tulips and daffodils – Barefoot Lily Lady

Waiting for Flowers to Bloom

Flowers blooming in our garden are one of my favorite things to photograph. To my eye, even the buds just waiting to open hold a special kind of beauty. The too numerous to count buds intrigue me with the anticipation of the beauty yet to come as they await their unfurling. If the buds whisper His name, the glorious unfurling of the blooms shouts and cries out, “See! See my design? Take a look at the intricacy of my petals! Take a deep breath and bask in my aroma! Praise be to God, the Master Designer and Creator!”

Throughout the summer I have been spending snippets of time reading a beautifully written devotional, The Well-Watered Woman–Rooted in Truth, Growing in Grace, Flourishing in Faith, by Gretchen Saffles. The pictures she paints with her words make me feel like Gretchen is walking me through a garden and pointing out spiritual truths to be gleaned, much as Jesus did as He walked with his disciples.

“Waiting for flowers to bloom brought anticipation to my heart after a season of loss. Each day I looked forward to checking for signs of change. Through that process of slow growth, God showed me that sorrow and darkness don’t last forever. Even in death, God can bring about life.”
Gretchen Saffles, The Well-Watered Woman

“The well-watered woman doesn’t put off living as she waits for “someday,” she knows her mission is now and she lives with Gospel purpose guiding her every step.”

~ Gretchen Saffles, The Well-Watered Woman

“As we behold the beauty of God in Scripture and in creation, our hearts are sparked to praise his name, both now and forever. Every sunrise, every sunset beckons us to set aside distractions to enjoy the best part—praising our faithful, righteous, steadfast, glorious God.”

~ Gretchen Saffles in The Word Before World

I love (and need) this reminder:

“In our quest for a fruitful life, it’s important to remember that blooms aren’t continuous. They come and go, but that doesn’t mean the moments in between are unnecessary or less important. Blooms result from the faithful labor done in the planting, the rooting, the growing, and the waiting. You can’t enjoy a flower without the long process that brought it to that point.”

~ Gretchen Saffles, The Well-Watered Woman

My Morning Walk in Flowers

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.

Daffodil Frills

Gorgeous Flowering Trees

Tulip Magic

Okay, these pretty tulips are all in my yard!

Aromatic Bush

I wish a photo could capture viburnum’s scent!

A Week of Flowers – Day #7

Here is my Day #7 offering of floral photos for A Week of Flowers hosted by Cathy of Words and Herbs. Sad to see the week come to an end, but will look for an invitation to participate next year–this was fun.

Today I’m sharing a few of the “sunny” colors from my garden. I hope they brighten up your day no matter what season you’re enjoying in this beautiful world.

A Week of Flowers – Day #6

Cathy from Words and Herbs extended an invitation for bloggers to join her in one week of sharing our flower photos to brighten up these lackluster days of winter. Here’s my Day #6 contribution of mostly pinks and peaches.

Let’s start with my beautiful Stargazer lily. She blooms every summer near the fountain in our garden. Her scent is incredible, and she has such adorable freckles.

A Week of Flowers – Day #1

I’m joining Cathy at Words and Herbs for her annual ‘A Week of Flowers’ meme, which takes place December 1-7. It’s my first year joining her, but what a fun way to bring a bit of colorful beauty to our December day. It’s December 1st–the sun is hiding today and fine flakes of snow are falling from the sky, so I thought I’d spend a little time looking forward to spring in Wisconsin by looking back at some photos from recent years.

Nothing beats the bright yellow of a daffodil in spring-time cheerfulness!

The demure pink and blue blossoms of Lungwort in an old crystal salt shaker

Raindrops on tulips just outside my front door

Paeonia ‘Gold Standard’ pretty as can be in my mailbox garden

Tulips and daffodils usher in the first hint of spring, followed by petite ‘Blue Denim’ irises playing with grape hyacinth muscari at the garden’s edges.

The flowers of the old-fashioned Bleeding Heart are a classic favorite. They make me smile because they remind me of when my grandson George called them “Blood Thirsty Hearts” when he was little.

A quick word of thanks for introducing me to Cathy’s meme goes out to my friend Páraig who blogs at The Three Hairs Garden. What sheer fun and enjoyment!

Upcycled Firewood Ring in the Garden

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”

~Margaret Atwood

Encore Tulip and Daffodil Performance

Last fall I planted some “late” season tulips and daffodils. While not all of them seem to have bloomed, many have, so I am blessed with an encore performance of mostly white or pale yellow flowers (not planned). The delicate beauty of the various shades of white and yellow stands in lovely contrast to the riot of color I had going on over the past few weeks – almost like a different garden. To add to the beauty, I have some of the flowerbeds edged in various succulents, which are looking pretty impressive filling in the front row and edges.

Just Mimicking Nature

The calendar reads May 1st today, but our temps are in the high 80’s and winds are blustery with gusts up to 50 mph. It feels more like summer than spring. I gardened a bit today, but it’s a little too windy to enjoy it. My hubby suggested we go visit the Allen Centennial Garden. This beautiful public garden is really an outdoor classroom nestled within the heart of the UW-Madison campus.

