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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Wednesday Vignette


Wednesday Vignette is hosted by Anna at Flutter and Hum.  Click here to find her weekly post and to see links to those of other participating bloggers.  Better yet, join in the fun yourself.  

The garden is constantly teaching us lessons about the circle of life, birth, death, renewal.  At this time of year, gardeners in the northern hemisphere find themselves in the middle of winter.   A few days ago, a voice from the T.V.  said that we'd gained 45 minutes of daylight since the solstice.  

The garden is coming back to life with all sorts of winter blooms and newly emerging foliage.  Due to my laziness, there are still a lot of corpses lying around in various stages of decay.  Plant corpses. What were you thinking?  The large ornamental grasses are providing interest and won't get cut down quite yet and in these pictures skeletonized  leaves of Acanthus sennii decorate the lawn.  I've got to figure out a way to use these in a vase or wreath  sometime.  Ideas?  Aren't they nifty.  They remain fairly flexible while still moist.
Media vita in morte sumus.  In the midst of life, we are in death, a Latin phrase most likely written in France, has been on the hit parade since about 750 a.d.  At this time of year, it's nice to think of it the other way around.  In the midst of death we are in life.  Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

26 comments:

  1. Love skeletonized leaves! Do you have a scanner? Would love to see these up-close!

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    1. I do have a scanner and played with autumn leaf scans a few years ago but never thought of scanning these. Thanks for the idea, I'll do it!

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  2. The skeletonized leaf is beautiful. My garden is full of corpses too.

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    1. Oh the vision that popped into my head with that comment!

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    2. As long as we remember where the bodies are hidden...

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  3. Lovely leaves. I like the other-way-round thought best. The glass is half full, at least. :)

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  4. When corpses look like that, I cherish their presence. Beautiful - you definitely need to put them to good use. I think they would make a great Halloween garland.

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    1. Good idea! Now, if I can both store them somewhere (not a problem) and remember where I put them when I want them in the fall we'll be in business!

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  5. I look forward to seeing what you choose to create with your beautiful leaf skeletons!

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    1. I'm thinking that metallic spray paint may be involved.

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  6. There must be something about those Acanthus leaves that lend themselves to nice skeletonization - I have a few too. Love them!

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    1. kind of like some of the deciduous magnolias that do the same thing. Wonder what it is?

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  7. Dry them flat and scatter across a table. Or insert a thin wire to make a stem so you can arrange them in a vase with other etheral things.

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  8. I wonder if there is an art supply spray that could preserve this leaf and make it less vulnerable to breaking. Or just leave this lovely corps right where it is to continue the circle of life. I also leave dry grass as long as possible; Unless there is a vicious wind storm late in the season, they have great staying power.

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    1. I saved a bunch in the greenhouse last year. No treatment and they're still looking fine but the edges are spiky so they get moved out of the way a lot.

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  9. My vignette is skeletal this time too. I used up my supply of A. sennii ghosts on gift wrapping this year. Can't wait to see what you do with yours.

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  10. Thank you so much for this post. This is my first winter with an Acanthus sennii, and I had no idea about this. I just went out and found a few similar leaves. Without you post to guide me, I might have entirely missed these fabulous skeletons in the devil garden, and what a shame that would have been. By the way, after your reassurance, I left the spent C. giganteum stalk (alien sky eaters) in place this winter, and sure enough, two bulblets are already sprouting right next to it. So it looks like I'll be having the best of both worlds this year.

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  11. I have lots of corpses in my garden. Digging holes is such a drag. ;o)Love your positive take on the inevitable.

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  12. Good post! Fun to read, lovely to look at. Those skeletons are another of nature's little wonders.

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  13. Love these! They're beautiful as is in your photos, but they'd also be great scanned, as suggested, or in a vase arrangement. Happy signs of spring!

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  14. I don't think I've ever seen skeletonized leaves like these down my way. Maybe something in the climate up there plays a role - or maybe I'm just too quick to clean up around the garden and thereby miss out on some of the garden's beauty.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.