Every Step I Take

This little corner of my garden is special to me for several reasons:

Over the years, I have designed and redesigned this space several times over because I just couldn't get it right. The flow of the pathway, the shape of the beds, the mix of plantings just didn't come together and flow as I thought they should. Now, after many seasons of tweaking and rearranging, it finally feels right to me.

This space is near a window that I often look out, and I love to see my flowers from inside the house as well as outside. Except when I gaze out the window as I'm talking on the phone, and see weeds. They taunt me when I'm on a call. But otherwise, this sight makes me happy

Because the sun shines here in the morning and late afternoon, but takes a shady little break in the middle of the day, this spot is perfect for roses, delphinium, lilies - my most cherished flowers. When those glorious blooms are happy and thriving, I am happy too.

But if you want to know my favorite bit of this garden, you will have to look down. See? 

Several years ago, my daughters and I made these mosaic stepping stones. My next door neighbor, Jama, who is a passionate and skillful craftsman in the glass arts, taught us the basics, guided our work and shared her supplies. I wish I had some photos of us all sitting in the shady grass, bent over our designs like busy little chicks hunting for seeds in the barnyard, and mother hen Jama moving from one of us to the next, offering words of encouragement and gently correcting our mistakes. I remember those lovely afternoons whenever I walk along the path. 

Pansy, butterfly, snail, ladybug, sun, frog. Each design is colorful, precise and clever. Each composition has its own charm and reflects something interesting about the artist who created it. And each one of these stones makes me smile with every step I take through this happy green corner.