We smiled as university seniors donned their cap and gown and posed for friends taking informal iPhone portraits along the paths of this picturesque place. On other occasions, we have seen professional photographers taking engagement or family portraits, and we have even stumbled upon a wedding taking place in a reserved area of the garden.

This garden often mirrors my own in its stages, so I was not surprised to find that we were catching just the tail end of this garden’s tulip and daffodil show. A few weeks from now, the “show” will change once again as iris and peonies put on their own performance.

It was so windy, it was hard to take photos, but here are a few tulips which were still looking pretty fabulous. I especially loved their collection of potted tulips.

Once in awhile I am able to observe the student interns and volunteers hard at work planting and maintaining this beautiful place. I sometimes wish I could borrow them for a weekend or so to help spruce up my own place. As I’m growing older, I will admit that I am having more trouble keeping up with the tasks of gardening. But as we walked the garden’s paths today, I couldn’t help but notice that some areas seemed a bit unkempt. One sign pointed to the reason this garden seemed less than tidy. I had to laugh when I read it and told my hubby that I needed this sign for my own garden.

Weeds or not, no matter what’s happening at any particular time in this lovely place, I know I will leave having been glad I had been there. That’s just how I want people to feel when they visit my little plot of God’s creation.

Hand a (Grand)Kid a Camera

Having grown up a few states away from my own grandparents, I vividly recall those long “summer vacation” trips from Wisconsin to Ohio and West Virginia…and back. Three sweaty siblings elbowing each other in the backseat of our sedan in the years before our family car had air-conditioning. I loved seeing my grandparents, but the trip, not so much. Memories of that once a year trip make me feel particularly blessed to have our daughter Beth and her family living about ten minutes away from us and able to stop by often.

Raindrops on Roses

We’ve been in rainy Louisiana this week enjoying more than “raindrops on roses,” but also enjoying whiskers on kittens (four cats) and the playful antics of three dogs (sometimes five) in the home of our friends and gracious hosts, Don and Melinda. Our little vacation started out sunny and beautiful, but most of the week has been more than a little wet…

yet still beautiful, as these photos of Melinda’s garden will prove.

A beautiful ‘Porch Begonia’ (aka: Angel Wing begonia)

A gorgeous orchid bloomed on the last day of our vacation

The rain hasn’t dampened our quiet fellowship. Together we have enjoyed Melinda’s amazing cooking (she truly loves to cook), a never-ending tea-time, the challenge of putting together two 1,000-piece puzzles, or our time spent binge-watching episodes of British tv’s “Pie in the Sky” and “Rosemary and Thyme” trying to see who can figure out whodunit before the detectives. Oh, and I must not forget the menagerie of critters!

As wonderful as every single minute of our vacation was, it was nice to pull up into our driveway tonight and be welcomed by lovely daffodils and tulips.

Thank you to Jon the Propagator for hosting this fun, around-the-world garden tour each week.

Promising Signs of Spring

I love to see the tips of my spring-blooming flowers poking their weary of winter heads above the earth. First to emerge and then open in my garden is the lovely crocus. At the very first sight of the flower buds forming I begin listening for robins. Just about the time the earliest crocus flowers open, the robins return from their winter migration and begin announcing spring’s arrival with their song.

Another sure sign that spring has sprung is when I begin seeing a lot more activity in and around the various birdhouses and nestboxes in our yard. The one pictured below was painted by my grandson Charlie. I cleaned this nestbox out a few weeks ago so the new tenants would have a fresh start. As you can see in the photo collage below, the side of the box hinges open, revealing the fact that new tenants are making good use of our neighbor’s pine needles in their cozy abode.

The old-fashioned bleeding heart is another harbinger of spring’s arrival in my garden. As Dicentra Spectabilis’ leaves push their way out of the earth to begin their yearly show, their fuschia colored leaves remind me of old-fashioned feather dusters and are always a welcome sight. They’re one of those plants which you plant one year and then they take up residence wherever they want in your garden.

Tulips like the sun, so I’m always surprised (and extra thankful) to see the tips of tulips pushing their way up into sight on the shady north side of my house. Here are a few which have emerged right next to my only remaining swath of snow.

I inspected my yellow peony for buds and was overjoyed to see lots of signs of spring growth (see the photo on the left below). If the blog space I’ve used to write about any given flower in my garden is any indicator, it’s definitely a favorite in my garden, I wrote about this charming peony here, here, and here, and am very much looking forward to seeing its enthralling beauty again (see the photo on the right below).

Paeonia Itoh ‘Bartzella’ – What is now and the promise of what is to come

I look forward to having you join me in the weeks to come for more little walks through the little plot I tend in my little corner of God’s beautiful earth.

The Propagator provides a virtual garden plot each Saturday where gardeners and all those who like to write about playing in the dirt can gather and plant their respective garden-related missives. Known as “Six on Saturday,” it’s a virtual show n’ tell where each tiller of the earth shows off six photos of that week’s garden happenings (or anything garden-related). You’re invited to click on The Propagator link and begin your own personal tour of gardens around the world. Such fun!