juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN: July 2014

You Have Not Because You Ask Not

It's a simple flower, I know.....
but I've wanted one of these coneflowers for a long, LONG time.

Today, while visiting a friend at the lake, I noticed she had a few...

so I asked if I might have one.

Now I have one - right here in one of my own flower beds!

"You have not because you ASK not." (James 4:3)

8,000 Words

If one picture is worth a thousand words..

Cool Morning Reflections

Compared to the flamboyant display of the day lilies and Russian sage,

our black-eyed Susans appear unusually timid.

It's rather unusual, I think.

They usually are pushy and bloom with little concern of overtaking

everything else around them.

Meanwhile, the hosta are following the examples

of the day lilies and sage!

The unseasonably cool weather we're currently enjoying

makes strolling in our yard SO delightful.

Trimmed

Years - MANY years - ago, we "lifted the skirts" (thanks to Outlaw Gardener for this

apt description) of this odd evergreen that we inherited when we bought the house.

We liked the trimmed up version better than the original.

However, its triple peaks have been annoying me for quite awhile.

It was time to give it a hair cut.

And so he did.

Not perfect. But SO much better.

Tara Dillard posted this quote that is VERY reassuring to me--
particularly during THIS season of our lives:
"A little studied negligence is becoming to a garden."
~Eleanor Perenyi, 1918-2009, American Author of Green Thoughts

Consider the Lilies

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow.

They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor

was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,

which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,

will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith?

So do not worry." (Jesus, Matthew 6)

De-Limbed

"De-limbed". A term I read on another garden blog.

Can't think of a better way to say it!

What a difference.

Irresistible!

I wish I'd read Pam's advice before I took this photo of a giant thistle

Saturday at our local County Extension Gardens.

It really WAS amazing - taller than my husband, I'm sure.

It was off the beaten path, but thanks to a Master Gardener working there,

we found it--along with many, many other beautiful flowers...

It really IS great advice.
And I can't think of anyone who does it more naturally than
Sue (and Allan) at the Tangly Cottage Gardening blog.

It's one of the reasons I find them so irresistible!
Yes. I'm a big fan of Tangly Garden.

(All these - and so much more - at the Extension Gardens. Always delightful.)

Nothing New, Really...

While strolling (limping, actually) out to dead-head some of our white roses,

this was some of what I passed.

Nothing new, really.

Just our simple (and somewhat neglected) flowers, yard and beds.

And weeds. Lots of weeds.

Our physical limitations this spring have resulted in a bit of neglect,

I fear. Still, there is pleasure to be found. And we are.

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)