For the love of gardens

beachcottage · April 2006

The Gardener's Morning

The robin's song at daybreak
Is a clarion call to me.
Get up and get out in the garden,
For the morning hours flee.

I cannot resist the summons,
What earnest gardener could?
For the golden hours of morning
Get into the gardener's blood.

The magic spell is upon me,
I'm glad that I did not wait;
For life's at its best in the morning,
As you pass through the garden gate.
- Howard Dolf

xoxo
Patti

csp · April 2006

Patti,
I love the spring and am so excited to be digging in the dirt again. Thank you for the poem

csp · April 2006

To make your own Garden of Friendship:

Plant three rows of peas:

Peas of mind
Peas of heart
Peas of soul

Plant four rows of squash:

Squash gossip
Squash indifference
Squash grumbling
Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of lettuce:

Lettuce be faithful
Lettuce be kind
Lettuce be happy
Lettuce really love one another

No garden should be without turnips:

Turnip for service when needed
Turnip to help one another
Turnip the music and dance

Water freely with patience and
Cultivate with love.

There is much fruit in your garden
Because you reap what you sow.

To conclude our garden
We must have thyme:

Thyme for fun
Thyme for rest
Thyme for ourselves

Pretty nice garden, don't you think?

~Author Unknown~

hugs,
Carrie

beachcottage · April 2006

Carrie I love
your garden

You who walk,
Maybe with troubled thoughts,
Come, enter here and rest;
And may the sweet serenity of growing things,
And the heavenly,peace
Be mirrored in they soul.
-Doxis M. Palmer

xoxo
Patti

beachcottage · April 2006

http://www.todayismygifttoyou.ie/

xoxo
Patti

Sierra · April 2006

Hi Gals:

I love all your gardens

tks for sharing

BUT
saw Carrie's one
with turnips
my fav veg.... that's the one for me

blessings

Boop · April 2006

Patti,

I got a smile on my face this morning when I saw this post..My hands are itching so bad to get in the dirt..
I love all your gardens too..

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.
~Rainer Maria Rilke~

Hugs and God Bless,
Cherie

tammyhillse10 · April 2006

That is a great quote Cherie..I live in London England and the daffodils, etc. are shrieking everywhere. It is a beautiful spring day! Sunny, windy, and everything blooming. I will be digging most recklessly in the dirt next weekend! Thanks for sharing the springtime quote!
Tammy

csp · April 2006

Tammy,
I have had, for a long time a dream to someday be able to go to England and tour some of your famous gardens.

hugs ,
Carrie

csp · April 2006

In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash'd
palings,
Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich
green,
with many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I
love,
With every leaf a miracle - and from this bush in the dooryard,
With delicate-color'd blossoms and heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
A sprig with its flower I break.
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1865

Here is a web site shared with me from cowgirl:

http://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/

hugs,
Carrie

beachcottage · April 2006

Thanks for the link

I can't wait to check it out

I love tree houses...always did..always will

A Tree House

A tree house, a free house,

A secret you and me house,

A high up in the leafy branches

Cozy as can be house.

A street house, a neat house,

Be sure and wipe your feet house

Is not my kind of house at all~

Let's go live in a tree house.

Shel Silverstein

Check this site

a tree house

get a way...it is so cool

http://www.dragonflyranch.com/

beachcottage · April 2006

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day.

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You're one month on in the middle of May.

But if you so much as dare to speak,

a cloud come over the sunlit arch,

And wind comes off a frozen peak,

And you're two months back in the middle of March.

- Robert Frost

Sweet April showers

Do spring May flowers.

- Thomas Tusser,

The flowers that keep

Their odor to themselves all day;

But when the sunlight dies away,

Let the delicious secret out

To every breeze that roams about.

- Anonymous

xoxo

Patti

csp · April 2006

Patti,

The poem by Robert Frost sure does describe April weather,

such a tease with each day being anyones guess.

Or perhaps you notice a congregation of ladybugs on a rose stalk.

