juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN

The Rocks Cry Out!

I'll find another spot for the stone (bottom left) that I removed to make a place for "Home Sweet Home" ...

...while THIS stone seems comfortable here next to another entrance to our front porch. I felt blessed to find both of them at a garage sale yesterday for $1@. I am soothed by the silent messages these rocks convey. I hope our guests feel the same!

September Sadness

I'm not sure why I was sad as I strolled through our yard this morning...

Could it be the thinning of leaves,

the straggly awkwardness of once-proud perennials,

the strong hints of the coming "deadness" of winter,

or the regrets for things neglected in season past?

The squirrels seem to notice NONE of it - scampering and screeching

far too fast for my camera to catch their activity.

I'll take a lesson from them and apply myself to tasks at hand today.

Focused, thorough and (hopefully) productive.

At Last! My Asters!

I've longed for some of these blue asters for several years now.

Finally, this week, I sought information at our local nursery.

"Technically, they're annuals," I was told. "But with good root stimulator and winter mulching, mine are in their third year," she added.

Maybe I shouldn't have, but I opted for a smaller container at our Meijer store ($1.99)

and bought two instead of one more expensive one at the nursery...

Planted in the bed directly behind our garage, they share space with these beautiful companions...

wild mums (unshaped with prolific blooms, and sedum--tall and regal).

Labor Day Play

Sunday evening. Sadly, no pictures of Abigail or Gramma!

As August Wanes...

Almost as if taking its color cue from the pink geraniums at its feet, this sedum has begun to assume its autumn tint...

One of many butterflies seen around our yard today finds pleasure on this bloom.

This dragon fly is gathering solar power. Tonight it will glow brightly in front of our house (see a recent post for the night view).

These black-eyed Susans SHOULD have been deadheaded or trimmed today. I just hate to see them go! They've been steady bloomers throughout a most hot and dry season.

Nightscape

Solar-charged over the past two days, these three delightful creatures are shining brightly in front of our house this morning! I had admired them at a friend's lake cottage, and a week ago she delivered a set to me. As their colors slowly "morph" from one to another, they stand in brilliant contrast to the dark shadows in which they are hiding.

Do you have any solar powered beauty in YOUR yard?

...and then the Batteries Died!

There would have been so many MORE beautiful scenes to capture at Lakeside Park last night had my phone batteries not died! Of course, the roses are mostly finished, but many annuals were still wearing their colors. There was a breeze in the air, the sky was clear, and folks of every age were enjoying the many recreational facilities in this well-maintained city park. We found a bench to sit on and read the books we'd brought along. It was delightful!

9,000 Words (if a picture is worth a thousand words...)

Thanks to "The Empress"

Thanks, Melissa! I was the happy winner of her recent giveaway--this GREAT book. Be sure to visit The Empress of Dirt and enjoy her writing and gardening perspective. (I do almost every day!)

The Cabin is one of two "sheds" on our property. It houses our extra bedroom as well as providing us with a place to get away from the phone and front-door traffic...

We have a second shed. Two-thirds of it provides storage for yard & garden equipment. The other side is full of my "stuff". (It was SUPPOSED to be a sitting area with a view of one of our small flower gardens...)

"Eye" Wood....

"Eye wood" love to show you some of the wooden objects scattered around our yard and garden as I observed them this morning....

There's something about the sight of old wood that calms me down. Settles me. Soothes me.

(I'm sure it doesn't do that for everyone.)

How about you? Do you have old wood in your garden scheme?

Heat Hearty

I'm not sure HOW they manage to look so fresh in this oppressive heat!

I think I detected a sigh of relief from these I brought into the air-conditioned house yesterday!

"What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance."

-- Jane Austen

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)