In My Garden

June 23, 2014 · 1:49 am

MIRACLES

This morning’s sermon was about miracles.

A reminder of those familiar Bible stories

And a challenge to think about miracles

In life today.

For gardeners this is not really a challenge.

We spend our time observing nature

Digging in the dirt

(Sorry Daddy – soil)

And watching what are for me

Miracles everyday.

Who among us can turn this

into this?

Plant a seed or plant

and you end up with this…

or this…

It can’t possibly be what we do.

I for one, can’t even imagine how this happens

Yet it does.

Season after season.

Year after year.

Now there are weeds along the way.

This particular season it seems to be

Crab grass in my garden

And there are years when

Things don’t go as we hope and plan.

For instance it’s another year of limited hydrangea blooms.

But all in all

The miracles are there

Every day.

We just have to stop

And look

And open ourselves to see them

Everywhere.

Gail

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Filed under Clematis, Gloriosa Daisy, Larkspur, Lilies, Miracles, Perennials, Poppy, roses, Seeds, self seeding annuals, Stella d Ora Daylily, Uncategorized

Tagged as Miracles

June 16, 2014 · 1:19 am

PUSHING TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE

There’s a theory when designing a perennial border

That plants should be placed according to their height.

Short in the front

Tall in the back.

Kind of like the order of an elementary class picture.

And orderly it is

Or would be

If everyone stayed put.

But over time

Things seem to move around.

I rely on several self seeding annuals

To fill in between the perennials, flowering shrubs and roses.

So over the years the number of plants increase

As do the seeds they produce

And the more disorganized it all becomes.

This has been going on for a while now

But this year

It’s as if everyone has run out of patience

And pushed to the front of the line.

Especially my lovely pink Hollyhock.

The seeds came from Patti when she lived next door.

The number has sadly reduced over the years.

This year I only have one good stand.

Right on the front edge of the garden.

Tall

Stately

And totally in the wrong place.

Now, in case you don’t know Hollyhocks

They don’t transplant

Because they have a tap-root.

So, where they sprout

Is where they stay.

The other major offender of front to back order

Is Larkspur.

Lately it seems to want to sprout

Along the edge of every path.

Then it lays down on the path

It has totally covered the Stella d Ora

I thought I was edging my garden in

All those years ago.

So, exactly how am I to restore “order”

To the front of this border.

Simple

I don’t

I surrender.

My garden has very deep beds

For that reason I’ve made brick paths

To divide it into manageable pieces

Giving me a place to walk

And keeping me from compacting the soil.

But it also gives me a logical path for wondering.

And wondering is something I love to do

Because often I

Wander as I wonder.

Gail

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Filed under Garden Planning, Gardening, Gardening;Perennials, hollyhocks, Larkspur, patience, Seeds, self seeding annuals, Stella d Ora Daylily

May 27, 2014 · 1:19 am

STARTING AND STOPPING

At long last we’re getting rain.

Not tons of it

But rain just the same.

Soft showers

Interspersed with real rain.

Throughout this long weekend.

So my gardening has followed the rain.

Starting and stopping

As the weather allows.

It’s actually nice.

Cool days

Soft soil

Perfect for weeding

And planting more seed.

So I’ve decided to run a little experiment.

Since we are having a bit cooler than usual spring.

I’m thinking I still have time to plant

Cool season seeds.

Lettuce – Arugula – Radishes – Bush Beans

I know

It’s way past time to plant these.

But I’m experimenting with a little

Micro climate vegetable gardening.

So…as I’ve weeded the edge of the garden

And along the paths

I’ve planted all of the above.

Some in sun like I’ve always done

And this year in dappled shady areas

To see if I can have fresh greens

Later into the season.

We’ll hope it works.

I’ll let you know.

And when it rained

I arranged flowers

In my friend Beth’s fun Fiesta pitchers.

And oh yes…

There was this.

While thunder rolled through the state

The Thunder rolled over the Spurs.

What a fun weekend!

