Peonies – Cynthia Reyes

A Good Home, Flowers, Gardens, Life in canada, Peonies, Photographs

A Photographer’s Passion for Flowers

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 Cynthia Reyes

Gundy Schloen is passionate about photography.

So: add her passion for photography to her passion for flowers and what do you get?

Beautiful photos of flowers, of course.

Over the years, Gundy has taken thousands of photos of flowers.

Flowers in her own garden and flowers wherever she goes.

Like the Oshawa Peony Festival a few weeks ago. (Oshawa is a city east of Toronto.)

So I asked her if I could feature just a few of the photographs she took there.

But choosing just a few was very difficult. I really liked this one, above.

Then again, I liked this photo below and the one below that.

Gee whiz – I liked a lot of them.

And aren’t these ones below just luminous?

Beautiful flowers…. and beautiful photography.

Well done, Gundy and thanks for allowing me to feature “a few” of your stunning photos.

Photos copyright of Gundy Schloen.

A Good Home, Blessings, Flowers, Garden, Peonies

Flowers for Jean

February 26, 2015February 28, 2015 Cynthia Reyes

“How typical of Jean,” I thought when she sent me cheery photos (including the one above) of spring flowers in Vancouver. “To do something nice for me when it’s her birth-week.”

Jean does this kind of thing.

But it’s Jean’s birthday, so these flowers are dedicated to her.

If asked to name something that comes to mind when we think of Jean, her friends would probably say:

Family.

Faith.

Friendship.

Good Food.

Flowers.

(We might also add Athletics, Books and Music but those words don’t begin with an ‘F’, so they don’t make the cut here.)

These flowers are in honour of a special birthday.

Jean loves flowers. She’s actually studied gardening. Recently, she created a whole new garden from scratch.

Peonies are among her favorites.

So are Bleeding Hearts. These below are grandchildren of a plant she gave me years ago.

Above photos by Hamlin Grange — 4 Photos above by Hamlin Grange

A few of Jean’s gardener friends have contributed flowers and garden scenes to this birthday greeting.

Ornamental grasses from Linda’s garden:

And a lovely white peony:

Jan sends this yellow beauty and the pink lady’s slippers by the lakeside:

And from Val’s garden come these peonies and scene of the lush countryside northwest of Toronto:

Thank you, Jean.

For your friendship.

And for being you.

A blessed birthday and birth-week to you.

A Good Home, Aggie and Lou, Environment-friendly, Farming, Farms, Flowers, Gardens, Living sustainably, Organic Farming, Organic Food, Peonies, Spring garden, Stewards of the land, Texas, The environment, Vegetables

Blooms for Aggie (and Lou)

June 22, 2014June 23, 2014 Cynthia Reyes

Aggie asked me to publish blooms of peonies from my garden.

I promised I would.

Who is Aggie, you may ask?

Aggie and husband Lou run Isis Farms near Avery, Texas. They call what they do “beyond organic”.

“We want to grow and supply ‘real’ food, for ourselves, and as many people as possible. We think that good, whole food is a key to health.”

They describe themselves as stewards of their 30-acre land.

“As stewards of this land, we want to nurture a healthy ecosystem, maintaining the forest, reintroducing native grasses, and keeping the chemicals out.”

Aggie and Lou believe the planet cannot possibly sustain the average American’s lifestyle. So they are doing their part to reduce their impact on the earth.

“For example, we are planning for solar power, and rainwater collection and drip irrigation to minimize water usage. Our home is small, and we heat with wood, which creates no additional greenhouse gases, and is freely available in our forest. We purchase used items when practical.”

Aggie and Lou have been working very hard to realize their ideals. And they continue to do so, through what seems to be every single day. This kind of work and vision take commitment, but they seem to have it in spades.