Flying Dragon Garden Design

Dripping UP

2011-02-07T15:26:00.001-08:00

This was written 3/1/2005..........

Dripping up ....

By the laws of nature ...

.we know when an icicle melts and drips , the water droplets fall down to the earth ...the cycle of water now complete .the cold clear ice melting back to water to nourish the waking and warming earth .......

But laws as we know them are made to the best of our ability within the experience of those that create them .

The visionaries area able to go a step further and create new ...offering laws that apply beyond the realm of their own personal experience , as they are able to have a view into the future and yet also value what is now... able to see that now will become more...

Mystics and great teachers are able to understand the Spiritual laws..and guide those ready to learn to go beyond their daily existence to a place of creating their own worlds..a place where love can grow ..the power of prayer and conscious intent their magic .

Break any of the laws.......and the consequences follow ..or so it is taught .

...Break natural law and you will crash to the earth ...fall on your face ...gravity wins . Yet we still can fly to the moon ........

Break social laws,. if merely by being so far outside the box that you do not "fit' and the consequences follow .....no place to belong ,.,,no companions to play with ..you get kicked out of the proverbial sand box .

Break the law of Sprit and the monster of Karma becomes your companion . You live a life of contrition not really understanding why ...but this is not the man-made laws of the Church ..not rules.....Spiritual laws all revolve around loving yourself and others. Here is Broken hearts, broken promises , misused dreams and power ... .......That is the only rule Karma understands .

Life offers the knowledge that even when we goof we are suppose to try again ..ultimately finding success .....as ..happiness and joy , abundance ..not really finding anything ..but living it ..not an end but a way of travel ..the "why' we are here . We are all worthy of so much more than we allow ourselves to have . When we take this and understand it ...and live life fully ....putting it into daily practice ..we find wisdom .

Learning to judge less ..love more ..and actively seek joy ..and beauty ..not to the exclusion of responsibility ..but as a responsibility to ourselves .

We own mistakes ..but do not wallow in them as acts of destruction ...but rather see them as distractions or delays .on getting to where we intended to be ......... gifts of learning along the way !

I am the same me .......though I am older ..not much has changed except the view through my illusion is at times these days more a mist than trying to look through a solid wall. No one is perfect. I am not as awful as I have thought myself to be in moments ..and I am not as kind and good as I had hoped to be in others.

We all struggle to do the best we can in the instant we act or speak ..Sometimes we still get it absolutely wrong .......terribly wrong .......and sometimes we get it right ! I try these days to look more at intent ..without totally taking the fun out of living .

I believe I understand my motives more than I did once ..at least I hope I do . I can only guess why some one else does what they do ......and that is more energy than I wish to leave out there ..

Instead ....... I follow my heart better and hope they do as well . ..

We can't know everything ..we can only own that we may have changed our decisions had we known more .. The look back does not change what we knew then. Guilt is a waste of the moment ....even if we look back and can say ..I knew and did it anyway ...then say ...I'm sorry .if only to yourself ......forgiveness is already given the moment you ask . You can not change the event that happened one bit ! ..Not with guilt ..not with anger ..not with apologies .....

So what changes ? ....attitude ........how the mind sees the events......time heals all wounds they say ..but it is not in changing what has happened ...the events do not change .....but the space that time offers allows you to change perspective ........It makes an event more dimensional .......As if you could walk around behind the canvas and see the artist painting it .

Look back at that life changing event .......with the eyes of a child ......or of an artist ......or view your life as if you were seated in a theater watching a movie .......You are the creator in each moment ....... the canvas is yours ....and the only laws that apply are the ones you accept.

Look at the shadows and the way the light plays .....see with your heart and not your eyes ...Don't think it ......feel it ........Look through the illusion to what is actually there ......

What is being reflected back to you ?

Now look into the reflections ......you jsut may find that the icicles are ' Dripping Up" .......