Gail

P.S. I realize these pictures have nothing to do with the subject.

But pictures of seed packets and hoes just are all that much fun!

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Filed under Arugula, Bouquets, Flower Arrangements, Gloriosa Daisy, Larkspur, Lettuce, OKC Thunder Basketball, Poppy, Radishes, Seeds, Stella d Ora Daylily, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Tagged as Arugula, Gloriosa Daisies, Larkspur, Lettuce, Poppies, Stella d Ora Daylily, Vegetable Garden

May 19, 2014 · 12:51 am

GARDEN QUESTIONS

Blogging is a curious adventure.

Some weeks ideas pop into my mind

All week-long.

Other weeks

Like this one

The mind is a void.

Not an idea at all.

So with the clock ticking away

On this Sunday evening.

I simply went into the garden

Breezy evening that it is

And clicked away.

Like any garden stroll

Questions arise.

So tonight

We’ll just do a little review

Of what’s blooming.

And ask a few questions

That popped into my mind.

The roses continue to bloom

And thrill my soul.

The staples in my garden

Are Katy Road Pink

And Belinda’s Dream.

But this week

Some new and old friends

Have been making me smile.

In my quest to add yellow roses

Sorry Daddy (he disliked yellow roses)

Julia Child is happily blooming away.

Then two that I dug and brought

From my old garden

Are the best they have ever been.

If only I knew their name.

It’s poppy season here.

And the rosy red ones that dot my garden

Remind me of my neighbor Patti

And the fun we had gardening

Back and forth over the fence

That attempted to divide our yards.

I can’t look at a poppy or a lady bug

Without smiling and remembering Patti.

Now for the questions

What’s the deal with the Redbud trees?

The are loaded

No, over loaded with seed pods.

So much so that the branches are

Hanging even lower than usual.

It seems to be a good year for seed pods

Not only Redbuds

But the Silver Leaf Maple has produced

Enough “helicopters” to replant

The southern plains.

So…did you ever wonder

Why columbine has these funny little

Spear like things coming off

The back of the bloom?

I’m not sure I really want to know the answer

To my questions.

You see

I love the mystery.

Of nature

And of life.

Gail

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Filed under Columbine, Gardening, Redbud Trees, roses, spring

Tagged as Columbine, Nature, Poppies, Redbud Trees, Roses

May 12, 2014 · 1:34 am

THE LUSTY MONTH OF MAY

Every time I looked at my garden this week.

Alan Lerner’s words from Camelot

Kept going through my head.

“It’s May, It’s May

The LUSTY month of May.”

And lusty it is.

Roses

Peonies

Iris

Columbine

Allium

I don’t know how Mother Nature pulls it off

But every year on Mother’s Day

My garden hits its spring stride.

There is still much to come

But this week

It’s glorious.

With lots of blousy blooms.

Perhaps it’s Mother Nature’s way

Of honoring mothers.

Those who nurture

And prod

And encourage things to grow.

Happy Mother’s Day

Gail

Image (2)

Four generations of the women of my family circa early 1950’s

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Filed under Allium, Columbine, Iris, Peonies, roses, spring

Tagged as Allium, Columbine, Iris, Peonies, Roses, Spring flowers

May 4, 2014 · 11:38 pm

PERENNIAL PLACES

At some point early in my gardening days

I decided on a perennial garden.

My memory is it grew out of my desire to have flowers to cut.

My friend Sally passed along some Gloriosa Daisies

The morning the backhoe showed up in her garden.

I was off to a good start.

Over the ensuing decades I’ve bought,

Been given, planted, nurtured and killed

More plants that I care, or would want to count.

I’ve had two big perennial gardens

With a borrowed temporary garden in between.

Yet, every year this time I’m amazed with what I see

In my own backyard.

It’s the rhythm of life

Played out in a growing season.

It is life

With all of its surprises and disappointments

Joys and sadness.

This has been a week

That has reminded me

Of my life chosen to live

In this “perennial place”.

