Flutter-By and Vice-Versa

Garden Overtones

Gay visitors invade the bordered path;
Some rest on ageratum's downy blue
Some tap the, honeyed dew
Deep in Dresden cups;
A few

Float lazily through shafts of summer sun.
Yellow ones, brown ones,, bronze and midnight blue
Silver stippled, gold edged, In rainbow rendezvous.
One golden day The Artist
Gathered grace and luster and light,
And made in:endless surprise,
Unbelievable
Butterflies.

-THEODOSIA E. Fenner

My Mom spent several hours chasing a butterfly around my garden in between picking crops. I thought this was appropriate.

Paradise Found

Things are absolutely beautiful here in Paradise! I love my garden this year and I have plenty of produce to prove it. I would like to point out the arbour over the front gate (big white thingy). I planted a hardy arctic kiwi in the hopes of having my own kiwi's to eat next year! I can't wait! This thing grows like a weed!! Since I planted this thing in May it has grown from about 1 foot to about 7 foot tall. This is amazing.

And so the garden grows...

"I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it." -Alice Walker, the Color Purple

Well, that is one of my favorite quotes of all time from one of my favorite movies. Now, there isn't any purple in my garden yet, but I am working on it. I thought that I would make a list of what is in the garden this year, so that when I post my first pics of my burgeoning produce crop I would be able to announce what is winning the race to my table!

Let's start with the front garden first.

-Banana Peppers (8)
-Lettuce
-Dill (for making pickles)
-Cucumbers (10)
-Peas
-Lima Beans
-Yellow (wax) Beans
-Green Beans (pole)
-Beets
-Green Cabbage (8)
-Brussels Sprouts (8)
-Eggplant (4)
-Green Peppers (16)
-Tomatoes (36 in assorted variety)
-Onions
-Zinnia's
-Cosmos
-Morning Glory's

The back garden contains:

-Green Beans (pole)
-Zucchini
-Summer Squash
-Corn (yep! 5 rows of it!!)

I refuse to acknowledge the weeds (an assorted variety) that have cropped up faster than my produce. So, even thought I didn't list them in the front or back gardens, they are there. My hoe is calling! (I hope the FCC doesn't censor me on that one! LOL!)

I thought, for fun, that I would show you two pictures of the migrant workers that I didn't pay to help me plant the garden this year. Ha Ha! It is really my Mom and her sister, my aunt Ruth from New Jersey. I tricked them into coming and looking at my garden during a recent visit from my Aunt. Little did they know but I hadn't actually planted the garden when they arrived, so they pitched in and we got it planted in no time at all! Thanks, guys!


Until next time...
I wish for you quiet, dignity and grace.
Dan

Garden Magic

This is the garden's magic,
That through the sunny hours
The gardener who tends it, Himself outgrows his flowers.

He grows by gift of patience,
Since he who sows must know
That only in the Lord's good time
Does any seedling grow.

He learns from buds unfolding,
From each tight leaf unfurled,
That his own heart, expanding,
Is one with all the world.

He bares his head to sunshine,
His bending back a sign
Of grace, and ev'ry shower becomes
His sacramental wine.

And when at last his labors
Bring forth the very stuff
And substance of all beauty
This is reward enough.

~MARIE NETTLETON CARROLL~

The start of the season 2010!

So I was a bit late this year with the official planting of the gardens. I think that the weather was conspiring against me, in addition to the birthday party that I planned and threw for my Mom's 65th birthday. That was a success, however it took me almost a week past Memorial Day to plant the crops. Wow!

Here are just a few of the planting photos to start with. I am planning on making a garden chart of where everything is located, but time is a luxury right now and with all of the grading that I have to do it may be awhile. Anyway, here are the teaser photos. I will put in the funny photos and the serious commentary later.

Tomatoes!!!! I can taste them already!
___





















These are the cabbages. The noodles are patiently waiting for these to grow!

___





















The backgarden this year is corn, beans, and squash. Corn! Would ya'll believe it!

___

Until next time...

I wish for you quiet, dignity and grace.

Dan