Author Archives: deannagreensandgardenart

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About deannagreensandgardenart

Personal chef and greenhouse owner using sustainable, organic methods for growing herbs, flowers, and perennial plants.
Dec28

Bigger Portions

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I begin this blog post with the verse in Jeremiah, reminding us each you are set apart for God’s purposes.  “I knew you before I formed you … I set you apart.”  This year has been a full one once again, full of people, projects, places, overflowing blessings, as well as trials and destructive floods.  I still believe most people are good, and if working together we can build a barn quicker than alone.  I believe the blessing jar is overflowing as the year ends, and dreams can stay alive as we share what we have been blessed with.

This time of year we each get a full course of people in huge portions just as the holiday foods.  An upset stomach, headache, and exhaustion can result. Behaviors such as insecurity, jealousy, backbiting, plotting, exclusion displayed throughout the year will come about during the holidays, sometimes in bigger portions. Difficult encounters can be embraced with a smile and words of grace and truth. Ask for God’s grace!  I do.  Unless feelings are addressed by each person, little chance for reconciliation in relationships.  I still believe in miracles.  And I believe in dreaming.  I believe a bigger home or second home will come about for Dean and I in 2016.  What blessings overflowed for you in 2015?  What are you believing for in 2016?  I’d love to hear.

Dec25

Holiest Of All Holidays

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Oh, Christmas morn early enough before the busyness of unwrapping gifts and brunch making … The dazzle of the tree lights, church bells chime, and then silence.  My most favorite moment of the year!  And this moment came despite the strangeness of being displaced from my physical home. Home is where the heart is.  And my heart is here.  Poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote these beautiful verses in his poem, Holiday:

The holiest of all holidays are those

Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;

The secret anniversaries of the heart,

When the full river of feeling overflows; –

The happy days unclouded to their close;

The sudden joys that out of darkness start

As flames from ashes; swift desires that dart

Swallows singing down each wind that blows!

White as the gleam of receding sail;

White as a cloud that floats and fades in air,

White as the whitest lily on a stream,

These tender memories are; – a Fairy Tale

Of some enchanted land we know not where,

But lovely as a landscape in a dream.

Believe!  Merry Christmas from Dean and Anna!

Dec21

Amidst Shorter Days

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A couple of weeks ago we moved into a rental house just a mile from home while the insurance company and general contractor debate the renovation of our home. The work finally started today!  With our housing situation I have lost track of the days into December.  Daylight has lessen considerably, with tomorrow the shortest day of the year.  Winter solstice comes in the midst of record-breaking high temperatures.  The air feels like spring.  Pansies are still in bloom outside the small local shops.  The trees in the woods are confused, too.  This past weekend plum trees displayed white blooms looking like white holiday lights along the country highways to Nashville, Tennessee.

Gaylord Grand Ole Opry Resort Christmas 2015While in Nashville we visited the Grand Ole Opry Resort, dazzled by the lights of Christmas among a jungle of green foliage and the marble white nativity contrasted in the December darkness.  Amidst these shorter days, God’s love shows bright despite the world’s darkness.  I will focus on His Light of Love these long nights.

Nov26

The Basics

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Gratitude

One water pipe can change the course of one’s life.  A broken one anyway! Life took a U-turn or some may say a few steps back.  I remind myself that life is not a linear course.  There is so much to learn and experience for it to be a flat, straight line.  Dean and I are back to the basics.  Simple living arrangements in a 1-bedroom studio apartment in a hotel. Stripped to enough clothing for one week.  And I am managing!  Maybe I need to rid myself of the excess in my closets at home collecting dust?  Same with food provisions.  We manage without all the condiments in the frig and choices in the cupboards.  What about all the nick nacks that we packed those 2 days immediately after the flood?  I could give away or toss away into the trash.  The basics indeed, and I am grateful to have a warm bed, comfortable couch, a stove to cook on, breakfast served daily, and the ability to write.

