Saturday Haiku: Indian Summer

 

a season extends
as cold winds are delayed 
and butterflies dance

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Photo by Charles Kinnaird

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Saturday Haiku: Summer Feast

when blossoms wither

the goldfinch will be feasting

on nature's bounty

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Photo by Charles Kinnaird

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Bumblebees - for a Likely Tomorrow

       Grateful for sister bee

       who pollinates field and flower

       making the next season likely

       and giving hope for tomorrow.

 

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Videography by Charles Kinnaird

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Saturday Haiku: Peony Blossom

 

buds unfold
invitations sent
world dances

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Photo by Charles Kinnaird

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Saturday Haiku: Beyond the Flowers

beyond the flowers

our hopes are reflected in

a garden statue

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Photo by Charles Kinnaird



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Saturday Haiku: Garden Work

 

“do your work
as unto the Lord”
gardens know

 

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Photos by Charles Kinnaird

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Here's to a Bright New Year

An updated version of a cartoon by  José María Nieto 

(originally published in 2017, but I think it is a great vision for 2019)

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Saturday Haiku: Dogwood

dogwood clouds

on small tiered branches

spring blossoms

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Photo: Flowering Dogwood (Missouri Department of Conservation photo)



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Saturday Haiku: First Sighting

spring sighting –

bee tending flower

heart tending soul

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Photo by Tetra Images (Getty Images)

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Saturday Haiku: Butterfly Wings

dark butterfly wings

abundant summer flowers

no need to worry

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Photo by Malcolm Marler

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My Sweetheart Gardener

For Mother's Day, I was able to find a potting bench, which my wife had been wanting for some time. It was one of those "assembly required" deals, so we managed to get it put together. It is quite solid and sturdy, made of teak. My wife wanted to paint it blue, but I wasn't so sure about that. As you can see, however, it turned out beautifully! We made a spot for it in our back yard and she has already put it to use.

My wife has a green thumb, a love for plants and an eye for beauty. She makes our yard more beautiful both by her presence and by her horticultural skills. Seeing the beauty of our yard reminded me of a couple of poems that my wife's gardening inspired in years past. 

The first is one I wrote after a weekend of planting and I was admiring the view and feeling glad. The second poem came after having enjoyed the orange marigolds that my wife had planted in two large planters that graced our front entrance way. I don't have any orange marigolds to show you this year, but I have included some of her current beautiful arrangements. 

To My Sweetheart Gardener

Carefully nestling petunias and lilies

In gathered mounds of earth,

She cradles beauty for the eye,

Sustenance for the hummingbird,

And joy for the heart.

9/96

Marigolds

I’m glad she planted orange marigolds

That first made blooms in early days of Spring.

They made a joyful cottage entrance way

And called the heart to sing a quiet prayer.

I’m glad she brought her honesty along

When we first walked along a single path.

Such truthfulness has always opened up

New venues for the living, dancing soul.

And with such vision comes her caring heart

That makes a way for children, plants, and beasts.

As all within the circle live and move

To speak a blessing to the passing day.

I’m glad she planted orange marigolds

That first made blooms in early days of Spring.

Now, in the cool short days of Autumn, still

They bring delight and peace to heart and mind.

10/01                                            

Surprised by Horticulture

Every summer I enjoy getting out and doing yard work around the house. My wife knows a lot about planting shrubs and flowers, so she usually supervises the yard plans and planting arrangements. This summer was particularly harsh with some very hot, dry weather. Some of our plantings did well for the first half of the summer, and other things either languished or withered completely. We bought two oak leaf hydrangeas but only one has survived through the summer. Daises and begonias seemed to fare the best. We do have some perennials: three varieties of rose and a stand of red calla lilies.

We had a few pleasant surprises. The first big surprise was a group of volunteer vinca flowers (periwinkles). We had a pot of them by the back porch last year. This year they sprang up in the gravel on the ground just below where the pot had been last year. They did well and are still blooming now in the first week of November.

Along our back fence we planted some morning glories and cypress vine. The morning glories did fairly well...





but the most abundant blossoms were on the cypress vines. The small red trumpeted blooms were beautiful, and an even greater joy was the sight of so many humming birds and butterflies that were attracted by the flowers.



The moonflowers were one of our biggest surprises. They grew along the fence beside the cypress vine, but yielded no blooms throughout the summer. We had actually forgotten that we had planted moonflower. We thought it was a morning glory vine that for some reason would not bloom. Then all of a sudden, after we had a brief cold snap, the beautiful white blossoms burst into bloom! It was a last hurrah for our floral endeavors.



The cold is now causing most of our flowers to wither, but my wife has already made plans to put some winter color into the yard. Here are some violas ready for planting. All they need is for my wife to tell me where to plant them. And if the violas are here, pansies cannot be far behind!