Once again its spring!

I am called outside to take in all the newly blooming color.

Who can stay within four walls at this time of the year?

These days I don't have to look for beauty, it is all around me...

....if I choose to look.

"The sun just touched the morning; 

         the morning, happy thing, 

supposed that he had come to dwell,

 and life would be all spring."

 - Emily Dickinson

Reds and Yellow

Autumn is coming and as a goodbye to summer the yellow and deep red flowers appear.  Do they show up at this time so that we will have their vivid colors to remember as we go into Autumn and Winter?

They don't last long at this time -- but they do attract the birds as well as the eye.

Soon I will be longing for these beauties as well as all the other blooming plants and flowers that I have gotten used to over the spring and summer.  Perhaps the fact that they aren't there for me all year long makes them even more precious.

"We may think we are nurturing our garden, but of course its our garden that is really nurturing us." - Jennie Uglow

Queen Anne's Lace

What would summer be without the fields of Queen Anne's Lace?  I have always loved this flower but this year they seem even more special to me.  They are so delicate and if a little breeze comes by they move slowly back and forth.

I even love the name -- it gives this flower dignity to me and history and brings images of tea being served in a castle garden.  Isn't life wonderful!

[please note that the field picture came from Richard Bowman because I was unable to get a good perspective from my camera].

"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting to grow sharper." - W. B. Yeats

Flower Mouse

I had an unusual request the other day and of course it involved a mouse.  [Just a side note, these things are popping up all over]

I walked into the dining room and there was Flower Mouse -- trying to figure out how to get dirt from outside into her planters so that she could grow some flowers.  

Can you believe it that she took one of my antique silver spoons, my tin sprinkler pan and my copper 'basket' and then expects me to fill them with dirt?

Well of course I told her no - that if she really wanted flowers she could scamper outside anytime she wanted to.  Thereupon she turned her back to me and hasn't spoken to me since.

"Oh the summer roses, perfect for wearing a hat." - from Stuart Little

Flowers...

...real or not!  I found these flowers made of wood scraps and just knew that they could be part of my latest pocket.

Its a beautiful Spring day and walking out the back door I am surrounded by flowers.

Perhaps today I'll see a bunny in the grasses along the fence.

"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." - 
Hans Christian Anderson

Spring Pocket

                           Front

Days of sun and shadow.  Days of wandering along the edge of the forest - watching for new blooms.  

                                                                                   Back

Days of happiness and peace and contentment.  Everything seems to be right where it belongs.  Small flowers are tucked in amongst larger, showier blooms and I am searching them out each day.

                                                                               Close-up Front

Meanwhile a spring pocket appears to celebrate the whole season.

"I am going to try to pay attention to the spring.  I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees.  I am going to close my eyes and listen." - Anne Lamott

Pushing through the green

[Dolores of "True Blue Canadian" is the second "Whisper" winner]

While walking this past week I've had some lovely small surprises.  A glimpse of red in the midst of endless green.

Up close they look somewhat like an Iris or Gladiola but all I care about is their deep red color.

A purple vine - which sometimes tries to creep into our own yard - its very invasive and is always removed by my in-house landscaper.  Here it breaks up the bank of green and I admire its strength.

A very small but prolific flower on a very spreading plant.  Lovely pale lilac petals.

Doesn't it seem that some things are more precious because they are not expected to be where they are? 

"Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises. - Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Early Spring

I love this time of the year -- its almost made to be for the brave of heart and the givers of promise.

Early spring gives me small flowers -- taking a chance that it won't freeze again -- putting their colors out for for all to see.

Some of them are precursors to the more 'noisy' flowers of summer - such as the phlox.  Taking up great sections along rocks it likes to show off.

Meanwhile, the blue bells move with the spring breezes.

The Dutchman Breeches are so delicately white.

The Blood Root, also white, has a little niche in the side garden.

During this early spring its a treat to step outside each day and look for these small, unassuming beauties.  What a lovely presence they are.

