A Writer’s Garden–Garden Poetry with Wendy MacDonald

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Catherine Castle's A Writer's Garden, crocus pictures, daffodil pictures, garden poetry, Gardens through the eyes of a child, Poetry, Wendy MacDonald poetry

Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories.

Today’s guest is Wendy MacDonald. I just love the exquisite photos she brings to the blog every year, as well as her poetry. I know you will, too. Welcome back, Wendy!

Gardens Through the Eyes of a Child

Spring in my garden is a magical time of year. Snowdrops, crocuses, and daffodils have naturalized in the lawns and among the ferns, so as early as January, green shoots of promise poke their way through forgotten fall leaves and melting snow to remind me spring is not far to follow.

This February an additional reason to celebrate spring was born—my first grandchild. I’ve been blessed with opportunities to carry him around the garden and introduce him to the beauty of the natural world our Heavenly Father created for us to enjoy.

Spring has doubled in pleasure for me as I watch my grandson enjoy the sight of cedar branches swaying in the breeze with the lovely accompaniment of birdsong. Some days three feathered versions of “Ode to Spring” ring around us, reminding me of another joy—birdwatching. Perhaps my grandson and I may partake of this together when he’s old enough to point and ask, “Look, Grammie, what is that one called?”

As a writer, I find myself daydreaming of children’s book ideas inspired by our visits to my garden and local parks. For I’ve discovered my friends, who were grandparents before me, were spot-on about how spectacular it is to spend time with grandchildren.

A garden shared with little ones casts a spell on grandmother and grandchild alike.

out in my garden

my grandson and I listen

a song sparrow sings

while sun shines through the cedars

giving each of us a kiss

~ wlm

Have you seen your garden through the eyes of a child?

Garden Blessings ~ Wendy Mac

About the Writer/Gardner:

Wendy L. Macdonald is a Canadian, inspirational writer/blogger/podcaster who also loves to photograph nature. When she’s not writing, drawing, gardening, or sewing, she enjoys hiking, with her husband, in the beautiful parks of the Comox Valley. Wendy invites you to visit her blog: www.wendylmacdonald.com, where you will find nature photography and links to her “Daily Bread” style Facebook page and other social media sites. Her passion is inspiring others to walk with faith, hope, and love. You can hear her podcasts at: www.hopestreamradio.com/program/walking-with-hope.

 

A Writer’s Garden with Author Gail Kittleson

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a garden blog, Catherine Castle's A Writer's Garden, Gail Kittleson, potato sprouts, Women of the Heartland series

Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing gardens—aka their books. Today’s Guest is GAil Kittleson with a question for all you veggie gardeners out there. Welcome back, Gail!

 

Treasures in Our Cellar

By Gail Kittleson

 

After being gone for several months, I ventured into the gloom of our old-fashioned (a kind way of putting it) basement, a.k.a. cellar the other day. Certainly not a “finished” lower level, its limestone foundation has been added onto more than once.

I’ve forgotten what we were looking for, but here’s one item we found:

Yep, potatoes sprouted to kingdom come, and that was before we meandered further into the bowels of the cavern. For in an even darker room with windows at all, we found—voila!

These hungry-for-light specimens made the first two pails full look like youngsters. Our granddaughter, curious and scientific-minded student, exclaimed over these sprouts’ spectacular growth, and tweaked my imagination in the process. What IS it in a potato that seeks light so voraciously?

Onward to practical matters—shall we dig holes three and a half feet deep to plant our crop this year? But from the looks of the frozen landscape outdoors, that won’t be for at least two more weeks…definitely NOT the year to observe the old wives’ tale, “plant potatoes by Good Friday.” Not in Northern Iowa. Not in 2018.

So what would you gardeners do with these eager-to-grow survivors? We can still cook some of the veggies, however wizened they may appear. But should we snip off these sprouts at the usual length of a few inches? Will they still produce a crop?

I thought I’d share this deep philosophical question with Catherine’s green-thumbed followers — HELP!

