juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN: June 2011

Woe is Me

After a rather serious case of poison ivy

following my weeding frenzy Friday morning,

I'm sticking to yard art this morning.

I'll figure out what to do about the poison ivy
that has popped up in our flower beds another day.

Any suggestions?

Meanwhile, I hide from my public.

My face is not a pretty one!

Too Hot to Handle

Yesterday afternoon, in spite of the heat and humidity, I deadheaded the rose bushes.

Looks like more of the same weather for today.

It's going to be "too hot to handle" the tools, I think...

On a quick morning survey of The Beds, I notice the lilies are about to break open...

the clematis are breath-takingly beautiful...

the hosta are flowering...

and so are the weeds growing under other hosta plants!

I just don't have the heart to uproot them now

when their blue & yellow flowers look so cheerful.

The wooden cardinal remains steadfast at his lookout post
no matter WHAT the weather.

"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it."
-- Russell Baker

Before It Happens...

Somehow, when spring comes each year, I've forgotten how large my perennials grow!

I clearly need to revisit this photo of the front & side of our front porch NEXT spring

when I can divide and transplant some of these plants!

Today they dwarf the stepping stones leading from our front sidewalk

to the side yard...

This same photo also reveals a very bold weed! How could I have missed THAT?

And there in the background is the old rose bush

that has blossomed so proudly this year...

This plant's name escaped me a few years ago
and hasn't returned yet.

(I DO remember selecting it and planting it though...)

I had NO idea it would grow so large!

Do YOU have any tips for anticipating and adjusting for plant growth

before it happens?

A Senior Moment???

For the rest of this post, you'll have to go HERE.

The title was "Brrrrrr! It's Cold (Almost).

I composed it and mistakenly placed it on the wrong blog

and was too lazy to move it!

Must have been a "senior moment".
I hate it when that happens!
It was a really good post.

Three Blooms in a Bed

Spiderwort in full bloom...

lovely violas...

and even the hosta are getting in on the show!

These are three of the blooming beauties

in the corner of one of our flower beds

on this sunny and cool morning.

A Come As You Are Party

"You should get a picture of your 'flower'," he said as he came in from his car.

So I did. Weeds and all.

It's a kind of "Come As You Are" party.

Remember those?

Red, White and Blue

Like so many others that I'm seeing,

our white roses have outdone themselves the past few days!

I'm not sure what this blue flower is....I don't think I missed its full bloom.

Maybe more to come?
Update: Bachelor's Button/Cornflower it is!
Thanks, Wanda AND Nan.

...and another look at our Epson salt, miracle roses.

(Actually, I'll never know whether it was the salt

or just the favorable weather.)

A Productive Monday

Early this morning, I took advantage of the "cool" and weeded in this flower bed.

I rearranged some tiles and metal tubes to line this path that crosses the bed.

This evening, my husband replaced the boards on this rusty stand.

I'll have fun placing it SOMEwhere in the yard tomorrow!

Feverfew (above)

and one of my husband's favorites below in front of the old watering can.

(I'll think of its name -- probably in the middle of the night!

I think it has "tooth" in its name.)

Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'

I have no idea where I got the idea
there might be "tooth" in the name!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Yesterday there were only buds...

Today the sun is so bright that my pictures didn't turn out

as well as I had hoped...

There were many OTHER things blooming

as we strolled around our yard this afternoon.

I almost pulled the ground cover(?) growing between the stepping stones

in front of our house. This afternoon, they are blooming.

Maybe it really IS ground cover and not aggressive weeds!
I wonder if my friend on Sherlock Street knows?????

I can't get enough pictures of clematis.

They photograph so easily and are so beautiful.

Almost/Not Quite

Above, the view through the lattice "wall" of our small back patio...

Almost, but not quite...

This is the rose bush around which I worked Epson salt

into the soil.

The white bushes surrounding our backyard cabin are FULL of buds.

Before long they will be dancing with blooms.

I have trouble capturing their beauty with my cell phone camera.

June Arrives--Full of Beauty

I've lost the identification tag on THIS one (above).

I'd forgotten that it flowers!
Lamium it is! (Sherlock Street to the rescue - again.)

These little robins must have been fresh out of the nest.

They didn't know enough to be afraid!

The irises are putting on quite a show!

Seems that everywhere their flowers are stunningly beautiful.

A young clematis & a more mature astilbe play their roles in our flower beds.

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)