Wildflowers

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Footloose and free Queen Anne's Lace..
gracefully nod in the summer breezes
along roadside meadows

Flowering wildflower delicacies..
provide an irresistible stop
for bugs and wings
~
"Nature will bear the closest inspection.
She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf..
and take an insect view of its plan."
Henry David Thoreau

Annabelle Caught In A Storm

Annabelle Hydrangea
"wherever humans garden magnificently..
there are magnificent heartbreaks."
Henry Mitchell

the Annabell's were putting on their sumptuous
blossoming show

before the rains..
masses of bountiful clusters stand tall
lighting up a dark corner of the garden

caught in the storms last week stems droop over and
bend facing the ground

I will clip off the stems even though they
are not ready... their faces are sitting in wet soil.
*enlarge to get a closer look

I usually wait until the flower is paperlike to harvest
for indoor floral arrangements in baskets and bowls.
I've read that to dry and keep its color..
dry hydrangeas in glycerin & water
*1-2 glycerin to water
split end of stem so it will take up more water.
I'm searching stores for glycerin
.. tomorrow I'll try the flower shop.
I'll let you know the outcome in a later post.

Grasses are thriving with all this rain and
Babie patrols the garden
from behind the ornamental grass

Rain

droplets of rain

big daddy doesn't seem to mind the splashes

umbrellas appear

perfect for garden fairies to huddle under

It has been raining quite regularly...
record breaking rain forecasts..
puddles everywhere!
Thunder and lightning moves in causing a halt to
my garden activities.

It is easy to forget that water is a precious and
often scarce commodity in many parts of the world.

Cat Pics

Babie
When we look into the cats eyes..

Paisley
... we penetrate to the very heart of its mystery

Babie
each of my cats have a beautiful independent spirit

Paisley

There is a natural magical bond
between my cats and I!

*Under my watchful eye I allow my felines
time out in the garden..
otherwise they are indoor cats.
Purzzzzz.. to all of you!

Coneflower

echinacea purpurea

purple coneflower
one of many flowers that brings life to my garden

the cone shaped center provides seeds for birds

and it's a magnet for attracting butterflies!

Planting perennials with varying growth habits
keeps the garden blooming all season
so I can enjoy color from early spring well into
the cool days of fall.

Mother Nature's Artistry

"... innocence of eye has a quality of its own.
It means to see as a child sees, with freshness and
acknowledgement of the wonder;
it also means to see as an adult sees who has gone full circle
and once again sees as a child-
with freshness and an even deeper sense of wonder."
Minor White

The blooming of this flower represents
the dawn of a new life!
When you look at its shape you understand it
as being perfection.

My gaze is drawn to the hidden secrets and
minute details displaying
its inherent beauty

With her light touches and brush strokes

Mother Nature's artistry is shown
in these masterpieces!

These hosta flowers are a source of inspiration
from the world of nature to
my world of fantasy and imagination!
Hosta flowers make perfect sun hats for little fairies!

Mug Shot

chipmunk
Alvin arrives for his daily rations of peanuts

cheeks filled he poses for his mug shots

as the girls look on..
we all know what they'd love to do
a locked screen door between them and Alvin
~
"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what
you say" Ralph Waldo Emerson

Garden Fairies

Sunlight fades

Stars appear

Garden fairies gather here

There are fairies at the bottom of my garden
*Click on fairies link and see more of my
enchanting fairie tales!

~
"I'll give thee fairies to attend on thee;
And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep
and sing while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep."
William Shakespeare

Botanical Pleasures

Botanical pleasures in lavender and pinks..
the colors in my garden

The pink peonies fade away and the
Annabelle hydrangea begins it's show

charming delicate pink rosebuds of the
Fairy Patio rose bush are a consistent and wonderful delight!

Lavender and roses always
the more agreeable fragrant side of life!

Fresh cut stems occupy a privileged place in my life!

~
"This is how I love you, in small portions,
here and there, fragments
a lily, a rose and then brought to completion
to light my dreams."
Gerardo Diego, The Lark of Truth

Queen of Flowers

"Love and Peace"
Roses have a longer history
than any other plant in our gardens.
Greeks and Romans honored the rose as the
"queens of flowers"
plenty of roses were brought into the decadent palaces
of Roman emperors.
Victorians deemed the rose as the flower of love.

"same rose different light"
My newest rose "Love and Peace" a gift I received
to celebrate the birth of our grandson

Her beautiful face.. ready to unfurl..

"Kath Wade"
she has a beauty of her own

Summer has her riches..
the decadent queen of flowers always a welcome sight!
*note: extremely fragrant roses
~
"The measure of love is to love without measure"
author unknown

6 Word Memoir

I dance to my own music!

Some time ago I was asked to do a 6 word memoir
by Shirl at Hedewitch.

*Her blog is a treasury of inspiration filled
with creative expressions in clay, nature photography
made into greeting cards, her own knitted accessories
and more!
Shirl it has taken me awhile and of course with much
thought it was my peonies that inspired me to accept your challenge.
~
I 'm sure that everyone that follows my blog has seen
an abundance of posts with peonies..
my favorite flower in the garden.
I have taken s-o-o many photos of these precious gifts with frills!
It's life is short lived lasting only a few weeks and a flower I wait
a whole year to enjoy and from my posts you see that I did.
reinforcing life's lesson
to enjoy every blessing while we can.

~
Enjoy your day!

Quiet Gifts

"Nature never hurries; atom by atom little by little
she achieves her work."
Ralph Emerson

Now a memory, these photos capture small graces..
a gift from nature which filled every nook and corner
of my home throughout the month of June

I add white roses for an elegant appeal

"Memory is a fickle thing,
a flickering light in a darkroom of possibilities"
Kent Nerburn author of "Small Graces"
~
I dedicate this post to my dear friend ~TWT~ and anyone
who has a passion for peonies a flower with oh so many frills!
*More passion for peonies in my posts labelled "PEONIES"
look down on the left.
~
*To see more PINK Saturday Posts visit How Sweet the Sound
Wishing all my American visitors a
Happy July 4th weekend!