juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN: June 2015

End of June

In between rains

(storms, actually)

weeds and flowers

grow here with abandon.

It's next to impossible to keep up.

I'm itching to get my hands (gloves, actually) on the thistles

and volunteer trees taking up space in our flower beds!

Theirs and Ours

These two (separate) shade gardens were the inspiration for

one of our own that I am slowly developing.

Here, below, is ours...

I'm not planning a lot - just sticking in hosta, sedum, fern and heuchera as I go.

The wet weather has been favorable to my random planting.

In another year or two, this shade bed will be full and running over!

Between Rains

Between rain (and LOTS of it)

we've mowed every chance we get

and weeded and weeded and weeded!

I transplanted a few hosta and other plants

to create a shade garden under a large viburnum "tree".

One of these days I 'll take a photo of the bed

along with my "inspiration photos".

Quiet Corner

Greeted by this sign along the parking lot -

a precursor somehow to the serenity of the wild, welcoming

place called Quiet Corner Tea and Coffee Room.

Its tearooms offer sandwiches, soups, quiches and desserts

all delicious and freshly made.

We chose to eat in the smaller, older of the two rooms

where we looked out to the trails and watched birds come and go at the feeders.

After lunch, a stroll along the trails..

Accompanied by our guide, Duke.

A few sights along the trail...

and then we reluctantly returned to our car for the ride home.

Quiche it was for me followed by strawberry/rhubarb pie.

For the Main Gardener, chicken salad on wheat, a hearty vegetable soup with rivels
and Snicker cake.

A Formidable Task

What a formidable challenge he faced!

Undaunted, he dug in...

Bedsides weeds, the size of perennials required ruthless thinning.

Strength, patience and perserverence

are words I use to describe my husband at so MANY levels!

Weed and Read

Some of the FIRST blooms of the season are the most exciting ones to me.

I try to enjoy them in spite of the fact that the weeds are multiplying

faster and farther than I remember them doing other years.

Our weather overall has seemed very cool and very wet

which no doubt contributes to their abundance.

Last night, my Main Gardener and I sat and read for a short while.

The storm clouds were moving toward us, and when the wind

started to pick up, we resumed our reading inside.

green, green, it's green they say....

Rains have finally ceased enough to allow some serious weeding!

G. took these photos after working one bed

to document progress, I think.

I came home to admire his work

and was enchanted by the flowering of the bush-trimmed tree-like (below).

Green, green! It IS green.

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)