With Light and Love ..........Mura .....( originally written 03/01/05 )

2011-01-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

Winter in the garden ..leaves us inside looking out ..........but I like to also believe it has us looking inward too .....Like a return home from the travels of the gardens blooms to a time of much needed rest ....regroup and planning for the next big adventure .! If you have not yet done so .......order real hard copy seed catalogues ....one of the last freebies of it's time ......The pictures inspire and delight .......and are wonderful for planning next years gardens .
I hope you have found a place in the yard for the birds to eat ......winter is not complete without the tweeting and cawing and cavorting of feathered friends .
I , out of self defense ......, feed the local squirrels as well .....and we have a resident opposum that indulges on the back deck .
His choice of menu ranges between the left over fish food .....for the koi ......he found or the dry cat food left for any cats that may be out in the cold .
As life is buried in cold and white .....don't miss the beauty of the tracks of the critters in the snow .......
Footprints .......in the memories of the gardens that were .......holding the space for now .......and making tracks toward the gardens of your winter dreams ....waiting to manifest ..under the snow ! ...

Where Memories Hide ........

2010-12-01T05:40:00.000-08:00

One Day Warm
THe Next Day Gone .......
The Winter Comes
And Wisks Away the Robin's Song .......
One Day Love and trust Galore .......
The Cup Overflows ....
And Yet There is Still More ......
Then In a Blink ......
The Muse Goes Away ....
And to Other Gardens it's Off to Play .
Look Closely at Each Petal and Leaf ....
Tucked in Each Flower a Gentle Thief ....
Stolen Memories of Loves of the Past .....
Fairy Tales we Once Thought Would Forever Last ......
Clouds Journey By Against the Blue .......
And There Old Loves Will Come to You .
Kisses Linger in Each Bloom ....
Memories of Beauty Large will Loom .....
In Quiet Slumber Under Snow ......
Wondering Themselves Why They Had to Go..........
By Mura .....

Pruning .......for health and growth ......

2010-11-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

I love to climb trees ......I have all my life ......Late fall or early spring is a wonderful time to climb into the branches and assit the trees with shape and form and fruiting .........but mostly for growth and health! .

     If you pruned last spring .....the shoots may be towering into the clouds .........as a sun filled season this year let the trees put on a lot of growth !   If you have any doubt ......just Look at all the leaves on the ground ....we are on my 5th leaf clean up in my own yard !...!

      Pruning ,for me , is a wonderful analogy for life ....the work you do now ..in the dormant/not growing times ..shapes the future .......what do you want it to look like ?   The well placed prunes now .....or early spring will decide what shape and size the tree will grow into next season .   It will decide it's bloom ......and it's growth and health .

       Pruned well .......trees and shrubs will weather the storms .....and last til old age .

    I have been called "Miss Beruit" ......that was not a compliment .......it was a nickname given to me by a disgusted homeowner looking at a tree that I was forced to hard prune . With no apology ...My only answer to him was 'Trust me " .

     I have used that story over and over ........to help other clients with the shock of what I do to their trees !

      Trust me I say .......it will be beautiful next year ........

       They always are .

      I hate to see a tree sheered like a sheep ...it will temporarily look good .......but in the long run it destroys the tree .........it creates a ton of new growth all at the top of the branches and is exactly the wrong thing to do to most trees and shrubs .

       How many of us do that to our lives?   Make it look good for a short time ......or do what we can to make our lives look good from the outside?   Focus on looking good to all the people looking in ......while gradually the growth and energy that sustains us ........goes to all the wrong places .

    I always prune a tree for health first .........it does not alway look good initially .........and if it has been pruned wrong for a long time .......often it looks down right ugly .........it is more like cutting out cancer than a prune .

    In the end ........the tree grows again ..........the way it was intended to grow .......healthy .

    This is not to say that things can't be pruned to unusal shapes ......bonsai and hedging are all very doable ..as are topiary and espalier ...all my passions .......but they require constant attention .......they are not the natural shape or growth of the plants ....... and require knowing exactly how far you can push the plants .

     There is a fellow that says .....of hedging and topiary ...this man began as a hobbiest and now has a botanical garden ..........if you have to rake the clippings .....you have waited too long to prune ..........I agree.

      That due diligenece is just more than most people want to do .......it requires 5 hard prunes a year and someone weekly clipping away the surge growth ......

