Hello, and good morning! It’s Tuesday today, so I thought— well, surely— we need a Tasha Tuesday!~
In Tasha’s New England homes, spring first peeks out above the snow and leaves in the month of April. I know from reading the many books about her life and home that she greatly looked forward to this time of year! She once even said that she illustrated “to keep the wolf from the door- and to buy more bulbs.” And so this season of the glory of first flower and leaf was one dear to her heart, as it is to many of us!
One of the elements I love so very much in Tasha’s work is the profusion of flowers she painted. There were no empty corners of her art if a flower might be used to embellish! She often used her own garden for inspiration– from the first pussywillow to the lovely white branches of dogwood. Tasha was able to succinctly convey precisely what time of the year her scene was taking place by the use of seasonal flowers and plants.
Tasha was also known for her use of borders to frame an illustration within the page, and often flowers, branches and little animals found themselves included. Tasha was a fan of a glorious, profuse bouquet, and kept them both within and without her house— whether in her kitchen, at her painting table, or on her tea table on her back porch. How could she not be inspired, with such seasonal richness always on hand to lend an idea for a painting?
As blossoms wake up wherever you may live— here in Oklahoma, our tulips are out, with the earliest already starting to fade– I hope you thoroughly enjoy them. Do not be afraid to cut yourself a little garden bouquet, no matter how humble. In my kitchen, I have a little vase of bridal veil (spirea) and lilac just above the sink. And if you have no garden to cut from (or a kindly gardening friend who’d let you have a blossom or two) you can find flowers fairly affordably at the grocery store. If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, they are very good about offering a wide variety of seasonal flowers at very good prices.
Well, I am off to start the day now— here’s hoping its’ a beautiful one! Its a bit chilly here, but the sky is blue and the garden is definitely coming to life, with many buds springing up every day. What is blooming where you live? Have you had spring flowers for a while, or are just the very earliest starting to come out? I hope you are well, and I hope you enjoy a bit of blooming beauty in your day!
And of course–
Take Joy!
~H
Sleightholm Folk Art 
Here in Florida, Spring is over and we are at the stage where all the trees that lost leaves are greening out and filling the city with multiple colors of green everywhere. It is beautiful and I marvel at all the shades of green that happen each year. We don’t have bulb flowers this far south and our Azaleas and few flowering trees are well over. There are , however, blooms opening on all the local citrus trees. My Satsuma orange has a few flowers opened and more forming. They smell so sweet and lovely and the bees enjoy them too. Locally our Geraniums and Supertunias are happy with the cooler nights and less humidity. Trimmed back Lantanas are full of blooms too. The colder weeks of December and January with the light frosts knocked the Lantanas down, but a hefty trim in late February has them now doing well.
I have wanted to experience a Vermont Spring for many decades. I know Tasha knew every plant and flower in her yard and just how it would look from Spring to Fall.
The photos from Tasha’s children books remind me of the many days I read her stories to my girls and marveled at the illustrations. Each page was full of many little details to discover each time you looked at the scene. That is one trait I love about your paintings too!
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Its so interesting to hear how spring is going down in Florida! We all live in our own diverse climates, and its good when we can embrace them and enjoy them! I am very much enjoying April in Oklahoma, I am finding its one of our prettiest months! Looking forward to roses. I love lantana too! Its so cheerful and bright!
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I spent all day in the garden yesterday and it was lovely. Great write-up.
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I visited my ancestors’ cemetery last summer and brought home some moss that was growing at the foot of my great-great grandfather’s tombstone. I put it through the blender and poured it into the cracks on our stone patio. It’s coming up emerald green and puffy and now I feel like I have a bit of my ancestral home here with me.
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