Happy Thanksgiving!

Garden Meditations

by Max Coots

Let us give thanks for a bounty of people.

For children who are our second planting, and though they

grow like weeds and the wind too soon blows them away, may

they forgive us our cultivation and fondly remember where

their roots are.

Let us give thanks:

For generous friends...with hearts...and smiles as bright as their blossoms;

For feisty friends, as tart as apples;

For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers,

keep reminding us that we've had them;

For crotchety friends, sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;

For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants and

as elegant as a row of corn, and the others, as plain as

potatoes and so good for you;

For funny friends, who are as silly as Brussels sprouts and
as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes;

And serious friends as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle

as summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful as

dill, as endless as zucchini and who, like parsnips, can be

counted on to see you through the winter;

 

For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening-time,

and young friends coming on as fast as radishes;

For loving friends, who wind around us like tendrils and hold

us, despite our blights, wilts and witherings;

And finally, for those friends now gone, like gardens past

that have been harvested, but who fed us in their times that

we might have life thereafter.

For all these we give thanks.

I'm thankful for all my dear blogging friends, and appreciate each and every comment you leave. Thanks so much for stopping by. I love hearing from you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Photos are of my Zygo Cacti, aka Christmas or Thanksgiving Cactus.
 
Thanks to Susan of Patchwork Reflections for sending me this lovely poem.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - November '09

Our weekend was spent away, visiting our son and DIL to celebrate our oldest grandson's 8th birthday. It's hard to believe he's 8 years old already. Doesn't time fly by?
Consequently, my Bloom Day post is a day late (again).


Our yard and garden are strewn with fallen leaves and colored in greens and browns, but  a very close look reveals glimpses of color where a few hardy plants are still braving the elements. I'm happy to say that we've had some glorious Indian Summer-like days with mild temperatures and abundant sunshine. Not all, mind you, but a few lovely days in between the colder ones. This has encouraged me to get outside and plant Tulip and Hyacinth bulbs. I still have a few tulips left to plant, but it's a good feeling to almost have that job completed. One more to cross off the list!

This Clouded Sulphur butterfly flitted happily in the brilliant sunshine on a recent warm afternoon and found sustenance in the Verbena Homestead Purple, which blooms on in spite of the heavy frosts.

Anemone de caen (Dutch Windflower) is still opening blooms. Do you see the little honey bee on the leaf below the flowers?

He was warming up in the early morning sunshine.

The pink Abutilon is blooming profusely. I took it and the orange one outside to soak up some bright rays on one of the glorious days.

Georgous blooms, aren't they?

The Abutilon "Gold Dust" has grown very large this past summer. That's Molly supervising the photo shoot.

It's easy to see where the name comes from. Those variegated leaves are so pretty.

The "Anthony Waterer" Spirea in the Pink Garden still shows beautiful fall color, and Lamium blooms on at its feet. The Key Lime Pie Heuchera adds its lovely chartreuse to the mix.

The frosty mornings are still providing some good opportunities for close-ups.

Here's the Spirea.

Frosty Lamium

and a few last blooms on the Obedient plant (Physostegia Virginiana).

Euphorbia

"Cerise Queen" Achillea (Yarrow) is another plant that continues to produce blooms in the cold weather.

Lamium and Verbena Homestead Purple in the Rose/Clematis Garden.

White Alyssum blooms on amid the Verbena.

Several things are blooming indoors. Most of the Ivy Geraniums are still hanging on the covered side porch. This one is "Marimba". They'll be moved to the cool upstairs bedroom windows soon.

I'm loving these Angelwing Begonia blooms.

I'm pleased with the red Christmas Cactus which was purchased last year. The pretty flowers are  beginning to open, and there are lots of buds to look forward to. I fed it all summer.

A friend gave me cuttings of this white one. There's pink in the flowers as well when they open.

My dear hubby added lights to the plant shelves he built for me last winter. The Columnea (middle of top shelf) is producing a few bright orange blooms. Numerous overwintering Wax Begonias are blooming a little and one lovely purple African Violet (not shown).

Some of my containers are still housed in the garage, but sometimes I carry a few out to soak up the sun's warmth and light. I can't bear to throw away plants that are still blooming so nicely. Some of the plants will go into the cellar to overwinter. Hubby has lights and tables set up to accommodate these. Murphy (the self-appointed head barn cat) is the "cat of the moment" here.

The yellow Chrysanthemum is still blooming, although the blooms are beginning to fade. The buds were still closed when I bought it and I've never before had a potted Mum whose blooms lasted as well as this one.
Hannah was sniffing the blooms and I ran for the camera, but I missed the moment. She's a cat who loves to stop and smell the flowers. For those who have asked, yes, she and Molly are sisters and look so much alike that it's hard to tell them apart unless you know them well. But they are quite different in personality.


If you'd like to see what's  blooming around the world, stop by Carol's May Dreams Gardens, and join in with your own bloom post if you care to.


Happy November everyone!