I have always preferred perennials in my flower and rock gardens over annuals. But there is something about pushing seeds into the fertilized soil or digging and transferring existing flowers.
The Friday before Mother’s Day is usually when I gather my seeds saved in paper bags. This year, I’m adding hollyhocks (my hubby’s favorite) to hopefully grow where a butterfly bush died. And goldenrod (Nebraska’s state flower) to replace where I dug them up years ago.
I’m adding prayer to my outdoor activities because last fall we saw groundhogs in the front of the house. I had a dozen antique containers or shallow pots filled with hen and chicks. I’m assuming it’s due to the drought, the rodents (fat ones to be sure!) ate those succulent leaves and even the roots.
To assure I’d have hen and chicks to move around this May, I set three old porcelain pot containers on the front porch. It appears that groundhogs don’t climb stairs. In late March and early April, I saw a thinner groundhog in the bare area of my rock garden where I plant giant marigolds next to the driveway.
Tiger lilies have popped without being eaten, so maybe they aren’t a delicacy. I’m still holding my breath that the critters don’t eat off the succulent buds when they show.
Why am I rambling about flowers and critters? Could be I was starved to get outside this spring. I need to be in nature where miracles abound. Even the pesky creatures, from deer to rabbits who eat off fresh flowers, are as much miracles to me as the renewal of the earth.
Spring represents new birth. Since my word for this year is RENEWAL, my soul is awakened by the endless blue sky and the awe-inspiring, or whimsical formations of fluffy white cumulus clouds. I loved watching chartreuse and mahogany buds form on the trees earlier in the season.
Pictures of past flowers remind me of the years they flourished. I miss the two plants I’m allergic to, spiderwort and purple heart, and slant those photos a sad smile.
I’ve also begun a new project. Due to drought and shade, the area between the back of the house off the kitchen and the bird feeders grows only scattered weeds. Over the winter months I decided I wanted to see something interesting and visualized a finished product.
The center focal point is three pink granite boulders, courtesy of the neighboring farmer and another who moved them in place. I had fun stacking a cairn of rocks on the smallest one. High winds have blown it over a few times already.
Salvaged bricks, both from torn-down houses and old pavers from downtown Lincoln, along with pink paver paths, wind through the area. Since I’m writing this before May first, I haven’t yet put in the earth nine pots of shade plants. I have moved a few volunteer hostas.
I will post pictures of the final project, but I have no idea how long that will take. I have known for quite a while that I need to get my hands in creative, tangible projects in between writing hours.
Our Creator God is the Author of creation. I believe He set a creative streak in each one of us. Our bodies are meant for movement, physical work, rather than sitting on our behinds for hours at a time.
“And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills.” —Exodus 35:31.
The Friday before Mother’s Day is usually when I gather my seeds saved in paper bags. This year, I’m adding hollyhocks (my hubby’s favorite) to hopefully grow where a butterfly bush died. And goldenrod (Nebraska’s state flower) to replace where I dug them up years ago.
I’m adding prayer to my outdoor activities because last fall we saw groundhogs in the front of the house. I had a dozen antique containers or shallow pots filled with hen and chicks. I’m assuming it’s due to the drought, the rodents (fat ones to be sure!) ate those succulent leaves and even the roots.
To assure I’d have hen and chicks to move around this May, I set three old porcelain pot containers on the front porch. It appears that groundhogs don’t climb stairs. In late March and early April, I saw a thinner groundhog in the bare area of my rock garden where I plant giant marigolds next to the driveway.
Tiger lilies have popped without being eaten, so maybe they aren’t a delicacy. I’m still holding my breath that the critters don’t eat off the succulent buds when they show.
Why am I rambling about flowers and critters? Could be I was starved to get outside this spring. I need to be in nature where miracles abound. Even the pesky creatures, from deer to rabbits who eat off fresh flowers, are as much miracles to me as the renewal of the earth.
Spring represents new birth. Since my word for this year is RENEWAL, my soul is awakened by the endless blue sky and the awe-inspiring, or whimsical formations of fluffy white cumulus clouds. I loved watching chartreuse and mahogany buds form on the trees earlier in the season.
Pictures of past flowers remind me of the years they flourished. I miss the two plants I’m allergic to, spiderwort and purple heart, and slant those photos a sad smile.
I’ve also begun a new project. Due to drought and shade, the area between the back of the house off the kitchen and the bird feeders grows only scattered weeds. Over the winter months I decided I wanted to see something interesting and visualized a finished product.
The center focal point is three pink granite boulders, courtesy of the neighboring farmer and another who moved them in place. I had fun stacking a cairn of rocks on the smallest one. High winds have blown it over a few times already.
Salvaged bricks, both from torn-down houses and old pavers from downtown Lincoln, along with pink paver paths, wind through the area. Since I’m writing this before May first, I haven’t yet put in the earth nine pots of shade plants. I have moved a few volunteer hostas.
I will post pictures of the final project, but I have no idea how long that will take. I have known for quite a while that I need to get my hands in creative, tangible projects in between writing hours.
Our Creator God is the Author of creation. I believe He set a creative streak in each one of us. Our bodies are meant for movement, physical work, rather than sitting on our behinds for hours at a time.
“And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills.” —Exodus 35:31.
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