KATHERINE NEVILLE’S Autumn Equinox Newsletter Sept 21, 2016

kn_green_sweater

KATHERINE NEVILLE’S
Autumn Equinox Newsletter
September 21, 2016

Autumn Equinox

Equinox (the day each year when day and night are equal in length) is the time to sow and plant, to prepare for us to reap next Spring! Today is one of the eight Celtic Festival Days, when it is time for us to plan for the next cosmic cycle.

Discovery in the Autumn Garden

japanese_garden_1

Just before equinox, when my visiting former assistant Victor and I were at my Japanese House, weeding, pruning, and preparing the flower beds for planting, we heard a cry from our helpers, Cecilia & Melchior, who were down in the woods beneath the giant cherry tree, cleaning up the beds that Teruo Hara (who built the house) had planted in the 1960s. Lo and behold! They had discovered an entire stone terrace built by Mr Hara! A maple tree had grown up through the stones, over the past 50 years. So here is the hidden terrace now.

japanese_garden_2

Sowing New Seeds

I always listen to the “genius loci” of a place, the secret spirit that is its soul. That’s probably why so many of my readers have connected me with the spirits of so many places as I’ve traveled around the world. The sudden surprising discovery of this hidden terrace – built by the loving hands of a famous potter and his students, long before any of my helpers had even been born – inspired me to return the land to what it wants to be: a Japanese meditation spot.

japanese_garden_3

I already have a forest of Gingko trees here, and an “incubator” of baby trees for us to create more. So in one weekend, just before equinox (when we are supposed to sow for next year’s harvest) I instantly obliterated a swath of “lawn” beneath the trees, and planted a hedge of native plants and bushes!

To learn more about the progress of the Japanese House, see my continuing web site saga: The Japanese House

See pictures of my Japanese House and an article in The Washington Post.


Please visit me on my website www.KatherineNeville.com

Facebook @AuthorKatherineNeville & Twitter @KNeville_Quest