Stepping outside my door this chilly morning donned in a cozy flannel shirt and my garden visor was an absolute pleasure. Taking notice of the glorious array of spring flowers in my neighborhood brought me 40 minutes of great joy. Let me share with you a little peek at some of the beauty I most enjoyed.
“A garden should make you feel you’ve entered privileged space — a place not just set apart but reverberant — and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.”
― Michael Pollan
“God’s yellow, in all its gloriously beautiful shades and hues, adds sunshine and poetry to even the smallest of garden spaces.”
~ Cindie Winquist, gardening barefoot in Wisconsin
This is a painful (literally) and somewhat embarrassing post for me to write. I’m not writing it for sympathy comments; rather, my hope is that it will be a reminder to gardeners everywhere.
Sun is a friend of your flowers, but not a friend of your skin.
May this little missive of mine encourage someone navigating a similar road in life.
Engaging in conversations with the family members is one of my favorite things to do as I work on preparing desserts in the kitchen of BeeHive Assisted Living and Memory Care. Since both my mom and my brother have lived there, my heart knows what they are experiencing as they partner with Beehive to care for someone that they love. It has now been five years since my sweet momma left behind the shackles of her earthly body and mind and quietly moved into her heavenly home.
I’m sharing the post that follows in honor of my mom–a little reminisce of things mom and I experienced in the early days of her stay at BeeHive. When I wrote the post that follows back in 2019, mom was living in BeeHive’s first building. In the months that followed, she would sit at her bedroom window watching as the second neighboring building was constructed. God has blessed and a third building is now nearing completion. My prayer for BeeHive is that many more families will experience the care that my loved ones and I received. May this little missive of mine encourage someone navigating a similar road in life.
Continue reading “Assisted Living: What to Expect”I’m joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for her annual ‘A Week of Flowers‘ meme, taking place this year November 30 – December 6. Though I’m a day late in joining her this year, I appreciate the opportunity to bring a bit of colorful beauty to our chilly December days. It’s December 1st–the sun was out today making it feel a bit warmer than the 19°F registering on my thermometer. Let’s travel back a few months and look at a few garden photos from Spring of 2024.
Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’ put on a very brief show this spring. A late frost turned her beautiful yellow, tulip-shaped cups brown before they had a chance to fully open. However, I caught a glimpse of what beauty this tree will hold in future springs. ‘Elizabeth’ put on a few inches of growth in her first year in our garden, but is still much smaller than her anticipated mature height of greater than 20 feet.
I have forgotten the names of most of my daffodils, but truly love each one of them. The little white one on the left has a lovely waft of fragrance that truly ought to be bottled. The lovely daffodil on the right is a charmer with peachy ruffled cups.
This lovely tulip stood all by herself for quite a few days before she was joined by a few neighboring tulips. I smiled each time I spied her stalwartly standing her ground in my flowerbed.
If I had to pick a favorite type of tulip, it would most definitely be the Angelique tulips. This magnificent red one looks like a peony. She extends the tulip season by opening a little later in spring and her tight double petals can hold their own when brisk winds fly through on nippy days. When fall arrives, I can’t resist planting a few more Angelique tulip bulbs in anticipation of the next year’s daffodil and tulip performance.
“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold, when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
I am pleased to share this relatable post written by Mary K. Doyle. She understands all too well the ups and downs of the Alzheimer’s caregiver.
My yard is less than a half acre, but heavily planted with flowerbeds. It keeps me busy in July with digging, dead heading, and dividing. The time has come in my life as a gardener where I have to admit that I need help with the gardening tasks.
Thankfully, Henry (grandson #2), loves his grandma and enjoys helping me in my garden. He also enjoys earning a little pocket money.
Today’s task was digging out the orange ditch lilies which are usurping more than their fair share of flowerbed real estate. I really appreciate his joyful help.
Henry is the world’s best at carefully deadheading spent daylily blossoms.
He also had a little fun with soapsud mustaches as he washed my car.
I’m so thankful for this young man.
On May 12th, I shared this photo and wrote, “I can’t wait to see how this year’s chair garden fills out.”
I added, “I’m already enamored with its beauty. I’ll keep you posted.”
Well, here’s the June update!
Isn’t she lovely?
Come with me for a little tour of lovely purple-y blossoms in my flower garden.
No post featuring the color purple (my mom’s favorite color) would be complete without a photo of one of her blue flowerpots brimming with purple and white supertunias.
Rewind: A Father’s Day Memory
In loving memory of my amazing dad, Jerry Robert Boyles (1931-2008).
June 16, 2018
A summer thunderstorm knocked off the petals of most of the lovely peony blooms last night. Thankfully, a few tightly closed buds hold promise of beauty yet to unfurl in this summer’s peony finale. As the peonies fade in their glory and prepare for curtain call and their final bow, the daylilies in their own splendidly colorful petaled costumes stand in the wings ready to take center stage and continue the summer’s floral show.
Continue reading “Peony Love”Notes on Seeing, Reading & Writing, Living & Loving in The North
All things come. All things go.
Behaviour Support Specialist • Emotion-focused Care Strategies
Low Carb Diet & Lifestyle
CONNECTING HEARTS THROUGH WORDS
thoughts on the spiritual journey
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The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. - Isaiah 50:4
A retrospective of the photographs from my last garden plus a few meanderings based on my own experience and a love of all things Asiatic.
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Travelling is my joy of living. Sit back relax and come with me.
Barefoot Lily Lady 