Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Life Began in a Garden

That depends.

I like the saying. It's a beautiful thought and all of us who love gardens like it.

I suppose somewhere between the hateful time of picking green beans and growing up, I learned to love creating a garden. I like designing it: colors, styles, the challenges.

I'm changing some things this year. I have one huge garden that takes in my garden pond. It's laid out in sections and for several years I've gone with the "wild" look, but this year I'm craving a more uniform look--in parts of it. I'm pleased with the results so far.

What are gardens good for?
  • Forgetting your troubles: "You can bury a lot troubles digging in the dirt." -- Author Unknown
  • Finding cures for what ails you. "The garden is the poor man's apothecary." --German Proverb
  • To write about yourself. "Gardens are a form of autobiography." --Sydney Eddison
  • Keeps you smiling. "There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling." --Mirabel Osler
  • You can find God in a garden. "The best place to seek God is in a garden." --George Bernard Shaw
  • Exercise! "Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination." --Mrs. C.W. Earle
  • Humbles you! "There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder." --Alfred Austin


What do you think about the following looks?



Zen garden at Ryōan-ji.

Do you toy with the idea of a simple Japanese style?


French formal garden in the Loire Valley.

Or would you prefer a
more formal one?


Checkered flower bed in Tours, France.
Are you fun-loving and like unique things?


Keukenhof tulip garden in Lisse, Netherlands.


Are you busy and don't have time for a lot of planning?
Rather toss the seeds and see what happens?


God met Adam in a garden.
Many poets and writers get their inspiration while in a garden.
Proposals of marriage and business have taken place in gardens.
Jesus prayed in a garden.
Peter savagely came to his Master's rescue in a garden.
Famous painters used gardens for their themes.
Children have had (in stories & real life) many adventures in gardens.
Gardens provide nurture to the spirit.

Brave enough for a garden? Just remember: it's addictive!
"Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the seriousness of your life because of an irresistable impulse to get up and pull a weed." --Lewis Gannit

And . . .

"It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not."
--W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman


May I (innocently, with a sly smile) encourage you to begin gardening today?




A Tuesday trivia question:
What do the balas ruby, the Bohemian ruby, the Siberian ruby, the American ruby, Cape ruby, Montana ruby, and Rocky Mountain have in common?




I walked through an "overabundance" store yesterday. I can't resist these stores, cause many times (not always) you can find bargains on nice things that would normally cost you lots more. There was tons of wall paper, which made me think of what to do with ONE roll of wallpaper. Maybe you wonder about that, too? If you do, here's some ideas:

  • Make bookmarks and place mats: cut to size, cover front and back with clear contact paper allowing 1/4 inch margins on all sides.
  • Cover notebooks, scrapbooks and boxes.
  • Make note cards.
  • Cover light switches and electrical sockets.

Maybe . . . more tomorrow. Smile.



ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Trivia fact about Teresa Slack (her interview's Friday, June 8!):
Her first full length story was a horror one called
"Summer of the Dead"

when she was in the seventh grade.
She killed off the heroine on the last page!



Don't forget to check this blog next week!
A contest in honor of Father's!




Quote:
God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done. --Author unknown


Blessings.

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