       Its a ton of energy placed into making things shaped unaturally ......and left without care for just weeks during the high growth seasons ...the plants will return to their natural shape and size .

      So think about life ..........what are you putting that much energy into doing that is just for show or to create a false shape ? .. What is your natural state in comparison ? ..

..I liken it to wearing makeup ........sometimes less is more ....! Most woman can toss 90% of the make up and 'beauty' products they own .......and still be just as ........if not more beautiful !    Toss that stuff .......Do a hard prune !

        Cutting out the "dead wood " ..the crossing branches ......the poor growth ......all comes first .

        I love to cut crossing branches .....For me they are a perfect analogy for life and a wonderful constant reminder to me . .
I think the question to myself each time I cut them away from a plant .... "what are the crossing branches I need to prune from my life .?"
.....Funny thing is ......until you climb into a tree to prune it ....you do not even see crossing branches ......in fact if a tree has just been sheered it's whole life ....often a crossed branch becomes part of the canapy .all the while the tree keeps damaging itself each time the tree moves . How many of the worst wounds in our lives are unseen and self inflicted ?
....Crossing branches rub against each other and create sores in the bark of both branches ....every time the wind blows .......or the weather is strong ...litterally...."they rub the wrong way " creating more and more damage .
     On a rare sunny still day ....when there is no wind and no weather ....they are unseen and do little damage . But they are there .......each wind gust ......each storm ...to work away at the health of the tree .
     Like a badly fitting pair of shoes that makes your feet hurt ...They may look good , even great .and.....if you are not walking ......they hurt less . But the pain and potential damage to your toes and feet ......is just a step away .
   So try this In the personal pruning of your life ......along with the 90% of the beauty products not needed .......a great idea is ...tossing all those shoes that hurt ....or don't quite fit .....!!!..........

        So ? ......They say the best fertilizer is a gardener's shadow ...........

        When it comes to pruning ........this is definately so .......

          A great and healthy pruned yard .........needs a regular look ..a snip here a tuck there ....
....at least once a month .....and better every two weeks in the growing season .

        " More"and often is better .....it prevents a small problem ......from becoming a large one ........one that could be the potential for a loss of a plant !

          Ignoring it ..knowing it needs a prune but just not getting to it .....not having the time .....or being too busy to check in with the plants in your yard .....or the things in your life ..........and things litterally "grow out of control" ....

          My favorite garden moment on the big properties ...is when I have everything growing and pruned so well .....a clients think they no longer need me ......it has happened several times .......They usually ask me to come less often ..........to which I ALWAYS reply ...."thank you"....As it is the best compliment they can give me .......to say it looks like I am not there or that they do not need me .......Then I have done my job well .
    It is my opinion and my goalas a gardener ...that A garden should not get overgrown and then be hard pruned and then overgrown again ..........it should be constanly cared for .....perfectly maintained .........and look "as if " I was not there .
    Like raising a teenager .....great gardening is about being there , mostly behind the scenes ...the food in the fridge , the wash done , bills paid so there is a home to come back to when they are ready ........teens need you less up front and face time than an infant ......but when they do need the face time ...it's usually in a big big way !! .And often a tow truck is involved!!

        If a client is really persisitant about believing their "yard is taking care of itself ".......I usually leave for a few weeks .

        As a rule ........unless they are retired and doing daily gardening themselves or have hired another gardener .........They are always happy to see me when I return .......as in just a few weeks it is obvious to them what I do .......
    The weeds have taken over and the surge growth is wild ...nothing has been deadheaded ..or cut back when it was needed ...and....tiny washouts have become ruts ... gardens like most teens I know .......do not take care of themselves !

         The fact is .........gardens need constant care ....moreso for bigger gardens ...if I have perpetual bloom established ..the things passing need to be cut back so the new blooms can show off .....

    Gardening is like brushing your teeth .........you can skip it now and then .............but skip it often enough ........and you will have problems !

            And for me ........I have learn in your life and with your treesand gardens ...it is better to take the time to be a good steward ........check in often .........and when needed ......to "prune hard for health and future growth!"

         Who would have guessed I'd have so much fun at work .....I get to climb trees for a living now !