Don't invoke the old nursery saying and ask them to fly away home.

Their house is not on fire. Your roses are, with aphids,

which the ladybugs are feeding on - and you can

bless yourself that they have come to your rescue.

- Eleanor Perenyi

csp · April 2006

I have found, through years of practice, that people garden in order to make
something grow; to interact with nature; to share, to find sanctuary, to heal,
to honor the earth, to leave a mark. Through gardening, we feel whole
as we make our personal work of art upon our land.
- Julie Moir Messervy, The Inward Garden, 1995, p.19

Carrie

beachcottage · April 2006

Carrie I think
I jinxed things
starting up
the calling all gardens thread

Hope this cold spell
ends soon

I will have to keep this one in mind

"There are no gardening mistakes,
only experiments."
--Janet Kilburn Phillips

Come to the garden alone,
while the dew is still on the roses....

HE WHO OWNS A GARDEN
He who owns a garden,
However small it be,
Whose hands have planted in it
Flower or Bush or Tree;
He who watches patiently
The growth from nurtured,
Who thrills a newly opened bloom
Is very close to God
Katherine Edelman

xoxo
Patti

csp · April 2006

It's cold here too Patti but my spring flowers continue to bravely bloom and I can see the red of new bloom in all the tree tops waiting for some warm days to leaf out.
But how I wish I could get in the dirt.

And see the peaceful trees extend
their myriad leaves in leisured dance
they bear the weight of sky and cloud
upon the fountain of their veins.
- Kathleen Raine, Envoi

As I age
in the world it will rise and spread,
and be for this place horizon
and orison, the voice of its winds.
I have made myself a dream to dream
of its rising, that has gentled my nights.
Let me desire and wish well the life
these trees may live when I
no longer rise in the mornings
to be pleased with the green of them
shining, and their shadows on the ground,
and the sound of the wind in them.
- Wendell Berry, Planting Trees

Carrie

beachcottage · April 2006

Carrie warming up
a bit around here 51 degrees
better than yesterday and it is
only 10:30 now

Hugs to you and Denise

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves
of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is a
symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds,
the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for the spring.
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of
nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring
after the winter. The lasting pleasures of contact with the natural
world...are available to anyone who will place himself under the
influence of earth, sea and sky and their amazing life.

- Rachel Carson (1907-1964)

csp · April 2006

Dare I say it Patti it is a beautiful
day here today 68 at noon and the sun
is shinning!

The Rose is gowned in petaled grace and lovely beyond telling;
She always lifts a friendly face, regardless of her dwelling.
Her golden silence can express to us, no matter where, joy shared;
Give solace in distress from those who fondly care.
The Rose has ways of saying things we much delight to hear;
without a spoken word, she brings and keeps our loved ones near.
- Laura S. Beck

beachcottage · April 2006

Carrie it is 45 degrees

here today

it is 11:30 am

and I just read

the rose***it was lovley

thank you

(((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))

Where flowers bloom

so does hope.

- Lady Bird Johnson,

"Just living is not enough" said the butterfly,

"one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."

Hans Christian Andersen

"To see a world

in a grain of sand

and heaven in a wildflower.

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

and eternity in an hour."...William Blake

"A well planned garden

bathed in rain and sun.

A faithful laborer...

and the harvest shall come."...Nancy Simms Taylor

Boop · April 2006

I worked pulling weeds in my strawberry patch yesterday and it was wonderful... I can't wait till they are ready, there is nothing better than a homegrown strawberry.

In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~Abram L. Urban

Hugs and God Bless,

Cherie

csp · April 2006

Cherie,
I don't think I have had homegrown strawberries since I was
a girl. My friend lived on a farm and her father had planted a strawberry patch just for her . We would go into the patch when they were ripe and pick and eat untill our fingers were red with the juice.

Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet
in a crowded day - like writing a poem or saying a prayer.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Carrie

csp · April 2006

Cares melt when you kneel in your garden.