"I am going to try to pay attention to the spring.  I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees.  I am going to close my eyes and listen." - Anne Lamott

July 4th, 2014

I know the traditional colors for the Fourth of July are red, white and blue.  However I'm more likely to be drawn to pink, white and periwinkle blue -- just the artist in me I guess.

What a celebration, not only this day but every day in summer when these lovelies are blooming.  

To sit on this bench surrounded by a lush beautiful yard (ever so many thanks to my in-house landscape gardener for this) is truly a gift.

So here's to 'blooms' not 'booms' as we here in the States celebrate our history.

"I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks, but for the ledger of our daily work." - Neil Armstrong

A Walk in the Garden

No day is complete without a walk through the garden. At least during this part of the year.

Each day brings something new and special and definitely colorful.

Some, like the Flame Azaleas, look like a bit of sunshine.

Others, like these purple and white Irises are bits of velvet standing tall against the rocks.

"Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it." - Rumi

Spring Colors

I can hardly be contained inside my studio these days.  The colors of spring are calling me. And so, while in my studio I have resolved to try to capture some of these outside colors in a 'Garden Cottage'.

The design drawn -- I've written (in pencil) the various shades of floss that I want to use.

The door is attached and the fun has begun.  Although I'll never capture the true nature of the colors and beauty outside my window perhaps when finished it can be a reminder of all that I have to be thankful for during this time of the year.

"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into." - Henry Ward Beecher

Then and Now

Not so long ago -- this was the scene in the garden.  

The flower pots showed no signs of their spring selves and this poor butterfly wondered what all this cold white stuff was...

Today, as I walk out the door I'm greeted with this beautiful white bloodroot  flower - shyly still closed up.

As the sun starts to shine so does this lovely, ethereal flower.

The phlox is in full bloom, even a little earlier this year than last and already spreading rapidly.

Each season has its beauty but after being an 'inside' creature for this past winter, I'm happy to celebrate spring.

"I am going to try to pay attention to the spring.  I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees.  I am going to close my eyes and listen." - Anne Lamott

The End of Summer

Our summer has been very strange this year -- sort of a 'water, water, everywhere' thing going on.  But while some of us have felt stunted by not being able to be out and about in the sunshine, our flowering plants have not disappointed.

This is probably my favorite of all of the plants - the Carolina Lily.  What a beauty.  It seems to bloom on its own, standing there alone.  How delicate it is, how intricate is its design.

The Cardinal Flower blooms every year and its deep, rich red makes a great contrast against all the green that surrounds us.

Last, but certainly not least is this small, but mighty  Evening Primrose.  Its lovely yellow flower makes me smile.  It seems so 'plain' but also so happy.  A beautiful tribute to summer, no matter how grey and rainy it has been.

"Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you". ~Rumi

 

{Just a short note to say that I think I've conquered the 'green word' thing. I will just stick here at my home of four years as long as there are no more problems.  Thanks for your input and patience.}



 

 

 



Singing in the Rain

In between rain showers I rushed outside to capture some of the intrepid flowers that are blooming.  These little Balloon plants are such a lovely, deep purple color and so abundant.

My Lavender is trying very hard to bloom -- but I suspect its wondering how it ended up here, instead of a dryer, Mediterranean climate.

The Echincea and Black Eyed Susans are working nicely together with their bright colors.

Oh and don't I love the Butterfly Weed (now how could anyone call this a weed) with its bright orange blooms.

Lastly, but certainly not least, come my Hydrangeas which are still standing tall, blooming beautifully and saying to the rain 'bring it on'!

"I'm singing in the rain

Just singing in the rain

What a beautiful feeling

I'm happy again..." 

Hydrangeas

 

Summer is here and the hydrangeas in our yard are celebrating.

 

I love their passion for life.  Are they not the Mae West of flowers?  Blowsy, outgoing, colorful -- you cannot pass them by without stopping.

As the morning sun hits them I can see the new ones, just coming on, with their very delicate flowers, and the full blown flowers with drops of last night's rain on their petals.

I celebrate along with them -- with a full heart of thankfulness.

"Flowers...are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world." - Ralph Waldo Emerson