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.
In this tenth episode, I introduce you to Vita Sackville-West, owner and creator of Sissinghurst Castle Gardens in Kent, England. She was my muse and the voice in my head for many years when I was doing a lot of gardening. I'm happy to tell you a little about her in this episode and share … Continue reading Finding Solace in the Garden with Vita Sackville-West
Lost Garden Story: I love morning glories. This heavenly blue variety was a favorite of Vita Sackville-West. After five years I am still trying to find the perfect spot for them and the time to plant them. It seems I keep planting them too late; they never bloom until the frost comes in the fall, … Continue reading Heavenly Blue Morning Glories, a favorite of Vita Sackville-West
The sudden warm weather in Michigan has got me thinking of the garden. A couple years ago I wrote a garden blog every week dedicated to the garden writings of Vita Sackville-West. Some days I miss her writings, her wonderful way of describing “ordinary” flowers and plants like human beings. She knew them all so … Continue reading Sissinghurst by Vita Sackville-West and Sarah Raven
For The Bride: A scrapbook for brides from 1920’s. My mother gave me this as a sort of joke on my anniversary one year along with a book called, The Silent Hostess, also another inside joke. . . . My husband and I were married 14 years ago today. I was 22 years old. It … Continue reading For the Bride: Today is our Wedding Anniversary
We have been warned that there may be a shortage of certain flower seeds after the unnaturally wet and sunless summer of 1954, and that it is therefore even more advisable than usual to order in good time. -Vita Sackville-West More For Your Garden January 2, 1955 I haven't written in a few weeks. During my time … Continue reading Coming Home…
Today as I was driving down Oxford Street I saw a woman on a refuge, carrying the Lighthouse.* She was an unknown woman, - up from the country, I should think, and just been to Mudie's or the Times, - and as the policeman held me up with his white glove I saw your name staring … Continue reading Examining The Garden of Love…
Not often now, in my saddened old wisdom, do I get enticed by catalogue descriptions into ordering something which I know is almost bound to disappoint. Yet from time to time I fall. I do not regret this. If one lost the capacity of falling, it would mean that one had passed from the trustful … Continue reading Bugbane: The Angel Of The *Fall*
...a dahlia is a nuisance, because its tubers have to be lifted in autumn, stored in a frost-proof place, started into growth under glass in April, and planted out again at the end of May. -Vita Sackville-West A Joy of Gardening; 1958 I had no idea what a dahlia was when my husband brought home a … Continue reading Dahlia: A Nuisance
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
BRIANNE TURCZYNSKI 