When the April wind wakes the call for the soil, I hold the plough
as my only hold upon the earth, and, as I follow through the fresh
and fragrant furrow, I am planted with every foot-step, growing,
budding, blooming into a spirit of spring.
- Dallas Lore Sharp, 1870-1929

Carrie

Boop · April 2006

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler

Hugs and God Bless,
Cherie

csp · April 2006

If I were a garden
I'd plant myself with poetry,
spread seeds in fine lines,
work the earth
with my bare hands,
feel the pulse of seasons.

I'd rock myself to sleep
with the sound of rain,
harvest and sow
together,
so my earth would
always be productive,
each fruit a seed,
each squash filled with promise
of new plants.
When the drought time came,
I'd let my fields fall fallow,
and wait.

I'd be a riot of color,
fragrance, taste!
I'd plant lavender and lemon verbena,
rainbows of poppies.
I'd ply myself with seasons of
sage, basil, oregano,
and be aware of thyme.
In winter frost, I'd dream of spring's
new shoots, and in spring's first daffodils
I'd see the deep shades of fall.

Always I'd be ready for mystery,
and the delight of unexpected miracles.
I'd feel the power
that drives the plant to fruit.
I'd work and I'd
wait,
and love those fine lines and rounded seeds,
those deeply lobed leaves,
billowing colors,
of my garden
myself.

Carrie

cowgirl · April 2006

I can tell you my MIL's favorite rose bush was the Seven Sisters, to this day it is very full and pretty!

csp · April 2006

Cowgirl sent me these beautiful pictures of the Seven
Sisters ~

Both this rose and R. multiflora carnea were painted by Redouté in France and both are frequently found in early Texas gardens. By the effort that it took to transport them through the intervening miles, those early settlers have left their own testimony about the need for beauty in even the most rugged human existence. Seven Sisters is named for the variety of colors that can appear in each cluster of flowers, ranging from carmine through purple, mauve, pink, and cream as the flowers fade.

cowgirl · April 2006

Yep that is it! He planted right outside her window, she was in the bed for twelve years, it made her day every day it bloomed.

beachcottage · April 2006

so beautiful

thank you

Carrie.. Cowgirl

and Cherie

strawberries ...i love them

maybe i will give them a try:)

May the wings of

the butterfly

kiss the sun

And find your shoulder

to light on,

To bring you luck, happiness and riches

Today, tomorrow and beyond.

~Irish Blessing

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine,

freedom and a little flower." ~Hans Christian Anderson

The best

place to seek God is in a garden. George Bernard Shaw,

sending cyber flowers

and field of lavedar

to all of you today

xoxo

Patti

cowgirl · April 2006

Oh I love the smell of lavender!

beachcottage · April 2006

You & I the secret
Of the crocus know --
Let us chant it softly --
"There is no more snow!"
-Emily Dickenson

not from my garden
my crocus's disappeared
only one came up

xoxo
Patti

csp · April 2006

WALKING IN THE GARDEN

If I feel distressed when I get home from work,
I kick off my shoes for my favorite perk.
A stroll through my garden, a daily surprise,
And it never fails to bring joy to my eyes.

The roses are fragrant, the tree looks so grand,
The ivy is cheerful and growing out of hand.
A pinch from an herb starts a good supper plan.
Can I reach that rainbow? I just bet I can.

My mom would have loved this, my small paradise.
And thank you, Lord, for the gift of my eyes.

My neighbor is ill and would love a bouquet.
Looks like there'll be tomatoes for giving away.

Well, look at that vine! It has all come in bloom!
If I collect one more rock I'll be just out of room...

Here's a drink for you, rosemary. The birds love this seed.
Here I'm talking to plants, but it's what we all need.

Just a walk in the garden so eases my mind.
There's no better therapy ever I'd find.

At last a deep breath, a smile, and a sigh.
Life began in a garden. I think I know why.

Hugs,
Carrie

For the love of gardens

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