juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN: whimsy

Showing posts with label whimsy. Show all posts

thanks, skeeter

We arrived home from vacation traveling to enjoy a few days of STAY-cation.

It rained all the way home today....

A large, beautiful box was waiting for me at the post office.

From Skeeter!

I was a winner (along with Flower Lady). My prize was the froggy rain gauge (above).

Quite surprised and very happy was I to find additional and totally unexpected treasures--

like the gardening gloves

and other sweet garden art!

Right up my "alley"!

Thanks, Skeeter!

And if you haven't "met" her, hurry over to meet her at

In The Garden.

Scene/Seen In Huntsville

Honestly, it was only after downloading my pictures that I realized how few

of the actual flowers I had photographed at the incredible

Huntsville (Alabama) Botanical Garden!

But I assure you, this was an amazing garden.

With many features for children,

hardscape and hands-on features,

I can't imagine a better place to have spent an afternoon!

Huntsville Botanical Garden contains many themed gardens and trails, and beautifully achieves its mission to blend traditional botanical garden elements, the aesthetic heritage of the region, and the conservation of natural resources.

Whimsy was in the air...

and I believe the adults had as much fun as - or more than - the children!

I'm curious to know if any of you have been there?????
(And there really WERE many beautiful trees and shurbs, flowers, a butterfly garden, a miniature railroad winding through bonsai-decorated landscape, dogwood trail, a day-lily garden
and SO much more!)

A Mini-Grove

My husband has spent many hours cleaning out his work space in our garage. He came across a lot of scrap wood and put together some really interesting Yard Art for me!

These were made out of some cabinet doors (samples) that he'd picked up somewhere (free, of course). After dismantling them and creating chalkboards from the middle parts of them, he had these narrow strips left over.

This is what we came up with!

Once the ground thaws, I'm going to "plant" a mini-grove

in one of our flower beds!

I'm kind of excited.

not MY yard

There's really not so much to see in our own yard today.

However, we drove through nearby Woodburn, IN
and pulled up alongside one of my favorite yards
so I could take a picture.

It sure makes a good case for "hardscape", doesn't it?

I guess not everyone would appreciate all the yard art here,

but I LOVE it!
(You probably know you can click on the pictures to enlarge them
and see more detail.....)

Three Bells and All is Well

All three

within a few feet

of each other.

Small Chores

Trimming the dried hosta stems is a joy with this little jobber!

I just love its size and color!

The chore was smiled on by the glow

of setting sun shining on the old tree trunk.

The effect in reality was much brighter than this!

Glass, Spheres and Circles in our Yard

Glass Sphere

Grape Vine Circle

Green Glass

Blue Sphere

In the Pink

The sedum blooms in front of our house are already turning pink!
I compared them with my pictures from last year.
They weren't this pink on the 27th in 2010, so we're ahead of last year!

*"In the pink" is an idiom meaning "in perfect condition, especially of health".)

Above, several clumps of Surprise Lilies are in the pink among the sedum and hosta green,

while black-eyed Susan hold their own throughout the bed.

A few hardy mums have started to bloom.
I trimmed them back around the 4th of July, but here they are. Already blooming!

It's easy to be deceived into thinking autumn

given the cool evenings we're currently enjoying.

It may be the last year for this particular bird.

He's been vigilant at his post for more years than I realize!
My husband has repaired him to stand one more season,
but there's a limit to his endurance.

The Grand Finale?

In spite of 93 degree temperatures yesterday, we enjoyed the

Van Wert (Ohio) Master Gardeners' Garden Walk immensely.

As usual, my camera gravitated toward garden whimsy--

documenting and adding ideas to my ever-busy brain!

Color, signs, and seating areas always attract my attention.

I really liked this chandelier hanging in this beautiful gazebo.

Can you read the scripted under its eaves below?

(You can click on the picture to enlarge it.)

Whether rustic....

colorful...

formal...

or whimsical...

it caught my eye!

I was especially excited to meet a garden blogger (of excellence and renown),

Kylee. See her Little Acre HERE if you haven't already met her.

We've done some serious Garden Walking the past couple of weeks!

This one may be the 2011 Grand Finale for us.

It's probably time to turn our attention to our own.

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)