In the span of a few days

I’ve watched my garden

Go from dying back tulips

To the first blooms of Iris

And Peonies.

With lots of buds coming soon.

Life beyond the garden

Brought this delightful note

From the lady who delivers our morning paper.

A few curves thrown my way

And friends who have decided the time has come to retire

Yet struggle with that decision.

I was blessed with surprise May Day flowers

Delivered by charming little girls

And their caring mothers.

The week ended appropriately

With the hope of the next generation.

A garden baby shower for Megan & JP

And their baby boy to come this fall.

The new week began this morning

With communion

In a place where I have worshipped

For over 40 years

With people I’ve known a few months

And others many decades.

Perennial places.

They give us roots

To grow and blossom.

Deep roots to keep us upright

When the winds blow and bend us.

Deep roots to strengthen us.

Deep roots to grow branches

That encircles our lives

Individually and together.

Gail

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Filed under Baby Showers, Gardening, Gardening;Perennials, Gloriosa Daisy - Rudbeckia, Peonies, tulips

Tagged as Glorisa Daisies, Peonies, Perennial Places, Tulips

April 28, 2014 · 2:25 am

TULIP TIME

One of the last things I do at the end of the gardening season each fall

Is one of the first things to bloom come spring.

Tulips

It’s a gift we gardeners give ourselves.

Just at the end of the season

When we’re almost too tired to do another thing

And our knees really don’t want to bend down

Comes the time to plant Tulips.

Some years it’s hard to get it done.

But when spring comes I’m oh so grateful that I did.

Last fall I planted the path to the garden house

With my favorite varieties

Packed the trenches

Covered them with pansies

And let them sleep.

We had also added a new bed on the landing in the front.

Which was planted with a new variety

Of tulips called French blend.

They have proved to be perfect for this spot.

This variety bloomed a little later than those in the back.

Which has turned out to be a good thing.

You see this is a very sunny place.

Surrounded by bricks

Without a drip line.

So the only thing I know to plant there for summer is periwinkles.

But since periwinkles don’t like cold wet weather

You have to wait till May to plant them.

So having a tulip that is still blooming

This last weekend in April works well.

They’ll last a few more days

Then it will be time to pull them up

And plant again.

The cycle goes on.

Gail

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Tagged as Spring Flowering Bulbs, Tulips

April 21, 2014 · 1:31 am

EASTER – CHILDREN – GARDENS

Sometimes holding an annual event

Can be well…dicey. Expectations increase.

People can get tired of the same thing.

The odds for good weather decrease.

Not so if children are involved

And Easter eggs filled with candy.

So, yesterday we hosted the 3rd

I’d say it’s safe to say Annual 1st Presbyterian Church Easter Egg.

Each year Kay, master of children’s Christian education

Mixes things up a bit.

And this year we decided to invite the families

Of our neighboring church St. Matthews Episcopal.

We have been lucky with the weather all these years.

And this year was no exception.

It was a glorious afternoon.

And to top it off The Redbud trees were still in full bloom

Providing a marvelous backdrop for

The blanket of tulips leading up to the garden house.

Now you realize this is just luck.

No gardener has any say about when things bloom in the spring.

And if you try to plan it – it simply will not happen.

So you might as well just give it up

And hope for the best.

This is an attitude I’ve had to learn.

Fortunately, I had an excellent teacher.

My mother was the most relaxed hostess I’ve ever known.

Oh she would get “flustered” as she would say.

But she learned during the wild ride of her life.

To relax and enjoy it.

So yesterday as 50 or 60 children

(We don’t really know how many came.)

Were running through the garden.

Releasing lady bugs

Listening to the resurrection story

Exploring the compost pile

Trying out the chimney of the outdoor fireplace

And gathering Easter Eggs

One child brought back a wonderful memory of my mother

And the grace that she showed so many people during her life.

It happened during a family Sunday School Class party

Of many of these very people.

It was in the late 1980’s and we decided to have the party

At my parent’s home in the city.

Big house – big yard – big draw.

