Samuel Pepys’ Diary by Himself

October 9, 2019October 9, 2019 ~ Brianne Turczynski ~ Leave a comment

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 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 we have this diary, because this man, as arrogant as he was, had the mind to record ten years of really important British history. It is a wonderful little window into the English Restoration period by a middle to upper class parliament member. He records detailed accounts of the Black Plague, the London Fire, the trials of Oliver Cromwell, as well as the Dutch War. He describes heads on spikes and mundane things like his diet, the weather, the untidiness of his house, mites in his wigs, etc. Truly we are lucky to have such an honest account of a real life never to be lived again. .

Pictured is the modern library edition from 1961? Among an old account book from 1880’s, a vintage print of a man seducing two women, and a cat’s skull my kids dug up in our backyard. .

#bookish #bibliophile #bookstagram #book #reading #readingnook #reads #british #history #library #bookphotography #stillphotography #photography #vintage #bookshelf #readersofinstagram #writersofinstagram #diary #journaling #journal

Life After Deadheading

July 22, 2016July 22, 2016 ~ Brianne Turczynski ~ 6 Comments

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 to go about the garden. She referenced the Victorian gardens of abundance and the wild gayety of the flowers, able to stretch themselves to the sky.

The gardens of the turn of the century up through mid-century established a habit of cutting their roses right down to the ground in order to achieve abundant blooms. But in doing so they only stifled growth. Vita argues that roses ought to be left alone in the Spring, and if you didn’t believe her she simple advised: “the only thing is to be bold; try the experiment; and find out.”

I do not prune my roses. Instead, the only thing I do is deadhead them throughout their bloom season and in the spring to make the greens look more attractive.

Deadheading is my favorite thing. It’s therapeutic and it’s grounding. I’ve heard when monks are upset or a little melancholy they are told to work in the garden until they feel better. Deadheading is the perfect way to fidget while thinking out one’s problem. But why should we cut off the spent flowers like I will do soon to my Floribunda Tuscan Sun above?

The rosarians whose books I’ve read fail greatly at one simple task. They order us: “deadhead at an angle facing away from the leaf a quarter inch above the leaf”. They show pictures: “too much”, “not enough”. But why? They never explain this. Perhaps if they did we would be more apt to follow orders? Knowing what treachery might befall upon our precious blooms we might do as they say.

Let’s examine this:

WHY DEADHEAD?

Do you want your roses to grow rapidly? Would you like more blooms? How about continual bright red baby leaves sprouting all summer long? Deadheading is your answer.

HOW TO DEADHEAD:
The best thing I can tell you is to cut down to the fifth leaf set. Spot the spent bloom, follow its stem downward until you see the first five leaf stem. Cut it there at an angle, opening away from the leaf set. Why? Because this technique gives the new stem room to spike out and from what I’ve read it can also produce stronger stems if this is done one-quarter inch above the leaf set. Like this,

As you can see I’ve had some thrip and beetle damage. This is the first year I’ve had problems with pests of this nature and they caught me a little offguard-please ignore.

Anyway, a week later you should have young leaves shooting out all over, making a pretty show of purple and bright green-almost as striking as the flowers themselves.

Young life, a reminder of our excitement and the hope we carried into spring. I can feel that again when I look at these new leaves of tender delicacy. Do this and you will see. You needn’t worry. Soon you will have an abundance of blooms again, bringing a sense of accomplishment to you and the beauty of youth and hope to your garden once again.

Fresh Eyes

July 7, 2016 ~ Brianne Turczynski ~ 4 Comments

Within minutes of arriving Vita was ‘flat in love with Sissinghurst’. ‘The place, when I first saw it on a spring day… caught instantly at my heart and my imagination. I fell in love at first sight…It was Sleeping Beauty’s Garden: but a garden crying out for rescue.’ Standing in the middle of the vegetable patch looking up to the Tower, she turned to twelve-year-old Nigel and said, ‘I think we shall be happy in this place.’

-Vita Sackville-West & Sarah Raven
Sissinghurst: Vita Sackville-West and the Creation of a Garden
Copyright; 2014

I’m a book lover. Correction, I’m obsessed with books. People will hear this and ask me what I thought of the latest best seller. I haven’t read any of them. I’m working my way up through time. When I finally get to today’s best sellers they will be considered only a residue of our history. Like little creative bursts of the past, old and forgotten; just the way I like them.

We recently went to our family cottage for a week. My book of choice was Vita’s novel The Easter Party. I finished it in a couple days. It was good, subtle but brilliant in its own way. It was the first novel I ever read of hers. It really gave me a glimpse into the inner workings of her mind. She put her observance of flowers on hold and applied her skill to the observance of people instead. I dare say she excels at both.

This one finished, I pulled out the second book I brought. It was a gift from my husband for Mother’s day this year. He’s so thoughtful; always giving the best gifts of thoughtful simplicity. He gifted me, Sissinghurst: Vita Sackville-West and the Creation of a Garden.

This book is very inspirational. So much so that when we returned home I saw my own garden with fresh eyes.

I was feeling Vita’s spirit all the more because I had immersed myself in her knowledge and life all weekend. As I looked at my garden, I saw where I could make some changes. For instance, I would like to pull out the marigolds and plant them elsewhere. Instead, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a lavender hedge there? Vita always sectioned off her gardens with hedges. The lavender in the back of the garden have done very well and bloom consistently. I think it would be perfect for my miniature garden to bring them forward. I’ll make a note of it for next year. Vita had a garden journal where she often made notes of what she would plant/change the next spring.

I have about fifteen zinnia sprouts that need transplanting. They will replace the marigolds this year. They will create a tall hedge. One will have to step into my garden to peer at the lovely flowers- like a secret.

About those marigolds: I have found, marigolds do not keep the bunnies out, nor do they deter moles, as these are still major pests in my little sanctuary.

