Big Garbage Day--A Backyard Observation

Big garbage day comes on the first Thursday of the month in my neighborhood. Regardless of my own history of incredible finds in other people's cast offs, I have become more and more mystified by the paradox of some what is being thrown out. I first started thinking about this a few months ago when all three houses in the dead end across from my front garden put pink plastic playhouses out for pick-up.

Eager to give their children a safe and fun backyard experience many well meaning parents purchase plastic toys and play equipment which are inexpensive and plentiful in the marketplace. Even if these toys are made with recycled plastic, they are ultimately not recycled. Parents who normally recycle, are environmentally aware and have switched to refillable water bottles don't even consider the impact of these toys on the environment their children will inherit once the toys are outgrown and tossed out.

The oh so common and (bleck!) cute turtle sandbox (photo via Little Tykes) below, along with easels, lawn mowers and plastic basketball hoops, racing car beds, and yes, another playhouse were on the curb this morning. Every single one was in good enough shape to be passed on to some other child instead of ending up in the landfill.

A Bouquet of Garden Blogs

There are so many garden blogs that it boggles the mind. In my little town, there are three garden blog writers that I know about + Miss R which isn't really about gardening. Sometimes it seems as if there's as many garden blogs as there are gardeners. How do you find a garden blog you want to follow or a writer you'd like to read?

This past winter, when I was exploring Web 2.0 with a vengeance, I met Stuart Robinson (@bussogardener) via Twitter. He was always winding up his day as I was starting mine--he's in Australia--and we had some very lively exchanges.

Stuart is the creator of Blotanical which houses and showcases garden blogs from around the world. He graciously invited Miss R to join--and I did. Spend some time there and you won't believe the diversity of ideas, opinions, advice and gardens you'll find. Thanks, Stuart.

Why not Wisteria?

As beautiful and romantic as it is...


Here's why I never recommend it, plain and simple.

Wisteria escaped from a garden climbing a very large Picea abies on my block

There are wisteria vines choking out, shading foliage and pulling down garden structures in more places in New Jersey than I care to relate.

My Studio

This photo was taken last fall. My converted sunporch studio is unheated but full of light and looks out to the neighborhood. At one end my drafting table spans its width, at the other books, catalogs, plans and client files. In the winter or when it's cold--like today--I work on a large round oak table in the dining room that was my mother's--but this is where I work during late spring, summer and most of fall.

My drafting table is at the other end of the narrow sun porch that serves as a three season studio

Above the desk, along with a black clay cherub collected in Mexico, hang two quotes. One from Raymond Jungles, 'let what it wants to be, become what it is' and the other from Marcel Proust...'Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom...'

Why Fit In?

I have never fit in. There have been times, like when I was in high school, where fitting in seemed important, so I tried. I still didn't really fit in--there was always the nagging sensation that I wasn't really being authentic.

As I grew and evolved as a designer, I learned to get used to blunt critique and/or praise of my work and view it with my own value meter. Reject what I didn't believe, embrace what I did. This process also made me more secure in who I was as a person. The nagging sensation of not being authentic mostly disappeared. What didn't disappear, however, is the fact that I still don't really fit neatly into any ready categories that people seem to need to organize their thoughts, lives and ideas.

Miss R doesn't really fit in either. It's not a garden blog--although I sometimes write about gardens and post garden pictures. It's not a design blog, although I certainly explore that also. It's not a blog of personal revelation, but that is definitely a component. It's not a blog about process either. It doesn't fit in.

It is a blog about the thoughts, ideas, images, work, people and places that fill my creative life. I'm standing in the middle of my life as individual as ever, as unable to fit neatly into anyone's categories as I ever was. The difference is that I now know that's because I don't need to. I am authentically me.