Berthe Morisot en Noir

Berthe Morisot with Bouquet of Violets - Édouard Manet - 1872

Berthe Morisot with Fan - Édouard Manet - 1872

Berthe Morisot Standing - Édouard Manet - 1872

Portrát Berthe Morisot - Édouard Manet - 1878

Berthe Morisot ( 1841 – 1895) was a painter and a member of the circle of painters in Paris during the nineteenth century, who became known as, the Impressionists. In 1864, her work began to be admitted for exhibition in the highly esteemed Salon de Paris. She was the grand niece of the painter, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, and she became the sister-in-law of her friend and colleague, Édouard Manet when she married his brother, Eugène. Morisot was born in Bourges, Cher, France into a successful bourgeois family. Both she and her sister Edma Morisot chose to become painters. Once Berthe Morisot settled on pursuing art, her family did not impede her career.

Édouard Manet - French painter 1832 - 1883

The Memory of Trees

If trees could speak
the stories they could share
Of warm Summer suns
and balmy days
Of grassy meadows
and wild flowers
Their fragrance fills the air
Of soft Summer breezes
the scent of rain
The singing of birds
within their shade
The cool winds of Autumn
when leaves turn to gold
A carpet of amber
the sunset's golden glow
The cold grip of Winter
when branches lay bare
But for a blanket of snow
A time of rest
the chill in the air
The soft rain of Spring
and the new life it brings
New buds of green
and the blossoms they bear
Soon the new shoots
and the leaves appear
Within sheltering branches
creatures protected here
So many sunrises
many a new day
So many sunsets
the closing of each day
So many night skies
filled with stars and the moon
The shadows of moonlight
no two the same
The echoes of laughter
of children now grown
The soft words of lovers
where love was sown
Seasons come and seasons go
and with each new day the cycle renewed
All of these wonders
they have felt and seen
These are, the memories of trees . . .

Poem by Dianne D . . . ♥

Image 'Under the Oak Canopy' with kind permission from Des at Picasa Web Albums,this is a link to the photographs . . . thank you Des for your generosity in allowing me to use your beautiful photograph. . .

In My Garden

This is one of the plants growing along the pathway, I think it is from the 'Westringia' family, though I am not sure. It has the most beautiful fragrance when you touch the foliage or brush against it, just like a mix of pineapple and passionfruit . . . tiny white flowers in Springtime.

Double white Petunia 'Simply Beautiful', in its new home in the garden. It has the most lovely fragrance and is perfect for growing in a hanging basket because of its cascading foliage.

The variegated leaves of the Canna Lily which I bought for Mothers Day, plus native grass and weeds . . . all garden volunteers welcome! This lily is called 'Tropicana Gold' and hopefully will have bright yellow/orange flowers in the summer.

Fragrant Lavender in the garden beside the paved pathway.

Autumn Botanica

Leaves from the Maple tree

Leaves from the Maple and Mandevilla

Colour Diversity

Leaves and twigs from the Philadelphus and Maple

Autumn leaves and seed pods from my white flowering Crepe Myrtle 'Indian Summer-Natchez'

The weather here has been so pleasant, blue skies and sunny days, more like Springtime than Autumn . . . though the evenings have been much cooler with that welcome, slight chill in the air.
I have spent some time in my garden over the last couple of days, apart from watering and tending my plants I have been collecting leaves for my scans . . . some which have fallen and some which are changing colour but still hanging on tentatively to their twigs and branches until the next breeze comes along and sets them free.

When I was reaching up to pick a small sprig of leaves from the philadelphus I brushed against the lavender and rosemary growing outside my kitchen window, the warmth of the sun had released the perfumed oils from the foliage and the fragrance was delightful; I took great pleasure in brushing my hands over the leaves.
As you walk along the curved, paved pathway to the patio you brush against many fragrant plants such as the prostanthera, the geraniums and another small plant from the westringia family which has soft bright green leaves and when you touch them the fragrance is just like a mix of passionfruit and pineapple . . . so lovely.
I have planned this part of the garden this way as it is so lovely to brush past the fragrant foliage as you walk along the path.

