8 posts tagged “garden”

...and your garden. The bokashi composting system is fab - and this page has my review on it

Book: Show us the latest book you bought, borrowed or received.

These two arrived in the post yesterday. Veggie heaven. So I'll be growing and cooking:

Vegetables

Sophie Grigson

Grow Your Own Veg (Rhs)

Carol Klein

....members of my sangha, my spiritual friends.

Yesterday evening we had our regular Amida Newcastle meeting. We started with Nien Fo, reciting the name of Amida Buddha, as we walked around the shrine room. Then we sat in meditation, keeping in mind all who are suffering in the Middle East and putting forth the prayer that all who manufacture and supply weapons should cease to do so. Yes, a forlorn hope, but one to have, nontheless.

We followed this with lesson 10 in the 'Introduction to Pureland Buddhism' course series. Then cold drinks, cheesecake and Indian sweets to celebrate Colin's 50th birthday. Colin has written an update of news about the Irene Brazier Memorial Garden, which he set up and runs.

At the end of the evening Rachel, from the US, who is a student at Newcastle Uni and who will be going to Ecuador to work with street children, asked if she could Take Refuge - ceremony by which one officially becomes a Buddhist. A lovely, touching, request. I'll organise a ceremony for two or three weeks time.

Finally, and by no means least, Dharmavidya, my teacher and the head of our Order, who is in France at the moment, has written a beautiful piece about his philosophy, which is a wonderful introduction to the spirit of Pureland Buddhism

Hanging basket by my door to the garden

2 comments

They're high maintenance - they need attention morning and evening. So pretty and delicate as they dance in the breeze

Not a helpful place to be when I want to go down the steps with the breakfast tray - but he's an expert at lying around....

Gayre, who knows Peter from Aberdeen in the late 60s, visited us from Tuesday to Thursday, en route from Australia, via York. Now he's travelling to various places in Scotland and then on to Amida France.

I'm thankful that we've seen him - he was at Amida France for about a week when I was there last year but I was so busy we hardly had time to talk - and I'm very thankful to him for giving me an introducton to The Work of Byron Katie

Today I

• Talked to my son on the phone
• Ordered three books about Fender basses from Amazon for my kids' dad's birthday
  
• Had a long conversation with Modgala who is at our French retreat centre - I was due to travel there on July 3rd but certainly won't make it then and may not make it at all. With luck I'll manage to see her while she is in the U.K. during most of July and August
  
• Ordered groceries on-line, to be delivered tomorrow afternoon
• Planned what I'll cook for tomorrow night. Sally, one of the Amida Newcastle group, is leaving on Wednesday to be an Amida Volunteer so we are having a Sangha meal together to say Bon Voyage to her
  
• Started the Great Clearing of the back garden which will be continued tomorrow. I trimmed the big bamboo so it's possible to get past it to the garage. I dug up some of the Alchemilla which have freely seeded between the paving slabs and transplanted them to the front and began to cut back some of the rampant Russian Vine which is threatening World Domination
• Wrote to a friend in Australia, whom I hoped to see in France, inviting him to visit us here on his way to or from
  

I'm going to be looking for ground cover plants, apart from all the Alchemilla Mollis I can transplant from the back garden, where it is spreading prolifically - so I'm off to bed with the wonderful Monty

The Complete Gardener

Monty Don

but I'm taking Hilary to chaperone us

Beyond Black : A Novel (John MacRae Books)

Hilary Mantel