Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Each New Day . . .

brings new things to see in Mimi's garden. Here's what I found on my morning "coffee" walk today ~

I started out the front door and noticed the oak leafs are opening in the side yard; then . . .

as I came around the house I noticed a bright color in the rose bed ~ I wish I could remember the name of this fragrant rose. From the rose bed, I meandered out to the swing set to check on the new gardenia and look ~

it was in full bloom; so I had to cut one for the nightstand in my bedroom ~ see the funny clay "man" hiding behind the bush? don't think any little birds built in him this year because Mimi forgot to hang him up again.

When Mimi was a little girl, Gran planted a gardenia right outside my bedroom window ~ that was before air conditioning, you know, so that wonderful scent of gardenia would fill my room at night through the open window. Hope this bush gets as big as the one beside my childhood bedroom, especially since 2 of the ones in my perennial bed didn't survive last winter!

Thought I would just sit a spell in the newly stained swing and finish my coffee before going in to start sewing on the children's costumes for the play on Sunday. Guess what I smelled there . . .

Yes, the Little Gem is blooming for the first time. Yeah ~ another wonderful southern garden scent!!

I can't go in without showing you this little creature . . . do you have them at your house? They're called cicadas (Brood 19 to be exact) and they sound like machinery running . . . in fact, when they first arrived here, Granddaddy was home one day for lunch and asked if I heard "that" noise to which I responded, "Yes, it's a machine at one of those plants over there." He laughed and found one of these on a bush. Of course, Mimi didn't believe him. But Granddaddy proved me wrong in front of a whole bus load of church people . . . and you know how happy that made him! Silly Granddaddy!! Anyway, these particular orange-eyed beauties only come out every 13 years and supposedly they aren't harmful--just ugly and make an awful racket!!

Good thing is they stop "singing" around 7:00 each night. I didn't hear them this afternoon when I was piddling in the garden . . . maybe it was so dreary they thought it was already 7:00. Several just sit around on the deck and front porch; Gigi has to check them out and swat them around before deciding they aren't worth her time.

Wonder what new flower I'll see in the morning? We'll have to wait and see; but Mimi loves walking in her garden . . . gentle garden breezes are like God's whisperings to me while the wonderful scents bring thoughts of The Garden of Eden before man . . . wonder what plants grew there . . . Mimi's sure there must have been gardenias, magnolias, and hydrangeas. Oh, and how could I leave out the roses?

Good night, little ones ~ it's time to "lay me down to sleep" with the sweet aroma of my gardenia.

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