Plants Have A Lot To Say

   Currently, the Small Gardens are overgrown, weedy and seemingly happy.  Each morning brings a new surprise in the way of blooms, fruit or vegetables.  It just goes to show that once we stop dumping chemicals, do not overcut and simply let plants do their own thing, they provide.  Plants are resilient...too bad we are not the same.  

  This morning found some lovely phlox in bloom.  These plants came from two different people.  Pop gave me the first start and I have managed to keep them at least surviving for some 35 years.  Yep, the plants keep coming back year after year from the rootstock.  The newer phlox came from my sweet Grand Princess, Mary Ruth when she was just a tot.  Actually, she brought them to "Uncle Michael" (also known as Son on the blog).  She just "had" to bring him some purple flowers!  He loves them merely for that fact. 

  In a way, the phlox are the perfect gift.  Phlox are said to represent "united hearts and souls".  I was very close to Pop and miss him terribly.  He was the one who taught me the love of gardening and plants, in general.  I am also quite certain Son and Mary Ruth will always maintain a special relationship even though they are so very far apart.  The phlox are fitting and so lovely to find as one wanders through the yard.  That is part of the Magic of the Small Gardens!

Flying Flowers Brighten The Day

  As of late, my early mornings are spent weeding the flower gardens.  This, at least, is something that I CAN do.  It is also something I SHOULD do since the Small Gardens are my realm.  Keeping them tidy goes a long way in my pleasure in spending most of my time here.  A well kempt garden was something Granddad taught me.  He always said that if the gardens were neat, the plants were happy and the flowers would bloom.  Tending the gardens keeps me happy, too.

  Along with the zinnias and phlox that are blooming, there are dozens upon dozens of "Flying Flowers".  At any given time during the day, there are fifty to sixty assorted butterflies flitting about the place. These add to the beauty of the gardens.  (Yes, I know they are laying eggs which will hatch to caterpillars but it is a price I will gladly pay for the gorgeous Flying Flowers.)   Just a couple of weeks ago, there were only a few swallowtails and an occasional sulfur that visited the gardens but now there is a plethora of the winged creatures.  The Flying Flowers fill the day!

Queen of the Small Gardens

  I have crowned myself as "Queen of the Small Gardens" being as that is the entirety of my realm for the next week or so.  No hikes.  No pier.  No heavy work.  Boring.  While some would be happy campers with this new arrangement, I am not.  It is not my nature to sit on my duff.  I need to be doing...doing anything...just doing.   This newfound laziness is rubbing me against the grain and, though I am the queen of this realm, I wish to escape.  That, my friends, is in the plans!  Escape!  Oh, the things I could do!

  Actually, I cannot complain about being confined to the small garden spaces as this is one of my favorite places.  I am adjusting to the change and am finding that I have overlooked so many things here.  My appreciation for even the tiniest changes is overwhelming.  To think that just a week ago, I had free run of the Bayou and all of its wonders and, now, I am discovering new wonders that are practically underfoot. Perhaps a wakeup call is needed to literally show us how to appreciate what we are given.  All is good.

  This morning, I found that the phlox were blooming and the althea bush was rewarding my "devining" efforts with an explosion of flowers.  To be honest, the phlox plant is one that my sweet granddaughter bought for her uncle.  Son has no idea of planting nor caring for flowers so the plant was placed in my care.  He was, however, elated to see the blooms and we had a long chat about Sweet Mary Ruth and her choice of gifts.  Both of us decided that they were the best gifts one could receive.  The althea bush was from a cutting from my grandparents' home so it holds memories as well. These two discoveries were the highlight of my morning.  Yeah, not much in comparison to some folks' day but highly exciting for the Queen of the Small Gardens.  I can be satisfied with what I find and elated just to be seeing a new day.  Life is good.  

Miracles of Garlic

Garlic is one of the most used plants in my garden. Its pungent taste adds so much flavor to so many dishes that it makes an appearance in my kitchen almost daily. Meats, fish, chicken, soups, stews, gumbos and vegetable dishes just would not be the same without a good helping of garlic. It is strange in a way, that I use it as much as I do. Although my dad grew garlic in his garden, I never remember it being used in my mom's kitchen. Dad grew it as a natural insecticide. He always maintained that if you planted it beneath fruit trees there would be no worms in the fruit and no borers in the tree trunk. I cannot vouch for this, since as a child, I was more interested in eating the fruit than protecting it from bugs! Yet, I use garlic a lot. Not only do I cook with it, but I have found the many medicinal uses outweigh the common complaint of halitosis! It is one of the main ingredients in the herbal concoctions that I brew for respiratory ailments (colds, flu, bronchitis, etc). Garlic has natural antibiotic properties making it one of my first choices in the herb garden. Another use for garlic has been discovered in the realm of my garden area! Stinkbugs were invading the tomatoes, ugh! Hard knotty places appear where the bugs eat the juices out of the tomato rendering the fruit useless. I had to come up with a garden friendly insecticide to get rid of these things! On a whim, I mixed garlic juice and water (one part juice to ten parts water) and sprayed the plants. My son said the garden smelled like a pizza but the bugs were leaving as fast as they could. Remarkably, I have not seen but three stinkbugs since! Now if I can just find something to get rid of the tomato worms!

The summer heat is about to take its toll on the rest of the garden, though. We recently pulled out most of the spent plants and replanted, hoping for a late summer crop. Today, I noticed the okra and green beans poking their heads above the dirt but the squash have refused to wake up. It is amazing to me that the flower gardens are still doing so well. The Ruby Lilies, Gloriosa Lilies and Purple Phlox are all doing beautifully as are the Day Lilies. The roses have started to wane a little so perhaps I need to fertilize and prune them. Maybe if we get a rain, things will grow a little better. Hmm, speaking of rain, we are watching the first tropical storm of the Atlantic season. It is predicted to stay away from this area but we are always watchful of any in the Gulf. Hopefully it will not intensify in to hurricane strength. Tropical storms do give us much needed rain without the destructive winds, not a bad thing.