Message from the Mountain

Our bridal wreath is in bloom. It came from my parents’ home which was brought there by a great aunt from her old homestead. I can imagine an old-fashioned wedding with bridal wreaths decorating the …

Years ago, I moved a small azalea from our house to the Center in a place that I thought was best at the time. Now with the focus on the Ormond Gardens, I feel it best to move it again. Some people c…

A tiny flash of blue caught my eye as I wandered about the Ormond Gardens. I noted several ground covers that in time will cover the soil with a beautiful blanket. Most people have something about th…

I must admit that I am a weather watcher. Every time I try to listen to a forecast my mind drifts on to my inner thoughts. Actually, it is one of my best ways to experience self-hypnosis. So, I prepa…

I had been thinking about how great it would be to have some iris plants in the Ormond Gardens at the Center, and I could hardly believe my eyes when I found one in full bloom. Derek had planted it l…

Over the years we have used different material to make signs to help guide people visiting the land. Now we have found the best ones yet. People have signs guiding them through life if they take the …

Lilacs blooming on Memorial Day bring back special memories for me from my youth when I marched in the hometown parade carrying a small flag to decorate a veteran’s grave. Afterwards, lilacs would be…

I consider the lady slipper to be nature’s royal flower. There are some people who want to be treated like royalty in a world where they are not. I wonder if they were born with a royal memory from t…

When we built our home years ago there were only a few houses on the road. Nature was and still is all around us. We have learned to adapt to the weather and the wild animals. Wherever we live, we al…

The viburnum (or snowball bush) at the Center is in full bloom and fits perfectly into a corner of the Ormond Gardens. It reminds me of people that are now putting their life experiences to good use …

Years ago, my sister gave me some not-so-common pink lilies-of-the-valley that have spread into a beautiful patch. I think of people that are not so common and are often misunderstood or bullied. The…

Several years ago, a friend gave us some flowering water plants for the little frog pond at the Center, and now they have spread to the point that the surface is filled up with blooms. There is no ro…

Last fall we were given a crabapple tree to place in the Ormond Gardens at the Center. It not only survived the harsh winter, but it is also flowering this spring. It has inspired more flowering shru…

The lilies of the valley are in bloom. We now have hundreds of them spread across a portion of our lawn. You could call it a welcome invasion by a small fragrant plant that began with only a few. Kin…

Part of our yard is now a carpet of blue forget-me-nots. They all came from a few plants’ cast-away seeds several years ago. People like you, out of the kindness of your heart, create unforgettable a…

A few years ago I discovered a couple of small flowering trees at the lower edge of the Lupine Field that I believe to be English Hawthorns. I’m not sure how the seeds found a home there, but they ar…

Every year there are a few rhodora wild shrubs that produce beautiful pink flowers close to the old cemetery. They are so small that some years I miss seeing them, but not this year. I have no idea h…

Several years ago we planted a few ground phlox, and over time they have spread, slowly creeping along until now when we enjoy a beautiful blanket of blue in May. Acts of kindness, when continued ove…

A phoebe has decided to build its nest on the light at the freshly painted entrance to the Center. I am not sure if that was a wise decision. I will try not to disrupt it. People often make life deci…

When the periwinkle vines with their blue flowers were first planted at the base of a stone retaining wall, I thought they were annuals, but they come back and continue to spread every year. We devel…