Welcome to my blog @thewater…
I’m originally from Ireland and grew up right beside the sea. I now live in land-locked Switzerland so this might help explain why my site is called ‘The Water’. I chose the domain name after I was at the University in Lausanne and had visited Corbusier’s Villa ‘Le Lac’, the house which he built for his parents on the shore of Lake Geneva in a village called Corseaux, near Vevey. I believe firmly that good architecture can re-create the soul.
It’s said that Corbusier’s buildings are living machines. I would add that they are also seeing machines. I kept going back to visit and was completely taken by the play of light, the reflection of sun and moon-light on the ceilings and floors of the building. When I came home I claimed the domain ‘The Water’ for my own…
Water is a precious commodity and was the subject of one of my earliest pieces of writing which I hope to get around to posting sometime.
This site is based on things that are dear to me… I will sporadically post articles on, or links to whatever I find interesting at that particular moment in time – so don’t be surprised to find subject matter that has absolutely nothing to do with water, except in that it strikes a chord within and thus leads me back to my own inner ‘source’.
Enjoy and do leave a comment or link – great to meet you here.
Frances
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‘Everything one invents is true, you may be perfectly sure of that.
Poetry is as precise as geometry.‘
Gustave Flaubert
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Above photo: Courtesy of Andreas Butz
All other photos, unless otherwise mentioned, taken by me
The photo below was taken at my sister’s wedding in Scotland when I was ten…
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I’m so glad to have stumbled across your blog, Frances. I had no idea it was there. I’ve been a fan of your husband’s gardening page in the Natürlich for many years, and have long been curious about the mention of his irish wife! I too am a Frances, though not Irish. We have recently moved to a new home here in Zizers (Rheintal near Chur), and I now have the priviledge of being able to reinvent the garden here. So now it’s high time I buy The Lazy Gardener – which is what I was looking up when I found your blog.
I look forward to reading more and hopefully meeting you one day. I have also long wanted to visit your gardens in Appenzell, it’s just never worked out til now.
Enjoy the spring, best regards
Frances
Hello Frances Mary,
How lovely to find your comment here – and I am so glad that you wrote! My mother’s name was Mary and all our three daughters have Mary as their second or third name…
I have always loved my name – and felt a bit confused when peers spoke about wanting a different name – I have always felt I was / am very much a Frances!
As for the new garden – lucky you! Such fun! We also just moved albeit to a smaller place (our girls are all grown up) and to a smaller garden too. We still do gardening workshops in a nearby spa hotel where we designed a beautiful herb and show garden a few years ago and are now very excited to be able to offer workshops there to interested people – perhaps we will see you there sometime. If you like I can send you some information – it is not too far away from Zizers. Where do you come from originally – ps you can also write per email to frances@thewater.ch – I would love to hear from you!
Once again thanks for your interest and for leaving a comment.
Ps Our latest book, which just came out this March, is a gardening ‘to-do’ book, full of helpful tips and practical advice – the first book which is now out of print was more about our gardening philosophy… so your timing is perfect