juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN: April 2011

Heralds of Spring

Spring seems to be taking SO long to bloom here!
Our yard and flower beds are still too wet to work in...

but on my short walk to the Post Office this morning,

I saw these sights.

I'd REALLY like to tidy up the robin's nest!

Her presence has evidently discouraged any new posts on the bulletin board!

Could This Be Spring?

Finally! Time to trim back winter's deadness! I had such good help!

Nothing much is blooming yet except the wild violets...

The children enjoyed the sunshine...chalk pictures on the driveway.

Farewell to Dreams

I'm putting away winter magazines.
It's hard for me to say "good-bye" to this beautiful scene.

I don't have enough windows to house such a collection of houseplants,

but I can always dream!

All I'd need is a good book or two or a stack of gardening magazines...

Alas! It's time to say "farewell to dreams" and get out the garden tools!

Prepping for Spring

This afternoon my husband turned over this entire area --
by hand (well, spade).

Last autumn, he piled leaves on top of newspaper and kept it wet.

It turned over fairly easily.
(You can see a few pieces of newspaper that didn't decompose.)

Our plan is to break up these clods a little better, smooth out the area,

and then cover with mulch.

We'll set a couple of Adirondack chairs here

along with a few other items of interest...maybe our fire pit?

Forecast is for warm weather soon. Just not yet. First some wind and rain.

Dwarfed and Timid

Dwarfed and timid, these were the only flowers showing up in our flower beds this morning.

I don't blame them! It is downright COLD out there!

It's very hard to be patient.

Sunrise

I looked out our window toward the WEST this morning before church.

Seeing this scene, I went to the front porch to be closer to the beauty.

My small cellphone camera did its best to capture the red of the trees

as they blushed in the light of the sunrise.

It was SO beautiful. It took my breath away.

Real or Best April Fools Prank in the Garden World

What do YOU think? Can it be? I'd be SO excited if this is true!
Melissa is so Down To Earth!
Is she also a prankster of major proportion???

I can't wait to hear more.

Click on the title of her blog above to find out what it's all about.

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony. William Henry Channing 1810-1884

Irises come in many forms, shapes, colors and sizes and the sword-like foliage is attractive when the plant is not in bloom. The genus Iris is a large genus of bulbous and rhizomatous perennials.

The Iris was named after the goddess of the rainbow because of its many colors.
A flower on the Sphinx is considered to be an Iris, and another appears on a bas-relief of the 18th Egyptian dynasty.
Pliny also knew the Iris and praised its medicinal virtues.
The Iris was also a favourite flower of the Moslems, who took it to Spain after their conquest in the 8th century.

Bought at a local plant sale, Spring of 2009 Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium; syn. Chrysanthemum parthenium (L.) Pers., Pyrethrum parthenium Sm.) is a traditional medicinal herb which is found in many old gardens, and is also occasionally grown for ornament. The plant grows into a small bush up to around 18 inches high, with citrus-scented leaves and is covered by flowers reminiscent of daisies. It spreads rapidly, and they will cover a wide area after a few years. It is also commonly seen in the literature by its synonyms, Chrysanthemum parthenium (L.) Bernh. and Pyrethrum parthenium (L.) Sm.

I'D PICK MORE DAISIES
If I could live my life again
I'd be a little lazy
I'd stop this rushing to and fro
And stop and pick more daisies
Through all the lovely summer months
Though days be clear or hazy
No more to fret over tasks undone,
I'd stop to pick a daisy
Not so important what I did
This fact time now discloses
While running through life's garden green
I'd stop to smell the roses
If I could hold my little ones
The children in my care
I'd scold them less and love them more
With so much love to share
If I could pass this way again
Though folks might think I'm crazy
I'd work and worry less, but I'd
Take time to pick a daisy
The rush of life has passed me by
Now I have leisure hours
But time has taken such a toll
It's too late to pick the flowers.

Mildred F. Rowe

MEASURE YOUR HEALTH...by your sympathy with morning and spring. If there is no response in you to the awakening of nature, if the prospect of an early morning walk does not banish sleep, if the warble of the first bluebird does not thrill you--know that the morning and the spring of your life are past. Thus may you feel your pulse. (Thoreau)

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on the trees and flowers and clouds and stars." (Martin Luther)

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

The soul of a child is the loveliest flower
That grows in the garden of God
It's climb is from weakness to knowledge and power,
To the sky from the clay to the clod.
To beauty and sweetness it grows under care
Neglected, 'tis ragged and wild.
'Tis a plant that is tender, but wondrously rare,
The sweet wistfull soul of a child.

Be tender, O Gardener, and give it it's share
Of moisture, of warmth and of light,
And let it not lack for th painstaking care
To protect it from frost and from blight.
A glad day will come when it's bloom shall unfold,
It will seem that an angel has smiled,
Reflecting a beauty and sweetness untold
In the sensitive soul of a child.

...Author Unknown

Thy Word is like a garden, Lord,
With flowers bright and fair;
And every one who seeks may pluck
A lovely cluster there.
Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine,
And jewels rich and rare
Are hidden in its mighty depths
For every searcher there.

Thy Word is like a starry host:
A thousand rays of light
Are seen to guard the traveler,
And make his pathway bright.
Thy Word is like an armory,
Where soldiers may repair,
And find, for life's long battle-day,
All needful weapons there.

Oh, may I love Thy precious Word,
May I explore the mine,
May I its fragrant flowers glen,
May light upon me shine!
Oh, may I find my armor there!
Thy Word my trusty sword,
I'll learn to fight with every foe
The battle of the Lord.

(Edwin Hodder, Thy Word Is Like a Garden, Lord)