juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN: hosta

Showing posts with label hosta. Show all posts

Leaning

Seems to me the hosta flowers in the front of our house

are leaning more than other years....

Maybe because of the size of them?

Process

Late Monday afternoon..

the process began.

The woman's work was to rescue the random stalks

of hosta from under the pitchfork-tossed mulch.

Two flower beds completed in surprisingly little time;

dinner at the local cafe and G headed back out to mow.

All on a Saturday Morning

BEFORE
The morning of the 4th of July seemed like a good time

to address this area--a disaster after the repair of our basement wall.
AFTER

Fortunately, there were plenty of hosta and sedum in our flower beds

to divide and plant.

By noon, we had basically planted the entire bed.

G. even made a trip to the big box store to purchase some mulch, but

after pricing it by the bag, we decided to wait until next week and buy it in bulk.

Once the mulch is spread, we'll place the stepping "stones"

and lay out a path through our newest creation!

All on a Saturday morning.

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!

Garden Tours - Real and Virtual

It's too hot and humid to do much. I'm kind of a wimp that way....

Anyway, I'm having too much virtual fun touring gardens with the West Coast Contingency!

Here and Here!

How I wish I could have been at this study weekend/tour with them...

Meanwhile, these two photos of stalwart plants

from our simple space brought me pleasure this morning.

AND in a few minutes, we're off to The City for a real Garden Tour ourselves!

We'll be packing plenty of water and wearing loose clothing!

One Thing Leads to Another

My husband's thorough garden shed cleaning last night

uncovered some long-forgotten potential Yard Art!

So we hung THIS particular piece on the front porch,

and I went to work stenciling the two sides of this shovel/spade.

(Do you know how difficult it is to think of single words to deck a spade?!?)

I waited for morning's light - which comes much later these days - to take these photos.

I couldn't quite capture the true essence of our side yard

or the lavender flowers on this hosta as I rounded the front corner of our house,.

but, as you can see, one thing led to another...

Unsophisticated Splendor

I stepped outside into temporary sunshine to check the rain gauge.

Another 2" of rain has fallen here with more forecast for the next three days!

I couldn't help but notice the unsophisticated splendor of the hosta...

right "up there" with the unsophisticated assemblage on our front porch!

I had to document even MORE unsophisticated potential

represented by this first of a multitude of flowers waiting in the wings!

What Unsophisticated Pleasures do YOU enjoy in your garden?

Re-Arranging

"Yeah. THAT'S the one!"

Before he went to work this morning, I asked my husband

to remove that huge hosta.

I had a plan.

One of our old, garage-sale-purchased chairs now sits comfortably

in the shade of a large bush, trimmed to be a tree.

That being done, I turned my attention to one of our flower beds

looking for places to plant the uprooted hosta which I divided into FIVE!

Till it was all over, I had quite a pile of weeds and foilage

trimmed back from the fading Surprise Lilies...

All-in-all, it was a satisfying way to spend

a few morning hours of (is it already?)

one of the last days of spring 2013.

It looks a little fuller from THIS angle, doesn't it?
Oh, Marsha....(or anyone else who know).
I meant to ask if I'm cultivating a weed here (below).
Does ANYone know?

Mid-June Walk-About

Things are changing so rapidly in our flower beds!

Some things go...

others come.

(Have I asked for help before identifying the plant above?

If I get the name of it, I'll put it in my sidebar so I can remember it!)

Rusty stuff always finds its way into our beds!

Above, an old Christmas tree stand;

below a rake head.

And I guess you notice that I like the variegated varieties of hosta and sedum...

I'm still trying to figure out a place for this mirror.

I think it's destined to wander.

Enjoy YOUR day in YOUR yard and garden. Time is flying by!

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)