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.
Travelers between Calais and Paris must surely have noticed the lumps and clumps darkening like magpies' nests the many neglected-looking strips of trees along the railway line in the North of France. Perhaps the neglect is deliberate; perhaps they pay a good dividend. -Vita Sackville-West A Joy of Gardening; 1958 The one and only catalpa … Continue reading Under The Catalpa Tree…
The tame, too smug, I cry; There's no adventure in security; Yet still my little garden craft I ply, Mulch, hoe, and water when the ground is dry... -Vita Sackville-West The Garden; 1948 The other day I was looking up odds and ends when I came across a word I have never heard. … Continue reading A Peculiar Fight For Turgidity
It is sufficiently remarkable that a great and powerful noble should have accepted so frank a criticism from a peasant, little more than a child. He was more accustomed to see such people tremble in his presence. Such impertinence must have taken his breath away. Besides, it attacked him in his most private feelings. -Vita … Continue reading Spiderwort or The Unfortunately Named
They used to be regarded as a common old plant, almost a weed, when we grew the type which spread everywhere and was only a pale orange thing, not worth having... Now there are many fine hybrids, which may come as a revelation to those who have not yet seen them. They will grow in … Continue reading The Daylily: “The Lord Loves A Working Man”
I loathe bees myself, one single sting sufficing to send me to bed, quite seriously ill, for nearly a week. Yet I must admit to a romantic feeling for this self-contained world of little creatures, with their extraordinary arrangement of a life entirely their own, but at the same time, dependent upon what we elect to … Continue reading Of Honey Bees And Red Clover
A Dedication To The Innocent Ones Of The Orlando Tragedy.
Small pleasures must correct great tragedies, Therefore of gardens in the midst of war I boldly tell... -Vita Sackville-West The Garden; 1946 In this little beloved town of mine some take pleasure in knocking down the very old homes and building instead new homes of fiberglass and vinyl. One of these very old homes, which was a … Continue reading History’s Peony: A Search & Rescue
This remedy she rejected, saying that she would rather die than do anything that she believed to be a crime or contrary to God's will. -Vita Sackville-West Saint Joan of Arc: 1936 In one of my favorite books (I mean, if I was stranded on a deserted island (touch wood), this would be one of the books … Continue reading Deadly Nightshade
There are few more repaying plants. Rabbits dislike them; their flowering season extends through May and June; they last for a week or more as picked flowers for the house; they will flourish in sun or semi-shade; they will tolerate almost any kind of soil, lime-free or otherwise; they will even put up with clay; … Continue reading The Object Of My Disenchantment
He kept them sitting for hours over the dinner table, he who was usually so impatient to move away; he kept them entertained by anecdote after anecdote, reminiscence after reminiscence, observation after observation... -V. Sackville-West Easter Parade: A Novel Copyright: 1953 Allow me, if you will, to ramble a bit? Ramble like a climbing, … Continue reading Ramble On…
BRIANNE TURCZYNSKI 