March 2019 – Page 2 – Wellyssa's Womb

Garden of Pain

I wanted to create a space in the garden for contemplation of what is painful in life. Gardens to me, sometimes feel like these extra-ordinary , falsely contrived paradises, where everything is prefect, where there are no weeds, and where people walk around smiling. All that is very nice, and I must say that I love going to the Botanical Garden and reveling in it’s perfect beauty.

But my garden is a sacred place, and a place of transition and transformation. Here I honor life in all it’s phases, in all of the seasons, both beautiful and harsh. Here I honor love and joy, pain and sorrow.

I have a special place to meditate and commune with the land spirits and with the Fey, I have a space to celebrate and dance and drum in joy and companionship. I also need a space to experience paid and sorrow, stillness and solitude. This place I have named The Garden of Pain. Here, I leave my pain and failure, my sorrow and my worries.

I walk upon the path through the exceptionally thorny Rosa Rugosas and contemplate that which pains me; I walk the path as the thorny branches of the Locust and Russian Olive reach out and catch my clothing, reminding me to stop and not proceed through so quickly.

Here I leave my tears for the Fey and for the Roses to feed upon.

The beginning

The stones are being placed in the middle of the sanded walkway because I am planning to add a mixed media design around the central walk way, on both sides.

The materials will be in congruent and installed over time as they are discovered or acquired.

Turning the corner was difficult, the large stones had to be cut with the tile saw so the corner could be accomplished.

A gap is left on either side of the cobblestone dry river bed.

On the right, the two sections end 2′ before the dry river bed stones. Eventually, there will be a bridge here to connect the sections while allow-ing overflow from the pond and/or water feature to move through the GoP and into the main dry river bed drainage system.

Red stone is set into the sand in a graceful arch to connect the end of the granite stone walkway with the beginning of the Garden of Pain.

These stepping stones bring you into the Garden of Pain. Some will hop-scotch their way in, while others will spend time walking from Sephira to Sephira.

Looking towards the western end of the GoP

the end of the pave stone, connected to a footer at the gate

Brian built this simple arch way/trellis to support the gate and the Jasmine vine that is planted on either side of the gate.

The western Gate into, or out of, the GoP

Phase 1 complete, more to come.

Welcome dears, Come on in, soak the sand with all your tears,

prick a finger on the thorns, and bring an offering the path adorn.

I feel a Labyrinth coming . . .

future home of the Labyrinth. These two Grey Gleam upright junipers will delineate the opening into the space.

The new Labyrinth hedge plants will eventually provide privacy from the street, making the Labyrinth secluded and private.

November Roses

This summer seems to go on and on. I am still pulling vegetables from the garden, the maximilians are still in bloom, and so are the roses. It’s November!

There’s and old folk tradition that after Samhain, October 31st, anything not removed from the garden should remain there for the Fey. But up until this October, there wasn’t that much left for the Fey anyway. I decided to harvest the blessing of these late season veges and flowers and ask pardon from the Fey. I left them some extra shiny things in the garden as payment.

These Roses were harvest mid November, before what would be the first hard freeze and snow fall of the season.

And, still more November Roses. Who’d a thought?

Fall Color

Finally, the fall color I’ve been waiting for!

THIS! This is the fall/winter color I’ve been waiting for!

Water feature?

I’ve been designing elemental gardens at the edges of the main sacred space, between the Dragons. I’ve been having trouble figuring out what to do for water. What I want is a shallow fountain that will continually circulate water and mist it downward from a trellis-like support above. I’m still trying to talk my husband into that idea.

I set up some temporary bird baths to bring water to the area instead. Then I noticed that the city was cutting down a large dead cottonwood tree at the end of the block. So I asked Jester (who’s time I paid for) and my fired Don to come over and help me get enough log segments out of the ditch under the tree to make a better display in the water feature.

We dug holes to stand the logs in, according to the individual size of each log, added some gravel for drainage and tucked in the logs.

Don and Jester unloading the logs and setting them in the holes

cutting to size and cutting off the pockey parts

I filled a set of fancy matching pots that I have been saving for the right project with spring bulbs, and then tucked them inside of some larger black plastic pots, adding mulch for insulation between the pots.

Stumps in the ground, pots filled with bulbs, waiting for spring.

The fancy pots will get dug out of the bigger pots and placed on top of the logs. Their flowers reaching upwards and green vines hanging down mimicking water flow. we’ll have to see what it looks like.

After the bulbs faded, I replaced them with annuals. (2016)

WARDING

Dumbledore merely touches the wall of the cave and says:

“This place has known magic.”

My home and garden too, are magical places. And magical places attract all sorts of energy, both light and dark. Stronger warding is necessary. I purchased an entire pallet of Selenite slabs to be spaced around the entire boundary of the property. (This was an investment – I’ll just say that.) The boundary was then woven and connected to the central stone. The stone was placed energetically, and not quite in the center of the garden, but that’s where it needed to be.

The black stone on top is an apache tear

The central selenite anchor stone for the warding grid –

The entire coven as well as some of my students came out to spend 4 hours setting, charging and connecting the stones. The Ward is up, no evil shall pass into this little slice of sacred paradise.

And in the North

The hedge on the north edge of the driveway

I transplanted the two scraggly cyprus shrubs to the more protected north side of the garage. we’ll see if they make it. Concrete mushrooms – brighten up this shady area.

Building the Fire Circle

This project took 3 weekends. We acquired ALLthe lumber for FREE from the Vestas Wind Turbine bone yard. Apparently, the big turbine engines, which run the wind machines, comes into the U.S. from Sweeden on giant wooden pallets. Not like a standard pallet, these pallets are made of 6×6 hardwood timber and riveted together with nuts and bolts. Very heavy.

You can go out to the bone lot, check in at the gate, and carry off anything that will fit in your truck or trailer. Seriously, I wanted to haul a semi-truck load of wood outta there – but – then we’d have to do something with it, and Brian’s got a huge to do list in front of him already.

Measuring and marking where the bench legs will go

we’re using rebar drilled into the ground to hold the benches level while the concrete sets.

Benches painted to match the house, Weed fabric installed, then 3″ of crushed granite, 3/8″ size

3 sing to me	4 of your desire!	5 Circle round
2 the ring of fire		6 1-2-3
1 Circle round	8 So Mote it Be!	7 As we will it

Edging the Lawn

The Shirobana Spirea border I planted around the lawn is finally looking like something. It has been slow to grow.

The north lawn, bordered by Shirobana Spirea

Looking east, across the lawn over the rock berm

The Blue Spruce is beautiful! she’s about 25′ tall and 15′ wide now.

I wanted them to grow together, but I think I’m going to need to add more to get them to do that.

Butterfly Garden – Better and Better!

Everything takes soo much time! But I finally feel like I’ve accomplished something when I look out the back window at the garden. Sometimes, I look at the garden and all I see is the weeds; sometimes all I can see is what is still missing. I have to remind myself where I started.

Here’s where I started – in case you missed it in my previous posts:

So now, onto what’s been accomplished in the Butterfly garden!