SPRING IN THE GARDEN
Elegant Annie likes to dress fancy.
Every day is a ball, y’all!
She’ll put on the straw hat Granny wears in the yard, then add a few flowers – that won’t be too hard.
The cape on her shoulder, made from a lace curtain, adds a touch of whimsy, that’s for certain. At the table on the terrace is where she’ll serve tea to kitty Meow, puppy Bow-wow, and me.
WEEDS OR WILD FLOWERS?
It’s all in your point of view.
Recently, my husband and I were surveying the backyard and discussing what, if any, changes should be made to the flower beds. We have a basic disagreement. To him, anything heodoesn’t recognize is a weed and should be removed. On the other hand, to me that same plant is a wild flower should be kept. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
In the garden, as in life, we must keep an eye out for the snake in the grass. Some are just a harmless annoyance, but the bite of others can be deadly. Because it can be difficult to tell the difference between the good and the bad, it is best to avoid snakes (human and reptile). Of course, when the Burmese python arrives from Florida, you’ll recognize it.
We are well into spring. The narcissus and daffodils have bloomed and faded. The blue French hydrangea and the oakleaf hydrangea are in full bloom. The ligustrum that grows at the back of the garden perfumes the air. In a few weeks, the gardenia will be taking center stage.
Across the street, our neighbor’s magnolia is displaying fragrant, creamy white blossoms. The pink “seven sisters” climbing rose my uncle gave to my mother over seventy years ago is in full bloom. It drapes languidly from the trellis that forms a backdrop for the mailbox. When we moved from Fernandina, Florida, I dug up the rose bush and brought it with us. I did the same with crinum lily bulbs my grandmother had planted.
Red and blue salvia are coming up in one section of the flowerbed that covers a large area at the base of the live oak. Four o’clocks will be coming up soon. When I was a child, my friend Jean Thompson and I would pick and make leis with the four o’clock blossoms from the volunteer plants that grew at the edge of the parking lot behind the post office in Fernandina.
Which reminds me, Delia is back home in Fernandina now. I believe she is going to be offered a temporary summer job in a law office. Matt will be back in Omaha, Texas, before long. Arriving on the same train will be a boy named Ozark. (What’s that he has wrapped around his shoulder?) A summer of adventures awaits them.
Until next time,
Mary Nolan Brown