Green is my favourite colour! But it is made more special by splashes of colour. Without the green the flowers would 'overwhelm' me, but together they naturally complement the other - without both the garden would be less...
A few lines from John O’Donohue’s “In Praise of the Earth”
Let us bless
The imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience
To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging
Among the stillness of land.
And how light knew to nurse
The growth until the face of the Earth
Brightened beneath a vision of color...
Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies…
The wonder of a garden
Trusting the first warmth of spring
Until its black infinity of cells
Becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed’s self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death…
I am amazed by what the Earth brings forth in the summer garden. After long months of snow and cold I long to soak in as much greenery and splashes of colour as I can – the feel, the scents, the visual beauty – to hold it close and carry it with me for future reference.
This summer I mean to document the flowers and plants of the garden as, due to the loss of two huge willows this winter, our yard of shade has been transformed into a yard of light. This means a few changes in garden structure and plant locations are in the works for this coming fall.
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| my favourite daylily! |
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| Dahlia - a new flower for us this summer but we love it! |
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| one of our first flowers out, this iris always impresses and is a promise of more to come |
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| our first hydrangea - growing beautifully |
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| the Daisies bloom unabashedly by the front sidewalk! |
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| in a sheltered hidden place in the front garden |
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| Mock Orange - one of my favourite scents! |
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| first flowers out - Nanking Cherry |
thank you for sharing your garden flowers! my perennials are sullking this year - i suspect too much water and too much tree growth - and so far none have done much blooming...seeing yours (almost!) makes up for that!
ReplyDeletecheers
molly
These photos are gorgeous! Inspiring indeed. Your plants will love more light ... maybe a new lease on life for your garden, or part of it at least?
ReplyDeleteI love these lines from O'Donahue's poem:
"Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed’s self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death…"
Molly - perhaps with this week of sunshine and warmth the flowers will amaze you yet! I've got to get out and 'deadhead' my few rose bushes so they will bloom a bit longer - and the hail seems to have taken the optimism out of the daisies...cycles....
ReplyDeleteVi - those lines struck me also. When I read a phrase like that I wonder how I might paint it... one of my favourite such quotes [which I am pondering visually] is Barbara Brown Taylor's, "...God 'says' and a solemn procession of creatures steps out of the darkness, so steady on their feet that is is hard to believe they are using them for the first time."