Showing posts with label how your garden loves you. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how your garden loves you. Show all posts

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Lost & Found GARDEN-- More Progress

Hooray ! My buds are all open on my trumpet vine !

Well have been working in my garden for the week still, and I have the sore hands from weed pulling to prove it. Was very excited about my trumpet vine blooming, always signifies hope and patience to wait for something to bloom.

Now yes , I realize if this vine is sooo happy after only a year...it will overcome my garden with all it's happiness if I am not careful.
So noted, so not going to do anything about it ...yet.
As you can see here, we have a new fountain...actually it is not new, had it for years on my small deck off the back porch...but stopped using it as it splashed alot, kept getting too dirty to clean properly...so I used to have it piled high with seashells ( another element I like to use in my gardens), and had my son and his friend take them all out yesterday...and was lucky my husband was home to help move it off the deck and we set it up in the center.
The birds are quite happy, it makes a nice delicate splashing noise...and we had the most interesting large species of black bird come to it yesterday.
Very large.
Here is a picture of this unusual bird.
 As you can see, Maxine believes that we have set this up as her official watering hole.
 My problem is I don't want her drinking all the real birds water, and I don't want her  parading through my flowers , back and forth , to get her drinks.
I also know that I'm going to lose this battle.
Learning to know what is worth the ' battle ' in life or what is worth' the best ' in life.
My husband's favorite saying is " It is what is is..". I hate that saying , I always want to change whatever it is.
At least whatever it is I believe I can change.
The rest I believe he is right.
Bummer or enlightenment.
Our choice .
Ok, back to my garden.

Here's what I see everytime I walk down into my garden. I have to clean these pavers of dirt and sand in the front. To the right is a small shade bed I planted. I always encircle my beds with monkey grass or lirope grass , may be what most people call it. I have helped my next door neighbor out by voluntarily taking her monkey grass, dividing it up ...and planting it EVERYWHERE in my yard.
She had large clusters of it down the side of her house, calling to me to divide it.
No need to buy it if you can help a neighbor right ? 
My husband tells me to stop stealing monkey grass from my neighbor, but the house was vacant for 4 years, and for Pete's sake, that monkey grass needed to be divided ! People pay yardmen to do that, I did it for free !
Plus I helped them with some cannas too.
So I have cannas and monkey grass , found..at my neighbor's house.
 Pretty soon, on both sides of my garden, my very favorite plant will show up and be wonderful for me again.
Blue plumbago, it loves my garden...it is perfect, easy to grow , once it is established...all over Charleston gardens too.
Side view


My back path I cleared yesterday


My other , larger path waiting for me to clear and get sore hands with today.
And knees.




Out to work, will write more later, I am going to write an entry about why people collect certain types of Art.
Dr. Gina will give her ( non ) expert opinion what type of people buy what type of art.
Stay tuned.


I wish you a peaceful, blessed day in the sun,
Gina


 " Love is patient, love is kind. " I Corinthians 13:4

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

How Your GARDEN can LOVE You Like you Need to BE LOVED


New flowers equals happiness

I have been working alot in my garden today, and when I took my dog for her walk tonight, I thought of how I love my garden...and how my garden can love me back...just how I need to be loved.
Cool.
I bet yours does too.
I thought of how different people , all of us, feel loved in different ways. Some of us need lots of attention , some of us are passionate or playful, some of us like love shown more serious and studied , some of us are die-hard romantics, some of us like their love mysterious...you know ...all kinds of different ways for different people.
The really marvelous revelation I came up with tonight, is that your garden can show you love in whatever way you feel loved.
Really cool right ?
I'm more the passionate/playful with a large helping of romance thrown in...and my garden can display ( or show me ) ,that by allowing me to buy it all kinds of new gifts ( plants ), and then letting me thoroughly enjoy ( play ), in it with my cupid ( romantic ) statues and my preference for flowers and draping vines.
I know some people have secret gardens, they like their garden to show them love in a mysterious , quiet way. Little hidden alcoves, secret paths to niches, shhhhh.
Then others like to be over the top, loud and showy with their gardens, lots of large statuary, swirling gadgets, large snow globes, etc.
There is also the serious, studied love shown in some gardens, like Japanese or Contemporary styles  with cool clean lines, perfectly manicured and maintained hedges, very orderly...predictable...and their garden style makes them feel secure.
Of course a garden cannot take the place of a person, but it can feed that part of our soul that needs nourishment.
If we feed them and tend to them , and not neglect our gardens...they will reciprocate with the love we need.
Reciprocation includes blossoms, new growth, re-emergence.
Signs of hope and beauty.
A really fun concept I thought about today.
Ok, let me tell you what I did in my garden today, and what surprise my garden gave to me yesterday.
I bought some flowers, a few snap dragons, some dahlias, poppies, and something blue that I cannot recall the name of it. I think I may need some knee pads soon, and more garden gloves.
 My son , the non-watering element for my flowers, he prefers watering the air

We went to Lowes today and bought some beehive holly bushes to fill my front two large planters, and also some more salvia , and some blue superbells, and some wallflower. I wish buying all these plants wasn't so darned expensive...60.00 here, 85.00 there...150. out the wallet and in the garden.
At least you can see where your money goes.
I need some stock in Lowes and Home Depot.
Looking better right ? Just say yes , make me feel better.

I planted the two large planters with the beehive hollies, and I planted some perennials behind that, and weeded more.
 
My trumpet vine will be open its buds for me tomorrow !

This is my large pathway I carved out that I have to buy new mulch for ( more $$$$ ), and then hope the rain and my crazy squirrel chasing dog stops destroying it .I am raking all the pesky pollen pods that are dropping non-stop here.

Can you tell I am excited about my trumpet vine ? I bought it for 6.00 a few years ago as it was very small ( one of my lessons in patience ) and I got a great deal on it. It has grown at least 6 times the size it was...I do believe it likes being in my garden.
My garden watch dog, lounging among the pollen pods...I also do believe she is my best friend . Her name is Maxine.

 Here is the side pathway to my inner garden, made of found bricks..leading to the center.

I found all these bricks, I love how different all the colors are, so much personality.

  My terribly neglected side area, that when I started working on..pulling the dead vines off this Confederate Jasmine to the left...a large bird flew out.
A large bird with half it's body a dark orange, I do not know what kind of bird it was.
And then God gave me a surprise in my garden.
This is what was behind , hidden inside the vines that I was pulling.
Three blessings straight from God into my garden.
A hidden discovery. 
These are big eggs, not small tiny bird eggs...wonderful !
I adore birds, love to watch them , love to hear them sing to me and their friends, love them in my garden.
I scared the mom away, but I backed off and dragged a cement basin over to fill it with water for her under the vines.
She returned to take care of her babies, and I stopped pulling the vines around her home.
A hidden, delicate treasure of new life.
Promise.

I hope you discover how your garden shows you love, and I hope you know exactly how to nurture it in return.
Many blessings,
Gina

" The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. " John 3:8