Darrel's Zinnia
Peony
Rose
Nan's Poinsettia
Darrel's Marigolds
Lily of the Valley
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FLOWER POEMS
Nancy Murdock
Now that Spring is here, I have a batch of poems to celebrate the flowers in my life. I had a very productive evening recently!
TO A ZINNIA
I take this occasion to thank you
For your many helpful years
Of sending strong, unblemished bouquets
Of bright, firm colors
From my mother’s bountiful garden
To win prizes at the fair.
You dependably took a stand
In her lavender ceramic vase,
Round with a short round handle,
Through which you poked your face
And cheerfully took First Prize.
PEONY OH PEONY
You smell so wonderful -
Pink and white petals beautifully spread,
You glorify the garden bed.
Ripe and withholding nothing
You ignore the ants that squirm
Over your luscious, perfumed body.
I bury my nose in your neck
And breathe your beauty and fragility
My gorgeous, gorgeous Peony.
IN MEMORY OF A ROSE
Always I had wanted
A rose to grace my garden -
We'd live in harmony
Your beauty mine to enjoy.
But you were somewhat shy
And thrived on special foods
Enough and not too much
Of water and earth and such.
Finally you agreed
To come and be my love
My scented yellow beauty
At peace next the path to my home.
I watched you grow and prosper
Climb the garden fence
Peek into my window
Nod as you napped in the sun.
Oh Rose, I loved you full
And leaving you was grief -
I hold you still in my heart
And remember your place in my dream.
IN THE MIDST OF DEATH THERE IS POINSETTIA
Who can resist a Poinsettia
With its wonderful burst of color
In the season of death and grayness
The cold, unyielding winter.
Those strong bright pointed reds
With little yellow centers
A bush of hope in a dull time
Crimson to light up the hearth.
The Maple has shed its leaves
Azaleas wait for spring
But this fiery personality
Fills the house with its presence.
I need you, my Poinsettia
Don’t leave me yet, I plead.
Your zest and flash I treasure
Deep red, darkly illumined, Poinsettia.
MARIGOLD, MY MARIGOLD
How many ways can I tell you
My old reliable friend
Of the joy you brought me yearly
From a ten cent pack of seed.
Spread in the warm black earth
And nurtured by the sun
You always fulfilled my goals
Of bronze and gold and green.
Others chose nasturtiums
Or hollyhocks, mignonette
But I stuck with you, my dear one,
You’ve never deceived me yet.
Some might not choose your smell
Your hearty, herbaceous warmth -
You left your scent on my hands
I stroked you and breathed your essence.
All these years later I tell you
How much you’ve meant to me
Come close once more, my Marigold,
And render my memories real.
LILY OF THE VALLEY
What valley produced you, my shy one
From which womb did you come
In all your sweet, sweet loveliness,
Pure white and creamy belle?
We have to look to find you
Never putting yourself forth
Retiring in shady places
Coolly pretty and rare.
Easy to step on or rush past
You sit with head down and bear
The hasty overlooking you know,
The rushing past without eyes.
Who can deserve your soft fragrance
The music of your design
I love you, small beauty of the shade
As I run over you and the grass.
MAY DAY, MAY DAY
Darrel Murdock
March 1:I went to the store for potting soil today and picked up 2 bleeding hearts for the shady area under the pines in front, 2 new blue flower perrenials I never heard of before and 2 clematis vines, the popular large red and the 6" bloom purple one. We are growing giant tie-dye bloom morning glories and purple sweet pea vines also, and red-tipped double english daisies, as well as enough dwarf non-vining tri-colored morning glories to fit between all the variety shrubs on the natural fence-line by the sidewalk.
I planted some new traffic-stopping tulips for early and late bloom in the spring and also many bi-colored snapdragons, new blue delphiniums and deep-bi-purple asters. Last year purple malvas and hollyhocks were added and two dwarf red stella d'oro daylilies. Oh yes, I also am growing blackdragon coleus for the shade, and Kathy is growing pansies, lupines and festive petunias along with more that I can't remember. So now add these things to the garden you saw last year and what do you have? Quite a show, I hope!
April 13: My yard is now alive again - many tulips, columbines, sweet williams, daylilies, astilbes and delphiniums are showing up. It looks different every time I look, which naturally is often. I poked holes in the lawn before and during the first rains, so the grass is coming in healthier, too. It's getting hard to sleep again, especially on all those sunny days!
May 6: Yes, once again I have upgraded. One change for this year is a dwarf morning glory between every shrub except the middle section, which has the blood-tipped double daisies between each one. The round garden is the "mound" between the keyhole gardens, which are at the base of the two red maples. That is the host of the stella d'oro daylilies, astilbe and delphiniums (now in two blue shapes) that were the highlight of 2004.
The mound was reworked this year, with new holes dug for more annuals and some shifting of the perennials. I had some crowding and empty spaces both; due to the original design where the holes were dug for different plants than are in there now. Also I took out a huge branch that provided an extra two hours of shade I didn't need or want; it was as large as a three-year-old tree by itself.
The tulips were done better than I remembered too. I had figured out how to get 3 waves of dwarfs - first the bright red and taller bi-color, then an exciting mix of striped leaved bright bi-color and peach beauties, then the peony-shaped crimson and white doubles.
Also the coveted blue columbine has been added to the corner of the house. Today I planted more of the bi-purple lilliput moon asters (from seed) and the 4 ice-blue artic lupines I planted before the last frost are healthy. The theme this year is blue, with red, white and purple but no yellows or oranges in the mound garden, except the stellas. I have wanted to do that for a while, but it was difficult to find a full and diverse crowd.
97% of the 60+ transplants were successful. I planted like I shoot pictures, putting things in according to the sun and shade patterns, with the shadiest first and sunniest last. Over three days I planted one tray and hardened another, until only one tray was left - a variety in case of casualties, that I will donate to one of the group homes.
The shrubs were switched around and replaced in part last year; this year all but one was healthy and in the correct spot. In fact it hardly left me enough to do, so I dug up a wider trench and put the grass plugs in bare spots in the lawn. Now I have done all that I meant to do, so it's just water, spray and ENJOY from here on out.
I have continued updating my website during the planting frenzy. I like to switch back and forth from grueling, painful labor to endless hours of editing pictures and pages. Really, I do.
LILACS
Claudia Lindsey
I just had to share this and who better to share it with than my dear
family.
While out in the front yard playing with his (our) darling
granddaughter Issy (Isabeau), Dennis came to the door and asked me to
come and look at something. I threw the dishtowel over my shoulder and
went outside to where he was standing. He pointed at the Lilac Bush that
he had given me last Mother's Day and said, "There are some buds getting
ready to bloom." I looked closer and the bush has several other buds on
it. Of course I was ecstatic and can't wait till they come into full
bloom.
The bush is only 1 1/2 feet high. How do I know this, you ask?
Well, I just took the yardstick outside and measured it. Pictures of
course will be taken. This is amazing, as we thought for a while that the
bush was not going to make it, but with all the rain that we have had I
guess it helped.
Are the Lilacs blooming where you are all at?
Click here for Part 4 of the May-June 2005 Muse.
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