Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - April 2018/Poetry Sunday: A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost

A Prayer in Spring

by Robert Frost

OH, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,

Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;

And make us happy in the happy bees,

The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird

That suddenly above the bees is heard,

The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,

And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,

The which it is reserved for God above

To sanctify to what far ends He will,

But which it only needs that we fulfil.

~~~

Robert Frost certainly appreciated the pleasures of spring - the flowers, the happy bees, perfect trees, and the darting bird. Including the hummingbird, that "meteor that thrusts in with needle bill, and off a blossom in mid air stands still."

The pleasures of spring are many, but few are greater than the return to the garden of flowers with their bright colors.

The parade of April flowers in my garden is led by the amaryllis and the rose.

My first amaryllis to bloom this year.



Closely followed by this beauty.

And soon to be followed by this one.

And, of course, the roses. This is another view of 'Peggy Martin' which I had featured in my last Wednesday's post. 

'Julia Child.' She looks almost good enough to eat!

'Belinda's Dream,' a longtime favorite of mine.

'Lady of Shalott,' a David Austin rose that I planted last year. I've been very pleased with her.

This is an unknown rose. It came up as a volunteer in the garden and I assume it may have come from the root stock of one of the grafted roses. I quite like its small, loose petaled red blossoms. 

This is 'Christopher Marlowe,' another Austin rose planted last year. It has been in almost constant bloom except for a brief rest during the coldest part of winter.

At one time I had several Knockout roses in the garden, but a couple of years ago, they were struck by a disease that laid waste to them. This was the only survivor. It seemed to have a natural immunity and it is still healthy and blooms profusely.

'Darcy Bussell,' another favorite of mine.

The loquat tree bloomed during winter and now it still sports a few fruits.

This is a weed called oxalis which infests my garden, but it is such a pretty weed that I can't bring myself to try to eradicate it. Anyway, it disappears once the weather heats up. I do grow the purple cultivar on purpose, but it isn't in bloom at the moment.

And then there is this weed, hanging over the fence from my neighbor's yard. I wage war against it every spring. It is Japanese honeysuckle. It smells and looks lovely, but it is highly invasive and will crowd out native plants if given half a chance. No matter how pretty it is, DO NOT PLANT THIS PLANT!

Plant this one instead. This is native coral honeysuckle.

The pomegranate tree has never been so full of blooms as it is this year.

Marguerite daisies.

The poppies are mostly gone now, but this one continues to send out some blooms.

Pentas, a butterfly favorite.

Salvia greggii, red variety.

Salvia greggii, raspberry variety.

Next to the goldfish pond, the white yarrow is blooming.

Aquilegia canadensis, red columbine.

The oakleaf hydrangea will be in full bloom in a few days.

The old magnolia tree is beginning its bloom. In the past, it reliably bloomed in May, but now it seems to start earlier every year.

My garden continues to awaken from its winter sleep. Almost every day, I find another plant that I thought I might have lost to the cold is making its appearance once again, even some of the dahlias that I planted last year! Each new day is an adventure.

Thank you for visiting and thank you Carol of May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

And how is the adventure going in your garden this April?