It was Mothers Day here yesterday and as I wasn't expecting anyone to visit until dinner I decided to take myself to the garden centre where I had a lovely time enjoying all of the many greens and textures of the plants, trees and pretty flowers.
Of course I couldn't resist leaving there without a plant or two, so I bought a white flowering daphne which is named 'White Star', it has the heavenly daphne fragrance with a hint of lemon; a white flowering perfumed petunia which I have put in a hanging basket so that the foliage can cascade over the edge and a canna lily with large leaves which are variegated with light lime green stripes, very tropical looking; I will post some photos of my purchases at a later time.

If any of you celebrated Mothers Day yesterday well I hope you all had a lovely day; I certainly did, I love being in my garden and amongst Nature, it is such a pleasant diversion from everyday life and it is good for the mind and soul . . . ♥

The Two Trees

'A View Into The Tree Canopy' - Adrienne Goodenough

Beloved, gaze in thine own heart
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody.
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee,
There the Loves a circle go,
The flaming circle of our days,
Gyring, spiring to and fro
In those great ignorant leafy ways;
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the winged sandals dart
Thine eyes grow full of tender care;
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.

Gaze no more in the bitter glass
The demons, with their subtle guile,
Lift up before us when they pass,
Or only gaze a little while;
For there a fatal image grows
That the stormy night receives,
Roots half hidden under snows,
Broken boughs and blackened leaves.
For all things turn to barrenness
In the dim glass the demons hold,
The glass of outer weariness,
Made when God slept in times of old.
There, through the broken branches, go
The ravens of unresting thought;
Flying, crying, to and fro,
Cruel claw and hungry throat,
Or else they stand and sniff the wind,
And shake their ragged wings: alas!
Thy tender eyes grow all unkind:
Gaze no more in the bitter glass.

Beloved, gaze in thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling branches bear.
Remembering all that shaken hair
And how the winged sandals dart,
Thine eyes grow full of tender care;
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart.

William Butler Yeats ( 1865 - 1939 )

Image, 'A View Into The Tree Canopy' used with kind permission from Adrienne Goodenough from her beautiful blog 'Adrienne's Adventures'. Thank you so much Adrienne! ♥
Please follow these links to see Adrienne's other amazing photographs.

Autumn Brightness

This beautiful yellow hibiscus was a present for my birthday many years ago from my best friend Joan; she always chooses the most thoughtful gifts and it is nice as so many of my plants and trees have a story attached to them and a sentimental association.
The hibiscus was labelled 'Full Moon', but I'm not sure that this is the correct name, as that particular hibiscus has either a semi-double or double flower but mine looks like it is a single flower . . . all of you 'flower' enthusiasts will know what I am talking about. Anyway, it does look like the colour of a full moon or a new moon, depending on the light and time of day and it just keeps on flowering no matter what the season . . . its flowers have brightened my days for many years. ♥

Set Yourself Free

If you find that once more you have been forgotten
Left behind and set apart
If you find your heart is broken
Then seek no more the idle path of love
For it is the road to disappointment
And its rejection, a long and cold torment . . .

Seek your consolation elsewhere
You won't find what you're seeking there
Find your solace in the beauty of the trees
For now has come the budding of May
With the beauty of its new leaves

Look to the blossoms of Spring and Nature
To bring forth your happiness and peace
For their beauty will never disappoint you
But fill your heart with contentment which is sweet

So be done with love forever
Give it wings and set yourself free
Don't be tempted by its whispers
For love again for you will never be
For its seeds of regret are sown within your heart
Only to grow and cruelly tear it apart . . .

Poem by Dianne D. ♥

Image: New foliage on 'Lemon Scented Myrtle', My Garden