The Green City

One of the things I admire about the UK, is the way they incorporate nature into their suburban and city areas.

Ivy-covered buildings, lavender walkways, random poppies and hollyhock hedges all add a touch of colour and charm.

Stone buildings and wildflower gardens stand here and there between the modern skyscrapers.

The careful balance of new and old makes the city a warm, welcome, natural place.

Whispers from the grave

Moss-covered tombstones, crumbling with age, being returned to the earth.

They do not leave

They are not gone

They look upon us still

They walk among the valleys now

They stride upon the hill

Their smile is in the summer sky

Their grace is in the breeze

Their memories whisper in the grass

Their calm is in the trees

Poem: Anon

Mountain Lullaby

The mountains of Ireland and Scotland feel like an unending lullaby; following their soft, rounded contours, up and down, rolling along, made me feel sleepy and content.

The manifold mountain cones, now dark, now bright,

Now seen, now lost, alternate from rich light

To spectral shade; and each dissolving cloud

Reveals new mountains as it floats away.

an excerpt from  Glengarriff   by: Sir Aubrey De Vere

Think like a tree

On my visit to the UK I fell in love with the trees! They surrounded me, like gentle forest giants, watching as I walked among their leafy realm. 

 Think Like A Tree

By: Karen I. Shragg

Soak up the sun

Affirm life's magic

Be graceful in the wind

Stand tall after a storm

Feel refreshed after it rains

Grow strong without notice

Be prepared for each season

Provide shelter to strangers

Hang tough through a cold spell

Emerge renewed at the first signs of spring

Stay deeply rooted while reaching for the sky

Be still long enough to hear your own leaves rustling

The beauty of stone

You can't visit the UK without marvelling at the remnants of ancient castles.  The haunting beauty of their crumbling walls retains a sense of the power and prestige they represented long ago.

As plants grab footholds in the chips and cracks in the walls, the ruins are returned to nature, blending and fading in a most beautiful way into the green landscape.

Travelling opens the mind

For the next few days this blog will be travelling outside my garden.


I recently went to England, Scotland and Ireland - the land of everything green!


Let's see the tales their gardens have to tell!

Velvet, rolling hills divided by rustic stone walls that follow the land.


Soft hues of green, brown and grey as far as the eye can see and fields dotted with pillow-shaped sheep.

In my garden I've crammed as much as I could into the space that I have.  I'm appreciating the vastness of this land, the lack of clutter.  As your eyes wander, your mind strays.  There is a magical sense of timelessness.