 

About the Gardener/Writer

 Iowa born and bred, Gail spends the worst of winter in the Arizona mountains, where she and another author/college writing instructor facilitate a writers’ retreat.  Iowa’s seasonal changes and growing grandchildren keep Gail and her husband active. This year, to celebrate their fortieth anniversary, they’re heading to England to tour WWII sites and add novel fodder to Gail’s Forties’ Women’s Fiction.

You can find Gail at her website and on Facebook, Twitter and Amazon Author Central.

Women of the Heartland Series

by Gail Kittleson

From Book 1: Pearl Harbor attacked! The United States is at war. But Addie fights her own battles on the Iowa home front. Her controlling husband Harold vents his rage on her when his father’s stroke prevents him from joining the military. He degrades Addie, ridicules her productive victory garden, and even labels her childlessness as God’s punishment.

When he manipulates his way into a military unit bound for Normandy, Addie learns that her best friend Kate’s pilot husband has died on a mission, leaving her stranded in London in desperate straits. Will Addie be able to help Kate, and find courage to trust God with her future?

Women of the Heartland can be found at Amazon

 

A Writer’s Garden–Serendipity in the Garden with Morgan K. Wyatt

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A Bark in the Night, Catherine Castle's A Writer's Garden, Cozy Mysteries by Morgan K. Wyatt, elephant ears, Garden blog, garden serendipity, Morgan K. Wyatt, sunflowers

Today Morgan K. Wyatt is visiting A Writer’s Garden talking about serendipity in her garden. I understand that, especially this year with all the rain we’ve had. I have tons of flowers that I didn’t plant popping up everywhere among the weeds. Can’t wait to see your serendipity, Morgan. Welcome!

Thanks, Catherine.

All winter long I dream of gardening, especially when it snows. In my dreams, everything goes right. Reality is an entirely different matter. Each year, I learn something different. Travel, weather, and online seeds challenged me this year.

Yes, I do use seeds for my annuals and some vegetables. My first mistake was ordering seeds online. I ordered dozens of seeds through a well-known company that starts with an A. Seeds are in general tiny and some of my tiny packages never showed. Other showed up late into the season, I still planted them. Still, others showed up in unlabeled plastic bags. Most did not germinate. It may have been the torrential rains that started in February and haven’t let up. It also could have been that items coming from abroad are often irradiated to kill harmful toxins and bacteria that could be traveling with them. This process started after the anthrax scare.

It became obvious that all my sunflower seeds were not growing, but something amazing happened. I usually keep four bird feeders filled with sunflower seeds and the birds were dropping seeds everywhere with the result being that sunflowers popped up. The cheap bird feed sunflower seed provided great flowers.

Travel chewed into my gardening plans too. In particular, I had to decide between going on a writers’ retreat or attending the annual master gardener sale where I usually buy a trunk load of plants. The writer retreat won out and I missed getting native plants. I resorted to buying plants at the chain gardening and home repair stores. I especially took all the plants that were placed on the clearance bin. Most did fairly well, although they all had to deal with constant rain and standing water. The winners in the weather category was the vegetables, wild flowers and elephant leaf bulbs.

Every year I also have a wild life visitor who appears to like my gardens as much as I do. Last year, it was a vole colony that I finally chased away with garlic. This year it is toads. They especially like the lemon balm bush that they hide underneath. Most gardeners try to attract toads to deal with insects. My secret is the marshy area of the yard that has never dried out due to the weather. The swampy bottom of our yard has also attracted blue dragon flies, which is always a plus too.

Every year teaches me something different. Be careful when planning trips around the prime growing season. Epsom salts can help any struggling plants. Make sure to use seeds that come from a reputable company within your country. Take a chance on discounted flowers and bulbs. Be on the lookout for new friends in the garden.

Make sure you get outside before the weather turns cold.

About the Gardener/Writer

Plants are both a mystery and a blessing. I can’t imagine what the world would be like without them, but when I’m not digging, weeding, or picking produce, I work in some writing. This summer I’ve released two cozy mysteries, Caribbean Catastrophe, which takes place on a cruise line, and A Bark in the Night, which takes place in my stomping grounds, Indianapolis, Indiana. They’re both available on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.