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A Joyful Noise

putting down roots

A well-tended garden

March 31, 2018 by Melodye Shore

A well-tended garden is the sign of a happy heart. That’s what I think, anyway.

daisy, shasta daisy, flower, white flower

It welcomes visitors of all kinds,

rabbit, bunny, garden

and swings wide the gate to our most delicious memories. Juicy secrets, too.

tangerine, orange, garden, citrus

It heralds Spring’s arrival, and the turn of every season.

purple flower, Violet Churchu, Iochroma cranium

It’s where the seeds of our wildest dream take root, burrowing deep before they flower.

My own garden isn’t tightly curated, as you might guess. It’s a quasi-random blend of colors and textures–a joyful noise, like this blog, where order and chaos co-exist.

It’s at once a playground and a sanctuary–

garden, statue, angel, bird, garden statue

home, at the intersection of Elegant,

amaryllis, flower, garden, red flower

Everyday,

citrus, lemon, meyer lemon, raindrops

and Every-bit-as-beautiful.

goldfinch, lesser goldfinch

It makes my heart sing, when you drop by for a virtual visit! If it shows signs of neglect sometimes, it’s not because I’ve forgotten it–or you.

We’re sometimes called to tend a different garden for a while–it’s the rhythm of life, isn’t it?  In this case, I was temporarily sidelined by an injury. I can’t wait to feel the grass underneath my feet again! But even from this distance, I can watch the hummingbirds feed their hatchlings. And as the milkweed sprouts new leaves, I can recreate, in my mind’s eye, the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly, from caterpillar to chrysalis.

boot, foot, cast

I wanted to plant bulbs and flowers on Easter weekend, and to gather the first rosebuds of the season.

“Not yet,” my doctor said. So I’m resurrecting my blog instead. Moving ever forward, in joy and without judgment …It’s the gardener’s way.

hummingbird, backyard, allen's hummingbird

So tell me: how does your garden grow?

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Posted in: backyard, birds, Blogging, Boot, flowers, garden, gardening, hummingbirds, joyful noise, putting down roots, writing Tagged: blogging, bunny, daisy, gardening, hummingbird, Iochroma cranium, playground, rabbit, sanctuary, tangerine, Violet Churcu

Pruning back roses and putting down roots

January 9, 2018 by Melodye Shore

I pruned my rose bushes this weekend, and stripped them bare. They look so vulnerable now, and I’m remembering with wistfulness their fragrant beauty.

It’s an act of faith, this paring back. But it promotes deeper roots, and encourages branching.

It also speaks to me of possibilities. And you know what that means: a trip to the garden nursery!

Meet Oprah’s Legend, the newest resident of Chez Shore. For now, she’s a just a rootball with a few thorny canes…

Bareroot rose in soil

fresh from a leisurely soak in epsom salts, bare roots exposed.

Bareroot rose, soaking in epsom salts

Over the next few months, she’ll plant herself deep in the earth.  In due time, she’ll  become a leafy beauty. When she reaches her full potential, she’ll be a sweet-fragranced, “ruffled whopper of a show-stopper” according to the grower, with epic 8″ blooms and “petals as big as a child’s palm.” That’s not just catalog hyperbole, mind you.  A trustworthy gardener confirmed it for me.

Oprah's Legend, red rose

Courtesy of Weeks Growers

Hurry up, spring! This, I’ve gotta see.

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Posted in: flowers, garden, gardening, Oprah's Legend, pruning back roses, putting down roots, rose, writing Tagged: garden, Oprah's Legend, Pruning back roses, Putting down roots, roses, Weeks Growers

Topics

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