Everything in it's time

2010-11-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

EVERYTHING IN IT'S TIME

For most people ........Fall is an ending ......

...a time to harvest and to reap what you have sown .

For me ......it is the beginning of new ...

.....with The start of Nov comes the arrival of my birthday ......so for me it is a new year ....and a time to take note of what has happened in the past year .
   I am forever, And always, grateful for the journey and for those that have traveled with me in the past year ..client's and friends .
Thank you if you are one of the many!
    Like the gardens I work ......some people are here to stay ...and are going with me into the next year .....some just needed me for the moment ......and others ...have moved away or moved on ......

I count each person and what they have brought to me as blessings in my life in the past year .. like the gardens ....some interaction has worked ..some has been struggle

..all blessings .....like the gardens I am privilaged to work in ......each attached to people ....and the people's souls .....

for me there is so much more .....

As the gardens go to sleep one by one ..along with my past year of life ..
....I am able to view what has worked and what may need work ...not only with The people I have touched ..but in each of the gardens as well ...
.Hopefully bringing the gift of that knowledge and insight to the following year!.
What may appear in your garden as a desolate wasteland ......with all the foliage and bloom gone ......is to me a delight .......it is like peering inside and seeing the bones of the garden .
    Gardens for me this time of year .... are like sitting with a quiet old man .....now .
.and enjoying his reminising ...having personally known what a spunky, charming ,handsome, trouble maker he was along the way .....
With out the busy-ness of the leaves.....
....I get to see the "support " system of the entire garden ..
.The hard scape ..statuary and focal points , sitting areas.. . and open spaces ....the evergreens and the edges and pathways ..as well as the branches of trees ..and view what is left as winter interest ..
..If after the leaves are raked and taken away ....the gardens look good now in early Nov.
.........I have truely done my job as designer !
In my experience as a New England garden designer ...there are two challenges ...( beyond the weather ) ....providing color in the garden in mid August when even annuals quit in the heat ..
......and being able to leave enough winter interest in a garden to please the eye , without making it a maintenance nightmare !
       So consider that rather than an end to the garden season ...that a new year has begun ......
...before you retire to the heat on inside and resign yourself to gloves and mitten weather ........take one more look at your garden .
        Does it's bones and lines please you ? ........
    If yes .......then add some daffodils before you go ......so their color greets you in the Spring .....and have a glorious winter sitting by the fire and dreaming of the seed catalogues that will arrive in Jan .....
   If not ? .......There is still time ...!
....give deciduous trees a prune ....put in a walk ...or a patio, or put up a lamp post or a new fence ....re -edge a bed ......and as long as the ground is not yet frozen ........buy discount trees and shrubs and give them a home!
   Late fall is also a wonderful time to light scape a garden ...!
    Don't forget to plant narcissus and scilla and tete a tete bulbs ...now ....the tiny sub bulbs ..
    I love these often forgotten bulbs ... should they have to compete and bloom with the peony .and rose in summer ...they may be ignored .....
...   BUT ...they do not .....they arrive at a time when all others are still dormant and can not handle the harsh Spring nights, often appearing in a warm area where the sun has just melted the snow away .......
.....they, the tiny , have a special place and beauty ..
...as ...they are the first to greet you in the spring .! When after months of snow .....a tiny blossom .....is deeply appreciated . !
   Every thing in it's time .

No place like home !

2010-10-20T09:16:00.000-07:00

October has arrived with the changing hues of the leaves .....chilly nights and shorter days have begun to close the chlorophyll production down .

   And green leaves dissapear from the branches.
    What is a spectacle of vibrant color is really nature's announcement that she is about to settle down for a long winter's nap.
Funny how many times does that happen ? A Crescendo annoucing the change of something in your life ? Like the Grand finale of a fireworks display . We are left with a color filled sensory over load ...before branches go bare.
It has been a wonderful year in the gardens of New England ...in a tough economy that has people staying closer to home ...Nature has arrived with a perfect year to enjoy our own backyards!
She has given us abundant warmth and sunshine and blooms , and now has balanced the former drought with an abundance of rain .
There is little to complain about in the gardens this year . Little that can be improved upon .
   It was a great year to be a gardener !
   And now her Fabulous finale !
   I am fortunate to sit and type under a gorgeous maple that this time of year believes it is part of the sun itself ! She bursts forth with all the hues and colors of a glorious sunset !
   The trees in my yard awe and humble me .....no matter how wonderfully planted the garden is ....I can not put on a display as well as they do !
    Perfect foliage of which tours are launched and people speak of for years .......is here ...in my shade trees ......in my own backyard .
   I am not lost on the "There is no place like home "...reality of it all .
         Flying Dragon Garden Design ..413-478-7931

