Flowers are Our Friends

 Bringing flowers indoors whether from the garden or the market, they are my friend.

They light up my life each and every day.

You can always find a small and sometimes a large bouquet inside my house, even in winter. They make me smile.

Even on my tea tray there is a flower or two.

"Just living is not enough....One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower." Hans Christian Andersen

I hope flowers are your friend too.

They delight my soul each and every day.

Sending love,

Marilyn

"A Thing of Beauty" and Happiness!

 "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:

It's loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health,

and quiet breathing."

John Keats

 

"The air was fragrant with a

thousand trodden aromatic herbs,

with fields of lavender, and with the 

brightest roses blushing in the tufts all

over the meadows...."

William Cullen Bryant

This morning over my breakfast I was reading an article on what makes you happy. The first things on the list just made me smile. One was a plane ticket in pocket to head to Paris. I would be happy with any plane ticket purchased and ready to go anywhere. The other was being greeted by her goats when she went out to collect chicken eggs. Can you just picture those silly goats? Flowers in my garden make me happy. All the pictures above are from my garden at one time or the other this summer. Just looking back at them I smile.

What makes you happy?

Sending love,

Marilyn

A Lily speaks to Me

"Lilies have various symbolic meanings. They are often associated with purity, renewal, and transience. In Christianity, the Madonna Lily represents the Virgin Mary's purity. The lily is the national flower of Italy and is featured on the country's emblem. It symbolizes unity and peace."

"On the one hand, calla lily meaning expresses the idea of life and fertility, while on the other it's a well-known symbol of death. One early calla lily meaning originates in ancient Greek culture, where the flower was thought to represent magnificent beauty. This origin stems from a tale regarding Hercules as a baby."

I find the meaning of flowers to be quite fascinating and fun to notice, but sometimes they create different meanings for us personally.

The calla lily reminds me of my mother and growing up in California. As a young girl, my mother often grew them in our garden. They are easy to grow and don't take a lot of attention. I don't ever remember her bringing flowers into the house, but maybe I just didn't notice. But in the garden there were always calla lilies. My sister has them in her garden too. On a visit to my sister's garden some years ago, she gave me a box of them that she had dug up. I brought them back home, ants and all, and planted them in my garden. They have grown in my garden ever since then. They get a bit confused every winter and start to come up in February, then we have a freeze and down to the ground they go. Spring comes along and here they come again. They are blooming in my garden now.

Soon I will dig some of them up and plant them in my daughter's garden.

 

The last time I visited my home town in California I visited Luther Burbank's garden. There were pink lilies that he had developed. He did a lot of experimenting and hybridizing of lilies. It was fun to actually see the descendants of the lilies he developed.
 

 Lilies speak to me of peace.

May you have days of peace and joy!

Sending love,

Marilyn

Fickle Spring

Someone once said,
"The first signs of Spring make my heart sing."

Yes, it makes my heart sing.

When I drive in my neighborhood I wish I could have you all driving or walking along with me, enjoying the signs of springtime.

Daffodils and crocus appear every March, my birthday month, and I rejoice, laugh and sing at their appearance. These daffodils sit outside my window this very morning.

 

And on the first day of spring it was a balmy 70 degree day, I walked along the river enjoying the cherry blossoms.

 

I think others had the same idea. It was time to be outdoors savoring springtime.

 

These are all the blossoms I found on the first day of spring.

As I said in the heading, spring is "fickle".

One day it is 70 degrees and the sun is shining with a blue sky day.

The next day the clouds roll in and it is 50 degrees with the threat of sprinkles.

Visiting the market this week I couldn't resist walking through the garden center and coming home with a couple white geraniums, one parsley and one thyme for the herb garden too. Then there was also a lavender plant that jumped into my basket. Now I hope there is no more frost, but only sunshine and sprinkles. Oh those fickle days of springtime!

 

Raindrops on daffodils in my garden.

"In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside 24 hours." —Mark Twain

Are you enjoying signs of spring in your part of the world?

Is it making your heart sing?

Sending love, Marilyn

Winter Flowers

 "The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the Imagination." Terri Guillemets

Each day of the year I watch for flowers and color around me in nature. In winter I particular search for color, as it is such a joy when I find it. Out of curiosity I did a search online this week to see what would pop up for winter flower quotes. I loved what I found and the thoughts behind each quote. As I share the quotes I am also sharing the color in my pictures that I have found as we quickly approach the end of winter and the beginning of springtime. The flower above is in my garden. It is called Hellebore or Lenten Rose. It is one of the first flowers I find in my garden during the waning winter days.

 

 "The flowers of spring are winter's dreams related at the breakfast table of the angels." Kahlil Gibran

Camellias are beginning to bloom in my garden and here at Lan Su Chinese Gardens too.

 

I was amazed to find plum blossoms above and Daphne below at Lan Su Chinese Gardens too.

 

Do you think the gentlemen sitting in this garden are talking about finding winter color? We can only imagine?

 

"Some flowers can bloom in winter reminding of the tenderness that can conquer the cold harshness." Unknown

 

Daffodils have begun blooming in my garden.

 

"If flowers can teach themselves how to bloom after winter passes..........So can you." Noor Shirazia

 

Do you search for winter color?

Do you have flowers beginning to bloom around you?

Notice what you notice.