Our plan to buy a guest house in our beloved Hermann, Missouri was curtailed with the water main break in our home 2 weeks ago. We have to take care of our own residence before providing for others. Purples, lavendar, greens, and grapevines color my vision to share a tranquil retreat with others.  This will come about … God’s perfect timing and plans.  We focus on new flooring, walls, and doors for our home.  God’s provisions and blessings.  The basics and the details are in His hands.

Elisabeth Eliot

 

Nov12

Turbulent Winds And Flooding Waters

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Turbulent winds are howling through the tree limbs, whistling through any crack or crevice in the window panes.  The weather front woke me to my life’s turbulent state.  The main water line broke underneath our house on Tuesday, forcing muddy water into our home covering every inch of the slab floor at least 1-inch deep.  Life changes in a moment.  This wee hour of morning I awake in a Residence Inn not too far from home.  Different bed, surroundings, sounds in this studio hotel room.  Yet some things remain.  My husband alongside. Dean is snoring his cares away until morn.  In a few hours we will get back to our house to sort through and decide what we need immediately, what we need for at least 3 months while in major renovation, what needs to be in storage, and what needs to be pitched from water damage. Blustery winds will continue throughout the day and into the night with the cold front.    Loving relationships remain.  All Saints ChurchMy foundation is in God, my Father, Jesus, my Savior, and the Holy Spirit, my guide.  No matter what is going on underneath the foundation or above, the foundation remains the same.  Thank you, Holy Trinity.  You provide, save, and comfort me and my loved ones.

Nov3

The Spirit of The Season

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The spirit of the season is seen with the vibrant autumn leaves, pumpkins, and gourds. As the day succumbs to the night sky, our solar mason jar lanterns along with our grandkids’ jack o lanterns give an amber glow near the front porch.  With the soaking rains ceasing and fairly mild eMason Jar & Pumpkins Aglowvening temperatures, we greet lots of trick-or-treaters while at the fire pit set up in the driveway. Dean and I kept warm while handing out sweet treats. We later retreated inside to excited grandkids with sacks full of candy. 

This month is one devoted to thanksgiving.  Gratitude fills my heart and tummy for food on our table.  I am thankful for the ability to grow some of that food, as well as the ability to support the local farmer and grocer.  I am thankful I have the ability to work aGratitudend have a job to work at.  I am thankful to God, my Creator for His Son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit that guides me
each day of my life.  Without God the spirit of the season would not be here. He gives abundantly and much more than I deserve.  That is called grace.  Grace and gratitude does turn what we have into enough, enough so we can give to others in need of a warm bed to sleep in and provide nutritious food to eat.  Listen to your neighbor, co-worker, and family member.  One of them may be just the one who needs grace right now.  And you and I are just ones to be God’s abundance to them.

Oct18

Seasonal Home

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The threat of frost for two nights this weekend kept Dean and I busy moving plants into their seasonal home Friday evening. Deanna Greens And Garden Art geraniums, perennials, succulents, and tomato plants were placed into their cold season home, our semi-heated garage with plant lights on a timer.  Our countryside greenhouse situated on Boone Hollow Farm near Defiance still does not have electricity running to it; therefore, no heat or fans blowing.  Greenhouses are naturally designed for solar source, although not adequate enough for heat in 1300 sq foot during Missouri’s winter.  We still want to invest in solar panels for added heat and run fans.  The prices for solar keeps declining, so maybe in the next year or so we can justify the expense.

Seasonal Home

On Saturday I dug up our herbs in the greenhouse bed.  Terra cotta pots of chives, parsley, sage, and cilantro set in my kitchen for culinary use. We had two volunteer grape tomato plants thrive in our compost bin late this summer into the autumn. They are loaded with fruit. The bin is huge and sets just outside the screenhouse side of our structure.  Overnight Friday the frost nipped the upper branches.  While at our greenhouse on Saturday, we dragged the bin into the all plastic side, protected from the crispy cold frost.  It is to warm up again this week, so not quite ready to hide under our make-shift tall tent of clear poly.  With our gardening experiment, we hope to eat homegrown grape tomatoes all winter.  See what happens.  If it works, maybe next summer we can build those cold frames in the greenhouse with more homegrown organic veggies to eat throughout the winter.  Seasonal homes come in many forms.  In a few short days I will share about a seasonal home for Dean and I and our guests … Exciting stuff!

