Landscaper

My husband and I love to go walking in parks - any park will do.  Just to be outside is so therapeutic.  Our backyard is in stiff competition as we have tried to create our own little park right here.  This poem combines these two places that we enjoy so much with the wonder of God's creation.  Isn't the world marvelous?

Beauty among the Thorns

We have not been successful at raising roses in our garden.  Our sandy soil extends at least fifteen feet downward and it is very difficult to keep it moist.  Add to that the harsh Michigan winters.  But one year we purchased this sweet and delicate rose from Jackson and Perkins.  Designed to grow in the north, it is guaranteed to restore itself from the roots if it is subject to winter kill.  It has tried admirably to grow for us.  It is quite small - about a foot tall and delicate all over.  But it is oh, so beautiful when it blooms.  We watch anxiously each year for this lovely favorite of ours to arrive and it never disappoints us.   Perhaps because we know how hard it struggles to survive, it is the perfect rose to remind us that  amid the struggles of life, there is a beauty that we must not miss. 

Snowdrops defy the Weather!

The first time we saw a snow drop we were flabbergasted.  It was a snowy February day and we happened to be walking around our yard, enjoying a cold winter stroll.  There at the foot of our espalier were flowers in bloom.  We couldn't believe it.  What were these brave little plants that were hardy enough to pop forth in winter.  It's proper name is Galanthus but snow drop is much more appropriate.  They bloom anytime before the spring equinox taking their clue from the weather.  This year they bloomed late because they were blanketed in a foot and a half of snow until late March.

Cosmos Dance Along Our Driveway

Cosmos are an old-fashioned flower.  They are delicate and lovely.  You have to deadhead the flowers and so there is some maintenance for the flower bed.  But we chose them for another reason.  The goldfinch love their seeds.  And so we planted them all along our driveway and in the late summer as seed-heads form, the birds come and land on the delicate flower stems.  But the stems are not sturdy and the weight of the birds bends them.  Back and forth they sway - oblivious to their precarious situation.  The goldfinch are happy as they eat with delight.  And we are equally happy as we watch them!

 

Morning Glory

The morning glory is a hardy little plant that once established will twine itself around anything it can find and climb.  I favor the blue variety.  The flower opens early, greeting the morning.  It seems to have a will to survive and often self seeds and reappears the next year.  It can handle poor soil and very little water.  It is just a strong little plant that brightens any place it grows.

Interior Design

I am sure I have said this before but there are many moments that come for a very short time and if you are to enjoy them you must lay everything else aside and just go!  Fireflies on a summer evening are only here at a certain time in twilight.  Early morning fogs disappear as the sun rises.  A newborn with all the sweet sounds and the wondrous smell of new life only lasts a little while and then the baby is rolling over or starting to crawl.  Snowfalls that cover the trees and make the whole world a magical place are another one.  Even on the coldest of days the sun's rays will reach down and touch  that snow and it will not last.  So when there is a really good snowfall and the world has been transformed, we grab our cameras and head outside. 

Daffodils Make Me Laugh

My husband and I love our yard.  We know every flower and plant and bird and weed!  We try to spend time out there daily enjoying nature and the little park we have created for ourselves.  The seasons come and go and we find ourselves watching for our little "friends" as they come forth from the ground or bloom in their own time.  There is always an emotional response to each.  And in truth, daffodils do make me laugh.  They are such a happy flower!

Spring's Secret

I don't think our Michigan phenomena is universal, but certainly in all areas where winter is a very real cold season that drags on forever there is a longing for spring.  A warm day in early March comes and we get our expectations up.  We know that spring will not be here until April but we want it so much to come.  Our hearts override our intellect and then when the next day turns cold and it snows we are so disappointed.  This happens year after year after year.  But we only see the surface.  Deep in the ground those early spring flowers are at work, bulbs expanding, plant slowly pushing upward.  I think they like to be there just below the surface, waiting for the right moment to spring forth.  It is their little secret.