juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN

Flowers at the Abbey of Gethsemani

These were only a part of my surroundings during the five days I spent at the Abbey.

I returned home with excitement to see what was blooming HERE!

A Reluctant and Temporary Farewell

to early hosta flower...

first flower on last clematis vine to bloom...

spiderwort (that was shutting down for the evening)...

always the roses...

blossoms on unknown tree (too late for dogwood, I think)...

messy mulberry tree...

and unexpected iris, transplanted earlier after my North Carolina brother
gifted me with it...

Yesterday while my husband mowed the lawn, I cut back the dead leaves of early bulb flowers, divided and transplanted a bleeding heart bush, weeded various beds, and filled in parts of the new bed behind the shed with rocks and aanother transplanted hosta and a Rose of Sharon bush.

Tomorrow morning I'll leave for a week at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Rumor has it that I won't have cell phone or internet access, so it appears I won't be able to transmit news or photos of the lovely scenery I will be enjoying. I reluctantly leave our yard and garden but know they're in my good husband's capable hands. I'll update Scene in our Garden when I return.

Our Second-Hand Garden

This young dove seemed too young to respond to our near presence last night as we passed by the arbor at our local County Extension Garden. Located about eight miles or so from our home, we try to visit it at least bi-weekly during the spring, summer and autumn months. This second-hand garden experience benefits us in many ways including:

Familiarizing us with names of a variety of plants
Showing us the life cycle of unfamiliar flowers
Giving us ideas of what may work in our yard/garden
Prompting us regarding garden maintenance (pruning, mulching, dead-heading)
Pleasuring us with colors and scents we don't have in our garden
Exposing us to plants we don't have room for or conditions to cultivate successfully on our property
Suggesting landscapingpossibilities
Providing peaceful and relaxing recreation after a hard day of work.
It's FREE entertainment!

The astillbe were particularly amazing last night!

Is there a garden in your vicinity that you frequent? What do you find enjoyable and educational about it?

Not in MY Garden! (Yet)

While walking in a neighboring town yesterday, I saw this sight. (From a distance, it was only COLOR I saw--and it was striking!) I couldn't get enough of the close-up view...

Actually, this is not a color I would probably have in our yard and garden. But that doesn't keep me from admiring it in someone else's scheme! It took my breath away. As did the colors in this window box...

Are there colors YOU admire when you see them that you can't imagine in your own yard or garden?
You can see a few of the other sights we saw here.

Too Wet to Wander

Spirea...just started to bloom. This bush was distressed 2 years ago, transplanted, and now doing OK. It's shape is not the best--but then, neither is mine! It's too wet to wander far from the beaten path this morning, but here are a few other sights that met my eye in the front of our house...

Can you see the white astillbe in the background above? And below, a dusty rose one?

I saw this hummingbird peeking out a trash can one day and rescued it.
Now it hovers protectively over some miscellaneous perennials.

Astillbe. Up close and personal.

What Gardener Worth His Salt Sits?

Sitting in your garden is a feat to be worked at with unflagging determination and single-mindedness - for what gardener worth his salt sits down. I am deeply committed to sitting in the garden.- Mirabel Osler

Having read that, I feel less embarrassed by the number of seats we have in our yard and garden!
Dare I confess, we have a few more than these?!

He Did - She Did

He did. Hung these shutters on the shed
and rear garage window (in the cool of the evening).

She did earlier (in the cool of the morning)...

Trimmed a couple of TALL bushes and transplanted these hosta and a fern behind the shed.

In the Cool of the Day

...the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day...Genesis 3:8

This bush was full of buds this morning! If you recognize it, I'd sure appreciate knowing what it is! The full bush is to the left on the photo below...

Beardstooth (above and below) is one of my husband's favorite plants.

Other sights around our yard include a pair of these large wrought iron candle holders...the washtub hanging on our cabin, a double-heart wind chime,

these chairs that never seem to weather themselves out...

and a few more miscellaneous items....

I couldn't resist taking yet another picture of the clematis - flowers vying with unopened blossoms for space on their support.

How about this for clutter? This area is beside our garage. It has been too wet to do much here.
Well, that's my excuse anyway. Looks like the Lamb's Ear is about ready to flower.
Now--to the work while it is still cool enough to do it!

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)