Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are?
Alfred Austin, 1835- 1913
Appointed Poet Laureate of England in 1896 upon the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, I wonder what this man would say my garden tells him of me?
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| Freesia add cheer to the foreground while the blooming Magnolia soulangiana anchors the background |
Barbra Streisand seeks soothing monochromatic perfection in her garden colorways. I don't think she would be enchanted by the scene above.
I, on the other hand, adore her gardens. If I had the budget, perhaps I would like to craft the garden with the precision of a Persian rug. That I can't does not bother me in the least, for as Alfred opined on the true value of gardening
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.
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| Yellow Clivia Minata |
A quick walk between rains in the side yard "nursery" revealed the Iris "Ida Red" made her debut.
| Extreme Close-up |
The glamour-girl is in an awkward position to get a good photo. So let me share the image from Greenwood's site- who only recently had enough stock to offer for sale.
Meet Ida Red as she must appear to bees.
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| An orange pop of a nasturtium blossom pokes through the lavender |
The diminutive Santa Barbara Daisy is delightful companion to African Daisy
There is nothing more humble than Santa Barbara Daisy cuddling with the purple African Daisy. But together, they create visual comfort food. As Alfred said
Exclusiveness in a garden is a mistake as great as it is in society.
I believe he might think that though we belong to different centuries, that we are kindred spirits.
Lydia, how lovely, yet again.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious if you've ever been to England, Scotland or Wales. If you haven't, I hope you have the opportunity soon as Great Britain is Mecca to garden lovers. Oh I've seen pictures of Japanese gardens, and beautiful flowers from Holland, etc, but oh the English/Welsh garden ---- yummy.
Oh just thought though, closer and possibly even better as you get an overall perspective of different types of gardens is the world famous Butchart Gardens about 25 miles out of Vancouver. Yes, go to Butchart even before Grt Britain! ;-)
Judy
Good morning, early bird Judy.
ReplyDeleteButchart Gardens is on the bucket list. It has made it to the top a couple times when life gave it a little drop kick to lower position.
Been to Britain twice. Much too long ago. I have a funny story about my last words on an escalotor in Heathrow with hubby. But not now.
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteIt makes me filled with joy when I look at your garden pics and those beautiful flowers! Only God could create such beauty! Of course with Lydia's help! :)
Everytime I look at your flowers I wonder where in the heck we could put some in our yard but there is just no room.
John would have to do all that and take care of them too. When we moved here he wanted low maintenance.
Just last night we were talking about a succlent plant at our front door that has toppled over and needs to be broken off then planted into a larger pot. He told me to go ahead and DO it! (I think he was remembering Gerry's words:) I told him NO!! That's YOUR job! Who do you think I am, Lydia? teehee No I do not have a green thumb. The boys and I did plant all that red apple down our hill and of course it flourished. One can't miss with that stuff, right?
Hugs, Trisha
Trisha- If John is mixing the two of us up, he needs stronger glasses):-
ReplyDeleteThere is another option with succulents- Sounds like a jade plant- cut off a healthy sized shoot and replant it in the same sized pot as before.
Maybe smaller shoots could be cut off and replanted in cute pots for presents or party favors.