a haphazard gardener

I have a May-December relationship with gardening.  By that I mean, most of the gardening I do happens in May and December.  The rest of the year, I do when I can which is often on the fly and between a million other projects I'm seeding, hoeing and harvesting.

Not exactly a student of almanacs and catalogs,  I'm the kind who throws last year's seed packets into the frost bitten plants to see if anything will happen. 

I have a bunch of "plants-with history" adopted from or given by friends and neighbors.  One is titled "don't-pay-attention-to-me-cactus." I also appreciate the garden-in-a-bag available at The Paris Market. If you have the bag, there's no more looking for flats, seeds or soil. Where is my watering can anyway?  

available at the paris market: garden in a bag

I truly appreciate these one-stop-shop-garden-bags as gifts.  They seem to send a message:  English Thyme (git you some time! or English?),  Sage! (you're so smart!)  French Marigold (perfect for my niece named Marigold).  I want to send one or five to everyone I know.

available at the paris market: egyptian cotton throw

But then I'd have less time to ignore my cactus which I really don't ignore at all.  I spend every single month of  the year appreciating my sometimes unruly, but always loved garden.

Blogging this week for The Paris Market, artist and collaborative designer katherine sandoz makes abstract paintings, fiber arts, illustration, portraits and collaborative works of art in a barn behind her home in Savannah, Georgia. The flora and fauna of the low-country serve as fodder for her imagery. If she were not a full-time artist, Sandoz would be a plant burglar.

the may flowers

Maybe the prettiest of all the months, May gifts us longer days, warmer breezes, plentiful bird call and the blossom of so many flowers. Each awakens us to mirror nature in its reinvention and rejuvenation.

In with the spring cleaning, the gardening, the late evenings, entertaining and celebrating the neatest and sweetest in life. Cultivating and nurturing one's new ideas, projects and plans this month ensures a robust and abundant summer and fall harvest. It's high spring and time to pursue with fervor a "permanent state of France."

available at the paris market: collected sea shells, deer shed, dried flowers, garden tools

May 1st - May Day/Beltane: May Day began as a festival of flowers. Beltane, falling on the same date, celebrates the same and adds a fire festival. You'll often see the color yellow used to represent the fire in May Day fests. Watch the sky for the full moon (called the Flower Moon, also called Milk, Mother's and Corn Planting Moon), Venus (hello, goddess of love and fertility) and Jupiter (king of the gods).  I use Sky Guide which is ah-MAY-zing.

May 5th - Cinco de Mayo:  Shooting rifles and lighting fireworks in response to Mexico's resistance to French rule in the 1860s, we now honor Mexican culture with family, food, dress, drink and dance.

May 10th - Mother's Day:  Brought to us in 1908 by Miss Anna Jarvis of West Virginia, she urged us to honor with thoughtfulness, handwritten notes and sentiment.  In 2015, honoring with flowers, fanfare and fireworks (and a hand-written note) also seems fine.

May 25th - Memorial Day:  Known also as Decoration Day, we are called to recognize the war dead by placing flowers at graves and memorial sites.  Because flowers bloom throughout the country at this time, the late May date suited.

available at the paris market:  clay votive pots, air plants (not pictured)

Blogging this week for The Paris Market, artist and collaborative designer katherine sandoz makes abstract paintings, fiber arts, illustration, portraits and collaborative works of art in a barn behind her home in Savannah, Georgia. The flora and fauna of the low-country serve as fodder for her imagery. Her favorite season is plants and flowers with a warm breeze. With two explorer-warrior-hunter-gatherer grandfathers, one Swiss-French and one Jeffersonian Virginian,  Sandoz claims a genetic predisposition to loving The Paris Market experience.  

available at the paris market:  dried flowers, garden in a bag, garden tools, deer shed, sea harvest

This Just In: Garden in a Bag

For some of us, the amount of time or space required to start a garden in our home is simply not in the books. Though we may romanticize the idea of waking up, stepping out our door and picking a fresh tomato off the vine, the reality of the situation is not quite as romantic. Fortunately, we've just stocked our shelves with the perfect solution in a bag! Though it may not be the same scale as a garden in your yard would be, the herbs are unmistakably top notch. And best of all, you can easily move them anywhere you would like! If you're wanting to start a micro garden without the hassle and commitment of a normal garden then look no further! Garden in a bag will equip you with everything you need! And, when you're ready to clean up for the day, our gardner's soap will make sure your hands look and feel as fresh as the herbs you've been planting. Happy gardening!

Available at The Paris Market.