, and the results can be spectacular.

I picked up these miniature roses at the supermarket in May to make a corsage for my grandson's Prom date, then planted them in a stone trough.  They seem to be quite happy and continue to bloom and thrive in the cool wet days, looking quite happy with an added tapestry of fallen oak leaves.

Kale has to be the brightest bonus of all - each one started from a tiny seedling pack in the spring and growing into a giant and regal rosette in the fall.

I cant decide, should I leave these fabulous heads of cabbage in the garden until a hard frost nips them, or cut them and bring them inside!  I can just see them in the center of my harvest table!

While I have been searching for the perfect rug for the dining room,  just look at the carpets mother  nature

has woven on my lawn. 

Sometimes it seems to me

That my garden tries

To give me all it can

Just before it dies

Garden Ghosts

Some of the greatest delights are found in the inherited bits of garden one encounters over a lifetime, a legacy of spirits and garden ghosts 


Are their ghosts in your garden?  Im happy to say that I share my heritage, both real and remembered, with generations of  gardeners who have gone before me. Family members, friends, some I have never actually met but know from the stories that were told to me-  we are all part of an unbroken line that I now hold the end of - who will I hand it to?

Perhaps there are long-empty raised beds, or the skeleton of a grape arbor, long abandoned. But the bones of a garden someone once loved are there, ghosts if you will, spirits held in time for all who will feel their magic and take up the trowel to carry on . . .

This is the family of Joseph Schneider, the builder of my house. He was listed on public record as having the occupation of "Gardener". He was the first gardener, I am the current one.


As soon as I moved into my “ new” old house it became obvious  that the grounds had  once been the realm of a true gardener. The clues appeared everywhere, the statuesque oaks trees, mature flowering shrubs, the scraggly rose that still hugged the porch post. When our first spring came around the scores of tender shoots and emerging bulbs were a daily treat. Sweet surprises left for my delight by the generations before me.

These girls are having too much fun, and wouldnt I like to have that wheelbarrow ! - They all lived in the house I now call mine, and their spirits remain in the garden that I now tend, carrying on a tradition rooted in  the feel of the earth.

My garden mentor, my grandfather - here in the most dapper outfit ever! I personally never saw him in anything but bib overalls, and I continue to carry that tradition on today - overalls are my favorite attire for gardening or for any creative activity!

And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see - or like a  sealed letter they could not plainly read.

I never saw this garden, but my mother spoke of it all through her life, and her remembrances of this place were so strong and sacred to her. She is sitting here in an arbor with her younger sister.


The gardener was a woman called  "Gusty", a ghost to me but a very real  presence to my mother. Pleasant memories make everything real.

I must close with some seasonal fun - these are some of my favorite garden pals, doing what we love to do at the end of the season - making "Witches Bundles' from herbs and dried grasses.  Created  to hang by the door as protection from the mean spirits of this season, its our way of both honoring and laughing at the ancient traditions of herbal lore, and a good excuse to be outside enjoying Autumn's delights.

Fall in all it's Finery

This, this! Is Beauty;  cast, I pray, your eyes
On this my Glory! 
These Briliant hues are all distinct and clean . .
 Gorrge Crabbe, The Borough 1810

Since I have begun to study painting I have learned and gained in so many ways, especially in my awareness.I can no longer just look at a beautiful scene briefly, I now need to absorb it. A blue sky will never again be only blue for me, it will instead be a study as I ponder  -  is it cerulean or cobalt I'm seeing, and how does the color change as it meets the horizon.

 Does the gold of the changing leaves look more brilliant against the gray sky or the blue? And the greens, all so very complex, how could I mix my paints to achieve that deep hint of blue I am seeing in the spruce?

 If this sounds like a chore , I assure you it is not - It is a wonderful gift really  to "See" what is around me and before me each day.  With that awareness comes appreciation and gratitude, and ultimately a sense of awe. If I never paint again, I will always have that gift.

There's no better place than a Saturday market to soak up the colors and textures of Autumn

Three French Hens in Morris Illinois was the destination for this weekend!  How Inspiring on a warm October morning

I really should have bought that striped blanket!

Glitter meets Gory!

Talk about seeing the blues in the sky,   Wishing I had a place for this blue leather chair! 

Spotted this fellow sitting patiently outside the shop - I think his wife was still inside trying on clothes, he said he hadnt seen her in hours!

So pick up the phone, call a friend, make a plan for a Fall Field Day of your own, the leaves are falling a little more every day . . . . .

Lessons Of A Late Season Garden

A modest gatden contains, for those who know how to look and wait , more instruction than a library


The mornings are cool and the light has a new clarity these days, the skies a sharper blue.  I feel I need to apologize for the really bad thoughts I have been having for the past month, wishing for the scraggly flower beds to just get it over with! 

My garden is responding with a final encore for me, redeeming itself from the disappointments of August, and reminding me once again to be patient and let life do it's thing. It's exactly what I needed to get my enthusiasm back, and suddenly Im in the mood to make plans for next year.  Let the seed catalogs come!  I'm ready to devour them.