Apart from these changes, this book also renewed my inspiration. Every plant in all my gardens, even the ones frequently overlooked, seemed all the more precious and inspiring.

Speaking of the usually overlooked: Do you know what this is? I ventured over to our little wild garden and found this seed plant. Perhaps you could tell me what it is called? It looked to be something coveted for bouquets of another time, perhaps it would have been used as a country wedding bouquet with baby’s breath and wild geranium. It was beautiful to me, although just a weed no doubt; forgotten and humbled by the more popular, somewhat like the books I read. The little seeds that shoot off the stems are variegated red, pink and green. If you know what it is called I would love to know.

I could feel what it must have been like for Vita to see Sissinghurst for the first time. I too have fallen in love with my own grand ideas, falling in love with dilapidated or thrown away objects of our history. Thrown aside and forgotten because they’re not in style or popular, and the owners haven’t the mind to be inspired by what they could make from the rubble.

Vita was inspired by the history of Sissinghurst, and its dilapidation did not deter her in the least. At first sight, the seed of what she could create was planted in her mind and she was lucky enough to make it a reality, thus creating her legacy…somewhat like the grand authors of classics whose prose stands the test of time.

The Art of Conversation…

June 24, 2016June 25, 2016 ~ Brianne Turczynski ~ 3 Comments

…Poison has done its work only too well. In what agony, during the dark hours, have these miserable members of God’s Creation perished?

-Vita Sackville-West
In Your Garden; 1958

I panicked when I saw the caterpillar damage on my rose bushes. Easily distinguished by the large chucks of green taken from the leaves. They came in flocks in the springtime and had their feast, leaving only a skeleton of foliage in their path. Before I knew what was happening, the damage was done. I wasn’t listening very well.

I sprayed with an insecticide but it was too late, many of the leaves had perished. But with the catapillars gone I welcomed a new problem. Variagated leaves, speckled and discolored, this malfunction left me distraught as all my research seemed to point to only two conclusions: A vitamin deficiency, or a dreaded virus.

Through these symptoms my roses had found speech. But what were they trying to tell me? What warning were they struggling to present?

After an inconclusive internet search, I took the leaves up to a couple nurseries. One group of ladies told me it looked like a fungus. Another told me it was probably insect damage and to keep spraying.

But who to believe? I went ahead and bought the recommended fungus remover and a soaker hose as it’s really the only way to water new plants in this drought. But I bought one more object to satisfy my own suspicion: a pH meter.

I had my suspicions; an intuition if you will, that if I fertilized perhaps all problems would be solved. I’ve noticed the blooms have decreased greatly since spring. Also a sign that it’s a vitamin deficiency. Roses like an acidic soil and as you can see I have very low acid levels. In the spring I gave them all a slow release fertilizer but I don’t think it is working fast enough. So I’ll give them a little ‘snack’ of miracle grow throughout the summer and next year I’ll mulch with some manure to increase the nitrogen in the soil.

It’s a grand experiment really. I have no idea what I’m doing as I’ve never dealt with inconsistencies before. So here I am, yet again, learning something new. Yay!

One thing the roses are telling me is that their new growth is healthy. This is a great sign. To me, it points to a pest problem; an easy fix. All other symptoms however, seemed a mystery, and perplexed even the master gardeners with which I spoke. But in the world of gardening, everything is learning by doing. You have to be a detective and listen to the plant as well as your intuition.

As summer progresses, I’ll see if there seems to be more damage but I’m hopeful it’s not a virus. If it is, God forbid it, I’ll have to rip out all my bushes and burn or tie them up in plastic bags, then I would have to replace all the soil before planting anything new. Total buzz kill to summer’s euphoria.

Listening is precisely why gardening is an art form. There is an art to listening; an art to conversation. Coming up with a response that is both wise and applies directly to the point. One must listen well because plants always have something to say. If your plants could talk, what would they tell you and how would you respond?

Waging a Cold War…On Bunnies

May 10, 2016May 21, 2016 ~ Brianne Turczynski ~ Leave a comment

The French Idea of gardening…
I have recently returned from a wondering holiday in southwestern France. The villagers produce an altogether charming effect, comparable with our own cottage gardens at home. The village street is lined with pots, standing grouped around the doorways or rising step by step up the outside staircase when there is one pots filled with pink geraniums, zinnias, begonias, nasturtiums, carnations marigolds, all mixed and gaudy.

-Vita Sackville-West
The Joy of Gardening, 1958

I’ve been in a 1950’s mood lately (I wonder why), so I decided I was going to plant marigolds this year in some of our pots around the yard. For some reason these little annuals of orange and yellow remind me of the by-gone era of cold war and rockin’ music. Don’t ask. Upon telling people this they would relay to me fantastical stories about the benefits of marigolds. “They deter bunnies, and deer and bad insects. Oh my!”

I’ve since looked this information up and there seems to be mixed opinion on this. Some even complained that marigolds brought spider mites into their gardens to reek havoc on everything in sight. Other sites however, say that marigolds attract good insects like lady bugs (a gardener’s best friend), and that they’ll deter moles, and sometimes deer and bunnies.

Well, I have a bunny problem. They sneak in at night and eat all of my coneflower, and black-eyed susans, and they ate all of my pussy toes those -“beep-beep-beep!”

So, I’m waging WAR! A sun-shiny yellow, friendly war, but a war none the less! I’m going to take my chances on the spider mites and plant these 1950 lovelies as a border like sentries flying their colors of yellow and orange. They’ll create a picket line around my garden and hopefully keep the enemy out. Those bunnies will be sooooo sorry when they get a load of what I’ve got in store for them.

Readers out there; have you ever planted marigolds to deter pests? If so please let me know how it worked out for you! Thank you!