A Christmas (Tree) Story

As the days slow a bit I have finally had the chance to sit and enjoy my own holiday decorations. My time in front of the Christmas tree is especially meaningful.

My tree is not a catalog-curated beauty with coordinating colors and lush ribbon; rather it is a collection of ornaments that span over 30 years. This year we have an especially fat tree and each ornament that graces it tells part of my story. I see the Candy Cane ornaments I purchased as a new bride with a limited budget at the Christmas Tree Shops. Ditto for the small apples and red hearts. The blown glass vegetables from Germany were a gift from our first landlords, who are long since gone but forever in our hearts. Hand carved ornaments that my Dad made for me helped me to believe he was thinking of me even after he and my mom divorced and he moved across the country. Ballet slippers, a small baseball bat, a guitar and a string of fish were special gifts that reflected my children’s interests growing up. The wine glass, on the other hand, reflects mine! Handmade construction paper ornaments from kindergarten days are valued as a reminder of how quickly time goes. Small frames with pictures of my mom and stepdad are also a reminder to value the people you love as they will not be around forever.

Perhaps the most special ornaments are kept by themselves in a little box. When we decorate the tree the kids know that these are the ones that Mom puts on. And as I put each ornament on the tree I tell the family its story (despite the groans of “We know already”). Two pieces of a crystal necklace came from my great Aunt Edna, a true lady in every sense of the word. Swedish painted ornaments from my Nana remind me of my heritage. China bells and fragile angels come from another grandmother. And the most special ornaments of all might be considered the least attractive. Unshelled walnuts with glitter decorations, hung by simple ribbon, were made by my Mom and Dad when they were newly married and, like me, had a limited budget. They also painted small light bulbs and hung those from the tree. When my parents were divorcing my young siblings and I helped my Mother create ornaments from egg cartons. These ornaments have shown me that even when times are difficult if we work together something beautiful can come from it.

Of course in addition to the tree there is the stuffed Santa that sits on the mantle whose plastic beard my brother used to chew on when he was younger. The elf that shares the mantle looks amazingly like the Elf on the Shelf but is over 30 years old. The Night before Christmas book (which we read as a family every Christmas Eve) was given to my great aunt and is dated 1941.

My holiday decorations will never be featured in House Beautiful and that’s okay with me. They are all saturated with memory and meaning, family and history.

For me that makes my home beautiful.

What Winter?

I have noticed that it is getting dark later and on some days the temps are such that I only need a light coat. Spring is coming…sigh. But where was winter? Where were the freezing temperatures and colossal snowstorms that had school children crossing their fingers and meteorologists throwing around words like “bombogenesis”?

In years past, my brother and I would gleefully trade stories of the drifts in front of the doors that forced us to just stay inside for a while. Despite the crazy weather in the rest of the country New England, or at least Massachusetts, has gotten off easy. Up until February 12, 2019 we had received only a little over 2” FOR THE WHOLE WINTER.

Now it’s not that I love snow – although the first storm or two are pretty – it’s just that I have things to do!

Happy New Year 2019

Happy New Year!

Not that I need a new year, I kinda like the one I just had.  I know, however, that things change and so will the calendar. Of course it will take me a month or more to stop writing 2018.

I am very grateful for the last year even with so many challenges. Especially the weather. I was telling the girls that it seemed like we only worked in excruciating heat and torrential rain. In fact statistics show that it was the rainiest September through November recorded at the local Blue Hill Observatory so I know I am not just getting old and grumpy. And it was HOT. Hats off to the crews that helped install gardens when the temperatures were well into the 90’s.

Then of course it got bitterly cold right at Thanksgiving and stayed that way which meant the winter containers were quite a challenge to create. Many more garden design jobs meant things were extra busy but that’s okay. I can always do laundry later.

I want to thank all my friends and family members who heard too many times that “I can only talk for a minute the client is on his way” or “Dinner is what you make of it – literally”. There were crazy busy days when I would arrive home so exhausted that I did not even have the energy to eat. And friends and family forgave me the busyness. They even called to just say they were praying for me.

I want to thank my clients who give me the privilege of working at something I love every day. What an incredible blessing to hear after a project that it is just perfect and I must have “read their mind”. Of course not every job ends that way and so I am also grateful to clients who allow me a second chance to get it right. Great design, like anything, requires communication and collaboration and the grace for a “do-over” is always appreciated.

2018 was the best year so far for The Captured Garden.  And while the company is growing that is not the main focus. My focus is on developing relationships with clients and their gardens that will last. That is why we only take on a handful of select jobs each season. Good design takes time and that’s what I think it deserves. Quality over quantity.

I hope in your New Year you see the value of taking time for the things that are important to you.

2019 here we come!

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