Garden Poem by Patience Strong.....

In a garden green and gay
All my troubles fade away
Sweet contentment here I find
Joy of heart and peace of mind.

Other Gardens....

I have noticed that other people who blog about gardens have big gardens. At least the ones I have seen. They are properly landscaped and the people must spend a real lot of time out there. Me? well I just have a back yard and front yard and even though the trees are mature, I don't have the time to spend on maintaining a great garden. I just want one. I get it looking good and the kids come along and well........you know how it is with kids. Yesterday Lydia and Tobin in cahoots with Reina went out to play. Well I guess they must have been bug hunting because the rocks on the rock garden were now in the play area. Hmmmmmmm! How did I guess what they had been doing? Had they replaced the rocks I never would have know. Then I opened the seat on the little trike that Reina had been playing with to find it stuffed with leaves from my HOSTA'S!!!!!! Acck!!!!!!
So its really a uphill battle most of the time. Just picking up the toys they leave around is a chore but I want them to enjoy my garden and remember it. Maybe its just me? I remember my Dad's and my grandmother's gardens with fondness. I remember every detail about Nan's garden from the seat Granddad made from sticks (before that was popular) and the wonderful plum tree. My dad had an apple tree and the apples were never on there long enough to get ripe. So good, and my first pet is buried under that tree. I wonder if anyone will ever know? My parents being long gone from this world.
I even remember my other granddad's garden. His was a working garden back when they relied on it for food. He kept rabbits, at the time I did not know their fate. Next door my uncle Bill kept chickens and I have always had a fondness for the smell of chicken feed. I loved to help him collect eggs. There was also a huge patch of rhubarb that I could hide in. He had an orchard. I suppose he must have been quite self sufficient back in those days.
So, back to my garden. I am trying to make it interesting and child friendly. We divided it up into rooms. The very back was my shade garden and now its got wood chips and a play house with ivy under the trees.
I have pathways through the gardens to help divide it up and put two arches with swings under them for Lydia and Tobin back when I babysat for them. Now Tristen and Reina enjoy them.
I put fountains, again so the kids enjoy them. If only they would keep their hands out (smile) and not come in muddy all the time.



Did I mention the 4 poodles we have..............well, that's another thing. Back when we had Bridget (poodle) I made poodle paths among the flowers so she could visit her many admirers. I just took those out as the poodles we have now are not social butterfly's as she was. I am in process of making a patio with those but need a few more stones. Its by the fish pond. That's another story.



So anyway suffice it to say my garden will always be a work in progress. I love reading blogs to get ideas but I know my garden will never look as they do. I must be happy with that.

Some of My Favourite Flowers.................

I really love Violets. When I was a child my friend Sylvia and me would go hunting for the first violets. I dont know why they were such a big deal to us but I never imagined the thrill of finding those first little buds. I was born and raised in England and we kids could run wild. Our parents didn't have to worry about us at all. We would walk for miles over the fields and not think of any danger. There really was none. Anyway, I digress........first sign of spring and off we would go on the hunt for the first violets. We knew every spot that they grew. Finding new spots was a thrill. I knew the countryside around my home for miles like the back of my hand. Much as my dad and all generations before had done. So I guess apart from their beauty, I love the memories.



Bluebells, well that's the name of the blog so you may imagine that they are among my very favourite flower. Again its the memories. In the Springtime the trees are just beginning to foliate and are a delicious lime green. The floor of the woods are blue with flowers like a brilliant carpet laid out to take your breath away.
My Uncle Harold shared this love and would write poems. He knew I loved them too and would send pictures when he could to remind me of home. He lived on the Isle of White and to go to the village shops he would walk through Bluebell woods.

Trees......................

TREES
© Joyce Kilmer




I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed
Against the earth sweet flowing breast

A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair

Upon whose bosom snow has lain
Who intimately lives with rain

Poem's are made by fool like me
but only GOD can make a tree…

Autumn..........................

The seasons change and it shows in the garden first. The garden looks tired now but will still have a few more bursts of colour before the snow fly's. Its time to begin putting the garden to bed. That means deciding what to bring back indoors before it freezes. Listen to the weather for frost warnings. Beware those lovely clear starlit nights.
The ornamental grasses and the bee balm has all gone to seed. I will leave that for the birds. Most things that lay flat I just cut down to tidy up. I also like to bring in a few new plants to brighten things up a bit. My Astors have really done well this year and are about ready to bloom. I bough a few more to fill in a few empty spots and hope they thrive.

I loved this colour. Mine are darker purple or else white. I hope this one thrives.



I seem to have problems when I get Mums. They may last but only one or two spindly sticks come back. Until this year that is. I finally made the effort and nipped them back twice this year. Now they are more bushy and I hope will continue to do well. I have bought a couple more to sit around and add colour. This is a pretty pink one.



I am not overly fond of mums as they don't smell good. Still, neither do geraniums but they are a work horse of the garden world. I have them because they bloom late in the season
At this time of year I am glad that I have pretty glass balls around to provide some colour. During summer a lot of them cant be seen because the flowers overwhelm them. Now they are peeking through again,



In the back its mainly Ivy and Vinca Vines, but in Spring it is sweet with Trillium and Jack in the Pulpit. I have rocks to give height and some texture. Thats my shade garden. I have a side garden I am working on that has Hosta but I need to get more Ivy in there to fill it out now the Hosta is established.

Daisy Chains..........

Reina playing in the fields where I kept my horse. We made daisy chains and had a fun day. Alas we dont go there now my horse is gone, we all miss Lady. She is now "pushing up daisies" as they say.



To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour. ~
William Blake

Photo by Kathy Dennis

Cobwebs

Cobwebs bright with dew
Diamonds glitter in the sun
Strung on silver chains.
JKS


One of my pretty garden flowers. So bright and cheerful

Mini Roses............

Buy them at the grocery store and they bloom all summer. I used to put them in the ground but have found they do much better in a planter. I had to nurse a couple back to health and they are now ready for a permanent conatainer home. I use old pots or anything handy as a planter. I love this cast iron pot but can not use as a planter with dirt in because of the lack of drainage. I am thinking maybe I will fill it 1/2 full of gravel and then potting soil and put succulents in it next year.
Anyway..........this is one of my mini's that have thrived and are ready to go in the soil.

This little red pepper plant thrived all winter. This is a picture of it mid winter. By Spring it lost its peppers but only just in time for me to put it back outside



Here it is today, blooming and has tiny green peppers on it already. What a happy little plant. Next year I will try to start a couple more in pots. I tried this winter but unfortunatley I used an old kitty litter box with potting soil. Well Boots thought it was for her and well you can guess, so this year we will go to individual pots.

Day Lillies...............

I love Day Lillies they bring so much colour to the garden. They also are hard working plants that are cheerful and prolific. I have tried to collect a few different colours and I have found that the 2nd and 3rd years have been the best. They then begin to spread and for me thats a plus.



This pink beauty is 3 years old now and has doubled in size. This is a single bloom but the plant is really blooming this year.



Yellow is always a good choice



Orange is the work horse of the day lily




I love the dark colours



This is a pretty one



more pink beauties, I will have to look up all the names.



Some of the deep reds are hard to capture the correct shades



William Blakes poem "The Lily"

The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble sheep a threat'ning horn:
While the Lily white shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.

Common Daylilies



This is a lovely deep burgundy red,