juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN: August 2011

Regrets? I've Had a Few

I regret that I didn't take the minutes to walk a block up the road

to look at this front yard sooner.

Drove past frequently...but didn't take time to walk up with my camera this year.

Now it is defined more by what "had been" than what actually is.

On the way there, I stopped to admire these--

casually growing near the road around a utility pole.
What scrumptious colors!

I returned home to my OWN front yard

and noted a few maintenance chores awaiting me.

Maybe today before tomorrow's predicted heat?

A Farewell to August

The flowers on these hosta are a very light lavender color.

Their color doesn't show up so well in the photos.

This plant (I once knew what it was) is FILLED with buds!

Right now its flowers are few and far between...

The sedum and mum DWARF the blue bowling ball!

This mum may be one of the few I have that will bloom properly.

The others are awfully "leggy"...

These columbine seed pods stand with dignity--beautiful in their own right.

"August rushes by like desert rainfall,
A flood of frenzied upheaval,
Expected,
But still catching me unprepared.
Like a matchflame
Bursting on the scene,
Heat and haze of crimson sunsets.
Like a dream
Of moon and dark barely recalled,
A moment,
Shadows caught in a blink.
Like a quick kiss;
One wishes for more
But it suddenly turns to leave,
Dragging summer away."
- Elizabeth Maua Taylor

Glass, Spheres and Circles in our Yard

Glass Sphere

Grape Vine Circle

Green Glass

Blue Sphere

Hosta and More

Not until downloading this picture did I notice the weed growing in the hosta!

And a ladder. And what appears to be an antenna "growing" along with the weed!

Nonetheless, these are some of my favorite hosta blooms.

Sky

I took this picture through a car window as I drove this country road this morning. It didn't capture the strange formations appearing to beam down from the clouds. In real life, they appeared gray. Here they show up white. It was strange. As it is, the picture actually turned out quite beautifully. I need to take more time looking up instead of around and down...

In the Pink

The sedum blooms in front of our house are already turning pink!
I compared them with my pictures from last year.
They weren't this pink on the 27th in 2010, so we're ahead of last year!

*"In the pink" is an idiom meaning "in perfect condition, especially of health".)

Above, several clumps of Surprise Lilies are in the pink among the sedum and hosta green,

while black-eyed Susan hold their own throughout the bed.

A few hardy mums have started to bloom.
I trimmed them back around the 4th of July, but here they are. Already blooming!

It's easy to be deceived into thinking autumn

given the cool evenings we're currently enjoying.

It may be the last year for this particular bird.

He's been vigilant at his post for more years than I realize!
My husband has repaired him to stand one more season,
but there's a limit to his endurance.

Surprised! (Again)

Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, Naked Lady
Latin: Lycoris squamigera

Every year they live up to one of their names - "Surprise Lilies"!

Late last week I was sure this one was the only one.

Fast forward to this morning.

They're EVERYwhere...

...and in EVERY stage of bloom!

How I'm loving it!

Fun in the Sun

After a bit of work refashioning a sprawling bush,

our activities turned toward play

and exploration.

Grandchildren have a way of bringing out the best of

one's backyard on a lovely summer day.

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)

Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, Naked Lady Latin: Lycoris squamigera

Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, Naked Lady
Latin: Lycoris squamigera