Sep30

Silence Is Golden

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Ahhh, a breath of the evening’s fresh air.  No stars or moon to be seen as clouds blanketed their light. The silence of the countryside, silence from urban noises was calming this dark evening.  Crickets replaced the buzzing traffic and voices of people.  It was just Dean and I and our labrador, Midnight at Boone Hollow Farm . The pink and orange sunset came and went by the time we pulled up next to the greenhouse. I harvested the last of our basil and cilantro by the lantern light.  Next weekend I will transplant our organic chives, thyme, and sage plants into terra cotta pots for the kitchen.  My indoor herb garden will flavor many a soups and casseroles this autumn and winter.

Sometimes the silence of nature is like that blanket of clouds.  The audible or written word is insignificant.  The silence speaks on its own.  Mindful of the surroundings, green and bug life, my heartbeat, my breath.  Autumn is here.  I am at peace.  Golden indeed.  And mighty indeed.  I thank You God that the same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in me.  I can accomplish the tasks which You have called me to do one day at a time.

Fall Quote

Sep14

Weekend Projects

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The crisp air is welcomed, as autumn surely is around the corner.  The weekend has been most lovely.  The aroma inside the kitchen was roasted squash and sweet potatoes and a classic red sauce lasgana. The outdoor fragrance was that of harvest as an amber glow aluminate the fields.  On Saturday afternoon we peeled away from our kitchen and garage projects to have time with two of our daughters and their families.  We attended a Tai Kwan Do birthday party for one of the grandsons and had a late afternoon picnic dinner in the neighborhood park.  The five grandkids ran and yelled to their hearts’ content.  A breath of fresh air and laughter was shared with everyone.

Dean and I returned Saturday evening to our garage project.  We are making more shelving and organizing our boxed storage items.  With no basement, our garage is our storage unit.  Unwanted items have been or will be donated or discarded.  Next, a corner closet is to be framed in for the off-season clothes and bulky kitchen appliances.  As each autumn for the past three years, we will house our tropicals, succulents, and geraniums in the semi-heated garage during Missouri’s coldest five months of the year.  These beautiful green plants will be moved indoors under plant lights in about 5 weeks.  We are making room as the move will take the better part of a Saturday.

Our asparagus feBird&SquirrelHousewithAsparagusFernPlanterrns have greened very nicely and have grown larger over the fairly mild summer.  These ferns grow like bushes in warmer climates like Texas and California.  They are very sensitive to cold breezes, so another project before the cold sets in.  Next weekend I will transplant the two largest hanging pots of asparagus fern into a large ceramic pot before bringing it into the warmth of home.  The rAsparagus Fernemaining four hanging pots and smaller seedlings will continue to grow under the plant lights over winter.  The little berries are easily sprouted in moist soil for more seedlings.  We have plenty, and always willing to share our surplus.  Deanna Greens And Garden Art continues to evolve..

Sep5

My Cup Overflows

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My cup overflows with green leaves and bursting color-filled blooms. The early morning silhouette shows plump pots, planters, and wagons, crowding the gardens and yards. Whatever vessel the spring plantings went into are now filled with branches reaching for the September sun.  The daytime heat has been high this first week of the ninth month, but is to cool down a bit by Labor Day Monday.  Yesterday’s evening soak from the garden hose did the green life well.  This morning our feathered friends thank me for their filled bird bath while the crickets, grasshoppers, and bug life hum their late summer song.

I stay home with cleaning and cooking this Saturday.  Garden fresh green beans, herb-red potato salad, and beef patties on the dinner menu with a dessert pie out so to catch up with some family this evening.  The herbs will have to wait at the greenhouse another day.  I will sing a tune or two and say a few prayers while vacuuming and cleaning the toilet …Sweet At Home Poem