Collecting Color

Have you ever tried to remember a color? It’s nearly impossible. But when color, memory, and association collide, our fluency with color improves. And for that we need language.

Along with books, shells, certain rocks, and all the seeds, I collect color names. Naming expands and specifies our perception of color. And it puts us into conversation with others. On one hand, you might say that Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (top right) is one of the most satisfying perennials in the garden with a long bloom season of BLUE flowers.

But are they? Blue, that is. 

If you tell me the blossoms are ultramarine, amethyst, the color of a night sky or an old-fashioned streetlight, a rare sapphire, lapis, cerulean, larkspur or cornflower—you help me visualize various expressions of blue. You help me to see more.

(You’ll find all of my daily posts and garden musings here on Instagram.)

Alternative Blessings

Late last month COVID finally found our household and my husband got sick. Thus, just as I was gearing up for a couple of local speaking events and travel to New York, I was exposed. Sadly, this meant bowing out of a bookstore event, gathering in a lavender field to benefit the King County Library Foundation, and my color workshop at New York Botanical Garden. Disappointment stings but I believe in being conscientious and protecting the community.

I’m so grateful that I avoided getting sick and was able to make it to the Slow Flowers Summit in the Hudson Valley. It was a quick planes, trains, and automobiles trip, but 5 days with dear friends and inspiring creatives filled me up!

Out in the garden, the birds (or bunnies) got all the strawberries. The blueberries that I transplanted last fall are struggling, and my raspberry plants have “bushy dwarf disease” and must be removed and disposed of pronto. Huge snaps to Raintree Nursery who helped me to diagnose the problem almost instantly after tagging them on Instagram. I’m sad about my raspberries but delightfully heartened by the support!

As I wrote in Color In and Out of the Garden

A Lavender Lullaby

Another color that thinks it’s a plant. Or is it a plant that thinks it’s a color?

Contemplate this riddle as you lie on a soft blanket on a hot sunny day in a field of aromatic lavender, accompanied by a chorus of contented bees. Our association of this familiar Mediterranean herb with relaxation is so strong that just reading that sentence, you probably felt your shoulders relax and your brow begin to soften.

Lavender is potent. Too much for some. Never enough for others. All parts of the plant, not just the blooms are infused with volatile oils, a redolent floral aroma tempered with camphor and flint. A popular aromatherapy oil, lavender relieves stress, promotes sound sleep, and is said to help alleviate anxiety. More please.

Try this:

Add fresh or dried lavender to a jar of honey that’s been warmed just enough to liquify and leave the mixture to steep on a sunny windowsill. Strain to remove flowers or leave the now-candied blossoms in the honey for a boost of flavor. Drizzle lavender-infused honey on plain yogurt or fresh berries, but perhaps its highest and best calling is slathered on buttered toast. 

Shout out to Bud & Bloom Botanicals, my favorite beekeeper who keeps us in honey (& very special garden hydrosols – so refreshing on a hot day).

I’m so glad you’re here,

xo
Lorene

…including nine new hand-bound accordion folios containing 4 original color studies within a protective cover wrapped in vintage gardening text (see above). Each booklet is signed and one-of-a-kind.

Also, new to the collection, unframed original 6- by 6-inch watercolor color studies. As before, quantities are limited and sell out quickly

Email subscribers get first dibs.

Recent writing:: “True Blue Blooms,” GROW in The Seattle Times
These refreshingly colorful flowers bring a welcome cool and calm to gardens (and gardeners)

Reading: The Well-Gardened Mind, the Restorative Power of Nature by Sue Stuart-Smith

Find this book, along with a selection of my favorite authors and titles in my a handmade garden Bookshop

Now showing: original framed color studies at Watson & Kennedy

Upcoming Events & Workshops
August 3 – “Cultivating Color” at the Edmonds in Bloom Garden Party free & open to the public

In conversation with...
Kelly Smith Trimble for HGTV, “Developing a Daily Creative Mindfulness Practice”