If you don't want Paradise, you are not Human.....Illustrated.
What is divinity if it can come
Only in silent shadows and in dreams?
Shall she not find in comforts of the sun,
In pungent fruit and bright, green wings, or else
In any balm or beauty of the earth,
Things to be cherished like the thought of heaven?
Divinity must live within herself:
Passions of rain, or moods in falling snow;
Grievings in loneliness, or unsubdued
Elations when the forest blooms; gusty
Emotions on wet roads on autumn nights;
All pleasures and all pains, remembering
The bough of summer and the winter branch,
These are the measures destined for her soul. ..Wallace Stevens
If you don't want Paradise, you are not Human.....Illustrated. belongs to the following groups:
All About Flowers, AW Welcome Center, Canadiana - (limit 3/day), Everyday Life, Falling Leaves, Light In The Darkness, Live, Love, Dream: , Mature Woman, Safe Haven, Spiritual Art, The Healing Journey and The PatchworkToday I started the fall clean-up of my gardens and as usual I took a few pictures as a record of the season…I keep photos of every stage of the gardens in a file that I can easily refer to when I want to check on how a particular plant is doing, or how the gardens look as a whole…at this time of year most of the blooms are gone except for The Phantom, which stays around till next spring…these are not the beauty shots as such, but I decided to share a few of them with you along with some thoughts to ponder...
When we touch this domain, we are filled with the cosmic force
of life itself, we sink our roots deep into the black soil and draw
power and being up into ourselves.
We know the energy of the numen and are saturated with power and being.
We feel grounded, centered, in touch with the ancient and eternal rhythms of life.
Power and passion well up like an artesian spring and
creativity dances in celebration of life. ..David N. Elkins.
There are points of time, of distant memory, when the soul
unites within the pattern of the universe. That union brings
forth the understanding of life’s harmony. So it should be
within the garden ...
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.
To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.
Share the botanical bliss of gardeners through the ages, who have cultivated philosophies to apply to their own – and our own – lives:
Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are. ..Alfred Austin, 1835-1913
When you enter a grove peopled with ancient trees, higher than
the ordinary, and shutting out the sky with their thickly inter-twined
branches, do not the stately shadows of the wood, the stillness of
the place then strike you with the presence of a deity? ..Seneca
The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as clear as possible.
The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden.
If you don’t want paradise, you are not human;
and if you are not human, you don’t have a soul. ..Thomas Moore
All photos by Janis Zroback
Racheli
You have just depict a little paradise, really garden of Eden!
Glorious art works Janis.
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you Rachel..it has never occurred to me to show my garden photos before…I looked upon them just as my own records….the gardens are really pretty in summer, but now as most of the flowers are gone and the foliage is dying, this is the only colour that is showing…I’m so glad you like them..
catherine walker
Thats Just magic janis..superb garden you must have there..
great photos..
Janis Zroback replied
I have packed a lot of colour into them, with a large collection of daylilies, ferns, hostas, and hydrangeas among other plants…this is just a bit of what is left as winter is coming…thank you Catherine…I’m glad you like them..
Alison Pearce
Truly stunning!
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you so much Alison…
blamo
A garden of eden ….....................
Janis Zroback replied
Thanks so much T…I guess I should post the ones from summer, where it really shows the garden in full bloom….
blamo
I like the end of term aspect …............ fading out
Janis Zroback replied
I agree…I’ll call the others “Memories”... :)))
DanaMS
Those photos are marvelous Janis!!! Great job you did here!
Congratulations on the feature again!
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you again Dana…I feel more confident about posting photos now that I’ve done it a second time…I’d better read the book that came with the camera now…I’ve only had it three years. :))
DanaMS
Hahaha, only three… ok then! You’d better do and even without reading your pictures are beautiful! I’m telling you – make a second account! We all will follow you!!
Janis Zroback replied
I might just do that, once I’ve read the book and figure out exactly what I’m doing…right now I’m going by my painter’s instinct…thanks again for the encouragement Dana..
Joanne Bradley
Janis these are excellent photos! Your eye translates to the camera as well.
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you so much Joanne…that is all I go by, as I have yet to read anything about photography…one of these days…right now I just use my painters eye…
Bill Gamblin
Janis…this is so awesome…you do such great and awesome work with your art/photos and your garden…
Janis Zroback replied
I think it’s all part of the same creative process…I cook a lot too, and many of my paintings here on RB have recipes attached…
I just finished posting part 2 of the Journey and it’s really a metaphor for life in general…we’re all headed for the same place in the end, but it’s how we react to the milestones and stops, along the way, that make the Journey wonderful…thank you so much for appreciating my work and coming to view and comment.