 

Sending love, Marilyn

Word Magic

 A day late, but celebrating Spring Equinox with the word BLOOM

The definition of BLOOM is "

a flower, especially one cultivated for its beauty."

                              I couldn't resist visiting the "BLOOM" in my garden.

William Wordsworth, ‘Lines Written in Early Spring‘.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:—
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure…

“I am in awe of flowers.
Not because of their colors,
but because even though they
have dirt in their roots,
they still grow.
They still bloom.”
― D. Antoinette Foy

 I must admit this is my favorite time of year. Not only is it my birthday, but it is when the earth wakes and flowers begin to BLOOM. I cannot resist snapping their pictures as they pose so beautifully for me. The new shades of green with the touches of yellow, pinks, and reds just make my heart sing and I want to dance through the beds of flowers.

BLOOM was happy for me to visit and celebrate this day.

With cup of tea in hand, my nose leaned closely to smell, I celebrated this day with a smile, a bit of laughter, and a dance along the way. 

                             Happy Spring Equinox, dear friends!

A Gift for You - A Flower and A Poem

 

 

“Love recognizes no

barriers. It jumps hurdles,

leaps fences, penetrates

walls to arrive at its

destination full of hope.”

 

~Maya Angelou 

 

Roses, to me, represent Love.

A walk in the evening rose garden last night 

just to enjoy the roses and the coolness of the air.

It was a delight.

This week is predicted to be very hot here in Oregon.

The roses and flowers in the garden will wilt;

so it was an adventure to capture the roses before they leave.

They delighted me and I smiled.

Keep cool, dear friends!

A Gift for You - A Flower and a Poem

Three small bouquets graced my tea tray this morning.

Starting on the left is a small branch from my daphne bush and a hellebore bloom.

In the middle is a soft pink primrose, which will be planted in the garden at the end of the month.

And on the right is a hyacinths bulb beginning to bloom. I found it at Trader Joe's in the vase for $2.49 and couldn't resist this small treat of a flower blooming on my tea tray.

The tea this morning is Shui Jin Gui from Wuyi Origins in China. A very nice black tea perfect for my tea tray. It is like a flower in my cup.

"Some moment happens in your life

that you say ‘yes’ right up to the roots of your hair,

that makes it worth having been born

just to have happen…

laughing with somebody

till the tears run down your cheeks…

waking up to the first snow…

being in bed with somebody you love...

Whether you thank God for such a moment

or thank your lucky stars,

it is a moment that is trying to open up your whole life.

If you turn your back on such a moment

and hurry along to business as usual,

it may lose you the ball game.

If you throw your arms around such a moment

and hug it like crazy,

it may save your soul."

 ― Frederick Buechner

Toss your arms around each moment and savor each day.

Sending love and a flower.

Sunflowers Make Me Smile

 "I want to be like a sunflower; 

so that even on the darkest days

I will stand tall and find the sunlight."

 author unknown

In our garden standing tall is the sunflowers.

I included the car for perspective. They are the tallest sunflowers we have ever had in the garden.

Eventhough there are sunflowers in my garden, I still had to drive to the country to find more. Topaz Farm on Sauvie Island (about a 30 minute drive from my home) I found the sunflower maze.

 

They had a u-pick area, but only my camera picked the flowers.

 

Sunflowers just make me smile. They are such a happy flower.

Now the ones in my garden are enticing the squirrels to come to the banquet.

 

Sunflowers by Donal Mahoney

No one has to teach a field
of sunflowers how to worship.
Before dawn in high summer

their necks are bent
in silent prayer like monks.
But as the sun comes up

sunflowers rise as well.
At noon they adore the sun
the way monks in pews

adore the Host at elevation.
Listen and you may hear
sunflowers sing Alleluia!

Happy Weekend, dear friends!

To See Takes Time

 "Nobody sees a flower, really

it is so small

we haven't time,

and to see takes time,

like to have a friend

takes time."

~Georgia O'Keefe

The quote by Georgia O'Keefe has been a favorite of mine for a long time. This morning as I continued reading Wintering by Katherine May I came across this very simple sentence and was once again reminded of this quote. The quote from the book, "Just waiting for me to learn how to see it."  It seems like I keep focusing on noticing and seeing. For sure, it keeps jumping in front of my thoughts and words, maybe it is the book that is reminding me to notice and see.

Sort of a silly pictures. Yesterday I visited this museum with my grandson and as we entered I snapped this picture. The sun was shining on my screen, so I couldn't really see clearly what I had snapped. When I downloaded the pictures I just had to smile because it looks like the dinosaur is about to invade the museum. I loved noticing this creature sitting out in front of the museum just waiting for us, daring us to enter. Oh what fun we had seeing the dinosaurs inside. After the two of us enjoyed the museum we went for a walk along the river and found some boulders to sit on while we nibbled our snack. What I loved seeing were the clouds above the city, wildflowers along the river, and a great view of downtown Portland. I loved that the two of us enjoyed noticing together.

How do we take the seeing and noticing to the next step? Do we just acknowledge it and go on? Do we ruminate or savor it? Or do we find we need to take action? 

I am fascinated by these thoughts.

I want to be more open to noticing/seeing, receiving more, and releasing to the universe more love.

Take time to see with our hearts.

Happy weekend, dear friends!