The Sanctuary of My Garden: Poems by Fotoula Reynolds

Today's Grow That Garden Library book recommendation: The Sanctuary of My Garden: Poems by Fotoula Reynolds

 I love what CS Hughes wrote about Fotoula's book :

"They say that poetry is a garden, sometimes wild and unhewn, sometimes carefully tended. Fotoula Reynolds' poems ably demonstrate that - there is always a new and carefully tended bloom, and sometimes something unexpected, that you might think a weed, but I would say, a wildflower gone perhaps just a little astray."

Here's an excerpt from her signature poem: The Sanctuary of My Garden:

"In the evening of a
Mediterranean summer
Where the stars wink their
Little eyes and the moon
Graces us with her
Outstanding-ness
I have traveled the world
Fearlessly in my imagination
For a time
I am out of reach
But you can always find me
In the sanctuary of my garden."
 
Fotoula's book is available using the Amazon link in today's Show Notes. It's a paperback and would make a lovely Christmas present. It sells for just $8.
 

Today's Garden Chore

It's the gardener's version of "Last Call for Alcohol," and it's "Last Call for Houseplants Ya'll."

Seriously, if you are a northern gardener, bring your houseplants inside. The colder it gets, the greater the shock they will experience. 

When you bring your houseplants inside, spray them down with sharp streams of water, and I like to add a little dawn dish soap to give them a good cleaning. 

There's a large, old,  antique table in the middle of my botanical Library where I place many of my houseplants. The houseplants form the centerpiece of the table. They are ringed by an old typewriter, stacks of garden books, baby pruners, a mister, and some extra pots. I have to say that I love how my houseplants have brought life and fragrance into that space. Then I added a little Alexa dot on the windowsill. I have her play sounds from Nature or the Rainforest. You'd never know it's cold and dreary outside.

 
Something Sweet 
Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart

On this day in 2003, the newspaper in Louisville Kentucky featured an article about a 4th-grade classroom that had turned into a laboratory of botanists.

For three weeks, the kids - wearing lab coats - were led down a path of botanical discovery by their student-teacher named Bill Stangel.

"In the first week, the children collected and studied leaves and looked at plant parts under a microscope.

In week two, they dipped carnations into water [mixed] with food coloring to see the petals change colors. They made guesses about how long it would take for the color to reach the petals, and they discussed how water and nutrients move from the roots to the leaves.

... At the end of the class, the children stood up and sang [to the tune of “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes”] “Stigma, petal, stem, and roots … stem and roots”

Thanks for listening to the daily gardener,
and remember:
"For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."