Finally, the moon flower blooms -I thought it would never happen -  now I must add a nightly visit to inhale the unforgetable fragrance.

The anemone offers it's multiple blossoms , graceful and delicate and blooming prolifically.

Who can endure a cabbage bed in October? - Jane Austen

I know this kale is edible, but it's just too beautiful to disturb - I love gazing into the center of the plant - it has all the magic of a kaleidoscope

The nasturtium seems to be happiest now, climbing with wild abandon on the wattle fence.

And of course, mums. Returning from last year in the perennial border.

There is no end to the lessons to be learned from a garden, if only the student is willing. It is truly one of my finest teachers.

With Paper and Paint

Well or Wall?

My garden sweet, enclosed with walles strong- George Cavendish - 1500

Is it Stone Well or Stone Wall? 

 So close I know , so let me clear it up for you.  When my family first moved into our home we were blessed with a very old and very much loved garden. One of the most intriguing features was a beautiful old stone well, crafted by a former owner of limestone and iron.  The well was strictly ornamental I discovered, but I also discovered some fascinating stories told by neighbors and family members of the generations behind me.  The first family to live here, and to build the home, was headed by a young German immigrant who's profession was "Gardener"! Tragedy struck his young family when Typhoid took his wife and two children.  It was always thought that a well on the property was the source, though never proved.  This story made the stone well seem much more than an ornament - and when I searched for a name for my new gardening business, the well seemed to be the perfect thing.

This is my stone well in summer, smothered by ancient trumpet vines,to the delight of the hummingbirds

But what about the Stone wall?

Well (no pun intended) I have one of those also- but it came much later to this garden, crafted by my husband after a trip to England inspired me. It is the perfect backdrop for my collection of old roses, and adds the elements of enclosure and permanence to the garden

A rock pile ceases to be a rockpile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral
-Antoine de St. Exupery


Now, one more word about my identity, I am presently out there with two different names.  I won't bore you with the details, but a simple typo on my part has created a situation that I am working to resolve.  So . . . . I am Stone Well Garden, and Stone Well Gardens.  That silly little "s" is the culprit!  

So bear with me, keep visiting me here, and remember to dip onto your own well of inspiration often!

With Paper and Paint

Caught In the Web

For the bird a nest, the spider a web, for man, friendship - William Blake

The garden holds many surprises for me every day, and late summer is guaranteed to provide a brush with the whisper soft touch of a spider web.  Walking through the garden in the early morning I am often caught unaware by the sudden , almost invisible barrier that has miraculously been constructed during the night before.  If the dew is heavy, the intricate work of the spider's artistry will be dotted with tiny jewels, and if I'm lucky the artist herself will be present. Sometimes I go and fetch my mister  bottle from my art table, then spray the web with a very delicate touch , highlighting all the details without disturbing the web. 

"Whats so miraculous about a spider's web," said Mrs. Arabele.  "I dont see why you say a web is a miracle - it's just a web."
"Ever try to spin one?" asked Dr. Donan.
Mrs Arabele shifted uneasily in her chair. "No," she replied, "But I can crochet a doily and I can knit a sock!"
                        E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

This image is slightly raised , with white paint on a black art board. The web was misted with the paint and then very carefully caught from behind on the board.
The handwritten note on the back of this vintage piece reads:


– Micrathena spiderweb, collected in the Mackinaw River Valley 8/86

The spider's web has inspired designs and motifs  in every medium, You will find the intricate and fascinating line work in crochet patterns, embroidery, iron work , stained glass, even fabulous jewelry to name a few. and is it any wonder? Just take a few moments to really look at the next web you come across in your garden - really look! You will be mesmerized.

With Paper and Paint

A Sweet and Sticky September

September is National Honey Month


Beautiful Flowers opened their petals generously, happily, inviting the wasps and bumblebees to drink from deep inside their hearts .   --Irene Nemirovsky  Suite Francais

"Easy for you to say" , I can hear the bees buzzing in our ears . . . did you know the honey bee is in danger as the population diminishes?  Every gardener can help by planting herbs and flowers to attract the bees, and by not using the pesticides that threaten their fragile existence.

This beautiful creature and lots of his buddies were enjoying the blossoms of the rustic arugula in the herb garden.  Not wanting to interfere in this glorious display, I promptly abandoned my plans to pull out the wayward arugula seedlings.  Nature knows best! Its good to know when to

 let go and let God.

A weathered bee skep is nestled into the Bee Garden, surrounded by  a burst of brilliant blue at the end of summer with perennial ageratum. Persistant sprigs of chamomile are still appearing at the base of the bloomed out Bee balm.

Like a precious jewel, a jar of newly gathered honey glows amber in the summer sunlight. This is the crowning glory of the honey bee- the royal offering of hundreds of hours of hard work, ours to savor and enjoy! I need a scone!

The Honey Bee and the Bee Hive have been the inspiration for years of pottery and tablewear designs - this is  just a small sampling of my own collection.

The flutter of the butterfly, the humming of the bees, I think there is no sweeter music in my garden than these.

with Paper and Paint