A year of blooms - and other things

This year, as every year does, held challenges for the gardener. And yet, in spite of uncooperative weather, a plague of weeds and occasionally insects - not to mention garden "helpers" who didn't always follow instructions - it turned out to be not an entirely bad year in the garden. Here are some of my favorite pictures from each month.

In January, the Christmas poinsettias were still in full bloom.

I do love the sweet little leucojum blossoms that brighten dull February.

By March, the redbud was in full bloom, a cafeteria for bees.

April is amaryllis month. This frilly one held hidden treasure between petals of its blossom - a little green treefrog. Love those eyes!

In May, the water lilies began blooming.

And by June the crocosmias were finishing up their blooming.

What would July be without sunflowers and bumblebees enjoying them?

By August, the blossoms of the beautyberry had begun ripening into its eponymous berries.

Bright coral vine blossoms covered this section of garden fence in September.

Justicia 'Orange Flame' was a star of the garden in October.

Shrimp plant blooms were part of my November Bloom Day post.

And December saw my 'Graham Thomas' rose bush with its best flowers of the year.

When a gardener looks at her garden, the tendency is to see everything that is wrong with it - every plant that is in the wrong spot, every plant that isn't living up to its promise, every weed and every insect-chewed leaf. But it is nice once in a while to stop and remind ourselves that there are a few things right with the garden as well. It gives us hope that things might get even better in the new year.

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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