Dozens of us showed up and swarmed the place.

At one point several young mothers were standing in the kitchen

Visiting with mother as Cristina, maybe 3 or so

Appeared with a bouquet of flowers for the hostess.

Freshly picked from her own flower beds.

Beth, her mother, turned ashen.

Mother bent down and thanked

And likely hugged Cristina.

She was thrilled with the gift.

So yesterday

When I noticed Kay’s granddaughter

Walking along the garden house path

Snapping off tulips

I smiled

Then laughed

What a gift this memory is.

Children and Gardens and God.

If you don’t have children to invite into your garden.

I hope you’ll find some

To teach about nature

And grace.

Happy Easter,

Gail

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Filed under Easter Baskets, Easter Egg Hunt, Garden House, Gardening Friends, Redbud Trees, spring, Spring Flowering Bulbs, tulips

Tagged as Children and Gardens, Easter Egg Hunt, Lady Bugs, Redbud Trees, Tulips

April 14, 2014 · 12:18 am

DISSONANT HARMONY

Sometimes I forget

Just how much

Music and gardens have in common.

Until this morning.

Before I left for church I reminded myself

When I get home to cut that single RED tulip

Blooming wildly in the midst

Of all those perfect pastel beauties.

It has somehow survived the year

And returned to bloom again.

But it doesn’t fit into this year’s color scheme

So…off with it’s head.

I thought.

It’s probably the only tulip

That’s ever been saved from cutting

By the tenor section!

Here’s how.

We were practicing for our annual

“Palms to Passion” service this morning.

Doing a simple yet glorious version of

“God So Loved the World”

We were sounding pretty good

Except for one measure when those aforementioned tenors

Were moving from note to note ahead of us

The melody loving soprano section.

The tenors should know this by now.

I thought.

Then I took a moment

And actually looked at the music.

They were singing it correctly.

Our parts were not the same.

We, the sopranos, were the dissonant ones.

Intended to be different from one another.

Imagine that…

Dissonant harmony in a church choir.

For some reason

This moment really resonated with me

And I began thinking that

Music is like a garden

Which is like life.

Sometimes it’s the very things that sound off tune

That resolve into true beauty.

It’s the differences that make us richer

And deeper.

Sameness is comfortable

Appealing initially.

But it is in the bounty of difference

That we experience the true nature

Of all that God created.

Music and gardens.

Some of Her best work!

Gail

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Filed under Gratitude, Redbud Trees, spring, Spring Flowering Bulbs, tulips

Tagged as Difference, Music, Palm Sunday, Redbud Trees, Tulips

April 7, 2014 · 12:59 am

EMERGING HOPE

The last few weeks I’ve spent removing the blanket of leaves from my garden.

It’s a tedious but necessary task.

Last fall John mowed up the leaves from the yard

And dumped them on my garden.

It’s a natural way to protect the garden from winter.

I’m grateful he took the time to chop and distribute all those leaves.

But once spring begins.

It’s time to remove the blanket

And let the sunshine in.

This is not a quick haphazard job.

It needs to be done carefully

To protect the tender shoots

Emerging from their winter’s sleep.

The new life that is sprouting forth.

As a result I spend hours on the ground

At eye level

Observing miracle after miracle.

Nurturing the garden

And my soul.

Each spring I am in awe of this process.

What may look like a garden of dirt one week

Will quickly begin to unfurl

With hope.

And hope does not disappoint us.

Gail

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Filed under Ferns, Gardening, Gardening;Perennials, Hosta, Peonies, spring, Spring Clean Up, Timing, Winter Garden

Tagged as Emerging Garden, Spring Clean Up, Spring Garden

In My Garden

MIRACLES

PUSHING TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE

STARTING AND STOPPING

GARDEN QUESTIONS

THE LUSTY MONTH OF MAY

PERENNIAL PLACES

TULIP TIME

EASTER – CHILDREN – GARDENS

DISSONANT HARMONY

EMERGING HOPE

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