The Glory Of The Garden

The Glory of the Garden

Our England is a garden that is full of stately views,

Of borders, beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,

With statues on the terraces and peacocks strutting by;

But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.
For where the old thick laurels grow, along the thin red wall,

You will find the tool- and potting-sheds which are the heart of all;

The cold-frames and the hot-houses, the dungpits and the tanks:

The rollers, carts and drain-pipes, with the barrows and the planks.

And there you'll see the gardeners, the men and 'prentice boys

Told off to do as they are bid and do it without noise;

For, except when seeds are planted and we shout to scare the birds,

The Glory of the Garden it abideth not in words.

And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose,

And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows;

But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam,

For the Glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made

By singing:--"Oh, how beautiful!" and sitting in the shade,

While better men than we go out and start their working lives

At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner-knives.
There's not a pair of legs so thin, there's not a head so thick,

There's not a hand so weak and white, nor yet a heart so sick.

But it can find some needful job that's crying to be done,

For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth every one.

Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,

If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;

And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,

You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.

Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees

That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees,

So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray

For the Glory of the Garden, that it may not pass away!

And the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away!

~ Rudyard Kipling 1911

Blackberry Winter

We've been having a cold spell the past several days.
Old-timers in the South know this as Blackberry Winter, or Dogwood Winter, which mainly describes a brief period of cold weather that coincides with the time the blackberries are in bloom, or the dogwoods are blooming, (typically in early to mid May).

Oliver likes to follow us around the garden, and play his favorite game of hide and seek.

Despite the cooler and much wetter weather, the flowers are flourishing.

Foxgloves

Climbing Purple Clematis and New Dawn Rose

Camelot Rose

Antique Iris

They're Back....

Is it my imagination or have the Lightning Bugs returned at an earlier time this year ?

As we sat outside in the warm night air, we watched as the darkness of the woods was lit by the twinkling lights and mating rituals of the Lightning Bugs, or Fireflies as known to non-Southerners.
Meeting and creating beautiful luminescence together.

Close your eyes and think back to the long hot summers of childhood.

Playing outside until late in the evening, sitting on the front porch eating ice-cold watermelon slices, listening to the crickets chirp, and the tree frogs sing.

Remember catching Lightning Bugs and keeping them in a Mason jar ? They glowed beside you all night long sitting on your night table......Innocence and childhood going hand in hand.

We cannot recapture our childhood, but we can still enjoy the magic of the Lightning Bugs, nature's living lanterns............

Photo credit: jamelah

To Our Wonderful Mothers

This post is dedicated to all our wonderful mothers, without whose unselfish, love and devotion our lives would be forever changed.

"Happy Mother's Day", I hope your day is filled with muchiness.

"A Mother holds her children's hands for a while.......their hearts forever."

His Mother

Even He that died for us upon the cross, in the last hour,

in the unutterable agony of death,was mindful of His mother,as if to teach us that this holy love should be our last worldly thought - the last point of earth from which the soul should take its flight for heaven.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Reading to Mother ~ John Morgan

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.

~Tenneva Jordan

Blowing In The Wind

It's been an unusually windy day, the kind of day which is perfect for hanging out the washing.

What is it about washing billowing in the breeze on a washing line ?

Is it not just so gloriously suburban and romantic, to see white pillowcases and children's clothes, strung out in rows, telling us that this is a house where it's occupants are loved and cared for ?

Lacy underwear, towels and sheets, soccer shorts, table linens; it's so uninhibited, and they tell volumes about the occupants of the house they are adorning.....

"The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes

When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose.

She made such a commotion that little Jenny Wren

Came down into the garden and pegged it on again."

About The Place

The difference in the Clematis in just two weeks is encouraging. I wasn't even sure if it would bloom this first growing season, but it has outdone itself.

A little cottage hideaway in the potting shed.

An endless collection of bird houses.

A garden visitor to the bird feeder.

Optimism

With all of the surrounding devastation and constant depressing news, I feel the need to escape and recharge my mental batteries.

Luckily, with the click of a mouse, I find myself knee-deep in a field of English Bluebells, gloriously waving around in the warmth of a Spring day.
A "happy place."

It's important to stay optimistic, and keep the "can do" spirit alive.

"Real optimism is aware of problems but recognizes solutions;
Knows about difficulties but believes they can be overcome;
Sees the negatives, but accentuates the positives;
Is exposed to the worst but expects the best;
Has reason to complain, but chooses to smile."

~William Arthur Ward

Govenor Declares a State of Emergency

The Governor has a declared a state of emergency for Tennessee.

Floodwater continued to rise in downtown Nashville, shutting down most of lower Broadway including First and Second avenues.

The Schermerhorn Symphony Center and numerous buildings downtown near the Cumberland River had lower-level flooding.

More than 7 inches of rain fell on Saturday and 13.53 inches had fallen by 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, a new two-day record.

Just two days into the month, this is already the wettest May in Nashville's recorded history and fifth wettest month in city history. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen called it an "unprecedented rain event."

The guests at Opryland Hotel Sunday were moved to McGavock High School and other hotels. Gaylord Entertainment, the owners of the hotel, confirmed that there was 6 feet of standing water inside the hotel.
All rivers are at least 4 to 10 feet about flood stages.

Officials in Tennessee were preparing for more deaths and for the Cumberland River, which winds through the Music City, to crest more than 11 feet Monday afternoon, putting portions of downtown in danger of the kind of damage experienced by thousands of residents whose homes were swamped by flash floods.

Many residents are in the process of cleaning up, flood water and mud covering everything it came in contact with.

Other residents sadly no longer have homes to return to, since neighborhoods are still under fifteen and twenty feet of flood water.

Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers.

The Corp of Engineers are planning to release flood gates on nearby dams, at midnight tonight, in an effort to lower the water levels.

Water, Water, Everywhere

Flooding update....
It continues to rain, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency are saying this is the worst flooding since back in the 1970's....
Schools are closed, authorities are telling everyone to stay home, we've had eight storm related deaths in the State, extensive flooding, and two tornado touchdowns.

We have been hammered !

Back of the property.

Looking more like a lake, than a stream.

Thank you for all of the well-wishes, they are truly appreciated !
It's an official thirteen inches of rainfall in the last 24 hours, that's a LOT of water.....
The creeks are flooded, the Interstates are closed at various points, and homes have been evacuated.
Our home is NOT flooded, other than the back of the property, where the creek runs through.
My heart goes out, to those whose homes are, such a daunting task lays ahead.

The skies are still heavily laden with clouds, more rain is predicted all day today, together with tornado activity.

The Clematis is happy at least.


Town square still flooded.

My granddaughter's best friend's yard.

Granddaughter's best friend's four foot swimming pool, completely covered their fish pond also !

Floatin' Down The Creek

As predicted we have been deluged with rain the entire day. Flooding, Interstates closed down, tornado watches and warnings.
It's to continue into the night and most of tomorrow !
On the nightly news, it showed footage of folks stranded on the flooded Interstates, abandoning their vehicles, and swimming for safety.......isn't that unbelievable?

On my way home from work, I came through the town center, we have a 'square' right in the middle of town with the town creek running alongside.
Within thirty minutes of traveling around the square, the creek spilled it's banks and flooded the whole square, businesses, parked cars, antique shops, anything in it's way.

It's the same all over town, the park is one huge lake, car lots with vehicles up to their rooftops in muddy water.

Mr. Dylan hit the nail on the head , "The Times They Are A-Changin ".........