HI THERE! I'M BRIANNE TURCZYNSKI, FREELANCE WRITER, HISTORICAL RESEARCHER, & PERPETUAL SEEKER OF THE HUMAN CONDITION. WELCOME TO MY SPACE WHERE I SHARE THE BOOKS I'M READING, MY SPIRITUAL FINDINGS, FLOWERS IN MY GARDEN, AND LOST STORIES. ALL ARE WELCOME HERE.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Today, if an agent were presented a query letter and the manuscript of Adam Bede, they would have rejected it over and over again and society would have lost a fabulous story. But I doubt that many people today would have the patience for this book. It took 100+ pages for me to get into … Continue reading Adam Bede by George Elliot
It’s time for me to share some spooky reads! . . I enjoyed this a lot though it was a bit dark. It seems to lose color as one progresses into the story, which is a result of Wilde’s genius. It seemed, in my memory, to begin with pink gardens in the light of day … Continue reading Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Samuel Pepys was a scoundrel! The way he went about seducing every woman he saw makes me think he had some sort of undiagnosed sex addiction. One woman had to threaten to poke him with her pin in church if he touched her again! 😆 . . But it is a very good thing … Continue reading Samuel Pepys’ Diary by Himself
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Finally finished this! Took me two months!! 🙄 Mostly because every time I picked it up I fell asleep. It didn’t help that I had Ennio Morricone film scores circling in my mind, as I’ve been listening to his arrangements with Yo-Yo Ma on repeat for two weeks. So that music perpetually in my … Continue reading The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson is an epic poem about King Arthur and the Knights of the round table. They search for the Holy Grail which is an allegory for material possessions. SPOILER ALERT: most only find wandering fires. 🔥 😉 . . . Yes, I read this. And would probably read … Continue reading Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson
What about Tropaeolum speciosum, the flame nasturtium, with brilliant red trumpets among the small dark leaves? This is the glory of Scottish gardens... -Vita Sackville-West In Your Garden November 24, 1946 Something rather peculiar happened when I was planning my garden back in April. I knew I wanted to plant seeds, two in particular; the … Continue reading Vita’s Wish For Nasturtium…
The marvel of Peru, Mirabilis jalapa, is familiarly called four o'clock, because it opens only at tea time and shuts itself up again before breakfast. It is an old-fashioned herbaceous plant, seldom seen now, but quite decorative with its mixed coloring of yellow, white, red, or lilac, sometimes striped or flaked like some carnations. -Vita Sackville-West … Continue reading Just In Time For Tea
A dear neighbor brought me a tussie-mussie this week. The dictionary defines tuzzy-muzzy, or tussie-mussie, as a bunch or posy of flowers, a nosegay, and then disobligingly adds that the word is obsolete. I refuse to regard it as obsolete. It is a charming word; I have always used it and shall continue to use it, … Continue reading What Is A Tussie-Mussie?
Spring and summer are well provided with flowering shrubs, but it is a puzzle to know what to grow of a shrubby nature for colour in the late months of July, August, and September. There are the hibiscus (Althea Frutex) which are attractive with their hollyhock-like flowers... -Vita Sackville-West In Your Garden June 25th, 1950 Everyday … Continue reading Hollyhocks That Grow On Trees?
My liking for gardens to be lavish is an inherent part of my garden philosophy. I like generosity wherever I find it, whether in gardens or elsewhere. -Vita Sackville-West March 26, 1950 In the quote above she speaks of pruning. From her books I gather that Vita thought pruning in the Spring a foolish way … Continue reading Life After Deadheading
BRIANNE TURCZYNSKI 