Coming Up A Storm

2010-10-05T05:32:00.000-07:00

Nicole Blows in .....

Sitting watching the wind whip, I await the storm.

For the moment, all gardening is on hold. Nicole is set to arrive with inches of rain.

She now brings for us late in the season the rain we have been without.

Rain!

Announced by the odd and heavy air with wind you can almost touch.

The first drop everpresent.as a lover's kiss ...a promise, but the arrival not quite here.

Water Returns to the area and to the earth with great force.

It is the inevitable swing back !

In the beauty of Nature's Pendulum, we quickly move from one of the driest seasons on record to one of what appears to be a wet fall !

So I wonder? What is it in life that has been out of balance for You?

Water will seek it's own level.

But with the arrival and the swing it can come with such force that it delivers great change.

Is it a relationship that you should have long ago been done with and the sweeping arm of the pendulum will clear from your life ?
Is it misuse of resources, time ? finances? Are you out of balance with work ..or is there exhaustion that is going to bring an illness or injury to sweep you back home .

What is out of balance for you that needs to swing ? Maybe even to the extreme so you may return to center again ?

What needs to "rehydrate" in your life?

What is neglected and dried out ?

Is it care of yourself ? Has it been a while since you have seen the doctor ? or need a diet ? or real exercise ?

Is there a beloved hobby you have put down and not attended to ?

     With the gusts of Nicole and her impending rain .....ask yourself ........where is this storm trying to push me ? Or what is it pushing away or forcing back into my life ?

     "Be safe ..Turn Around ..Don't Drown '

      The local weather man warns about the potential for flash floods .....

    One of the definitions of repent is to turn around and go in the other direction ....stop going there !
      Is there something in your life about to swallow you up ?

      Is there something you need to turn around from ? ...something that could cause you harm ?

     Take the message from the wind . She brings with her clearing ........

     For a moment stop routine and familiar , look with care at all you are doing.

      Nature has a way of forcing balance, we humans .......even the very urban , are still beings of Nature and at her mercy .

   She will force balance upon us if we do not heed her urgings.

   So what pain or hurt is inside you brewing a storm ?

       For today ........Nature has whipped up torrential rains that insist !!

      There will be no ignoring her .

    So take a moment and wonder ! .......What is insisting to be returned to balance in your life ?

    I wish for you that you have someone to watch the wind with ....someone that helps you balance your strengths and helps you shore up your weaknesses

        And above all ......that you have a place to be safe and dry in the storms !!

                                                                  M 10/1/10

Fall Arrives .......

2010-09-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Rereading last years end of the season's blog .......I am struck by the vairiety that is New England ! .

    Last year was a season of .....Wet .....things rotted and drown.......and Fungus grew ......and there was barely a weekend that one could enjoy outside .

       In contrast ......this year we are having day after day of gorgeous weather .......but our gardens are parched at best .

     While it has been good for the people ...the lack of rain and extreme heat has been difficult for plants and trees .

    I just witnessed a Kousa dogwood .......attempting to bloom again ?

So not only did we have early growth and surge growth above blooms due the early Spring heat .....it seemed everything was confused and bloomed too early ...

    We now ......if plants have been pruned well .....are having a 're bloom " of spring plants .

What does that do to next years blossoms ?

   We can only wonder .......

  I am as always ........truly awed by mother nature .....and in this .......as in every other year .......await here surprises .

    So enjoy the weather ......water when you can ..........and enjoy the surprise of Spring bloom in October !

            Blessings on the New Moon to all .....

Here is hoping your spring efforts are turning into Fall enjoyment !