juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN

A Good Day to Stay Inside

The view looking out the same window as my last post!

The wind must have been from a different direction...

I've not seen snow on our screens like this all winter.

More than we Need...

"There seems to be so much more winter than we need this year." ~ Kathleen Norris

Seeing so many blooms on some of the garden blogs I visit make me very, VERY excited about spring. However, I think we have a bit of winter to experience here yet. Some of the snow IS melting these days, and the wind is blowing - hopefully evaporating some of the potential flood waters.

I found these paintings of irises in a thrift store yesterday. I will have to settle for them for awhile, I guess.

Until spring...

Blizzard of 2011

Inside...looking out last night...blizzard warnings in effect...very little traffic on our normally-busy road...

The scene off our front porch this morning.

Great friends, father & son, with heavy-duty equipment
made quick work of the snow that fell during the night.

Meanwhile, more falling.

Where There's Shadow, There MUST Be Sun!

It seems we haven't had enough blue sky in January!

But this LAST day of the month began with blue sky and sunshine.

I'll shed no tears for January tomorrow.

Wonderland by Night II

These scenes greeted me as I stepped out our front door this morning.

Crisp air;

Skiff of snow.

A Winter Addition to your Gardening Library

A vintage (1957) 231 page gardening book in its dustcover

filled with beautiful paintings by Else Bostelmann

illustrating both flower and vegetable gardens from all over the world.

Additional photos, illustrations and extensive written descriptions

make this book an interesting diversion

on days that look like THIS!

Scene on the way to the grocery store today.

I am selling the book for $2 plus postage.

Inquire in your comment if you're interested.

(I believe it would be a welcome addition to ANY gardener's library.)
Do YOU have a favorite vintage gardening book???

Red in the Morning

It was quite impossible to capture the red of this morning with the cell phone I held in my hands. The sight was breathtaking. True to the rhyme, we are to have freezing rain and sleet this evening and during the night...

Red sky at morning, sailor take warning;

Red sky at night, sailor's delight.

...scene through our tall, backyard pine tree

So Much Beauty--So Little Time

The rush I was in to get to church this morning kept me from capturing much of the beauty of the snow and patterns of frost that surrounded me on every hand. By the time church was over, most of it had melted. I hope many of you had the thrill of a similar view today.

Our Bells in Winter

A bell's not a bell 'til you ring it;

A song's not a song 'til you sing it;.

Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay.

Love isn't love 'til you give it away.

Inside and Outside

Outside, the frost was on the bowling ball - and the berries this morning!

I thought it interesting that the hosta & sedum collaborated to make a sort of wreath...visible now that the rain has washed away the snow temporarily.

Now to get down to inside "BUSINESS"...

Is anyone interested in any of these books? (You probably know you can click on the pictures to enlarge them and see the titles better...)

In my intentions to declutter in 2011, I am regretfully ready to

pass these on.

Make me an offer for the whole lot of them (I'm VERY motivated), or specify your choice at $3 each (plus postage). There are a few classics here. I have simply run out of room.

Christmas Blooms and Blossoms

It's hard to beat a bright red poinsettia for Christmas beauty, in my opinion. This was just a small one. They seemed to be plentiful this year and reasonably priced, too!

I got a NEW Christmas cactus for myself this year. I think I watered the one I received last year too frequently, so I'm trying again.

This hydrangea was a gift. I sure hope I can keep it alive through the winter. I don't have one in our yard/garden and would love to plant this one in the spring.

I See the Moon...

War talk by men who have been in a war is always interesting; whereas moon talk by a poet who has not been in the moon is likely to be dull. (Mark Twain)

Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon...(Walter De La Mare)

The sky was awesome last night!
It was as though the moon was "practicing" for tonight's eclipse...

My "camera" is my cell phone.
I'm not complaining. Just making a statement.

A Generous Garden Gift!

...painted on slate

I'm SO thrilled to have received this special gift yesterday from a special friend. It is DOUBLY appreciated because it was painted by her mother!

As soon as the outdoor temperature rises enough to suit me, I'll take a tour of Gatescroft and find the perfect spot for it. Meanwhile, I have it propped up in a prominent indoor spot where I can sit and smile at it...

Wonderland by Day

This is why I don't cut my perennials back in the fall...

Wonderland by Night

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)