Space in the garden . . .

To garden, you open your personal space

to admit a few, a great many, or thousands 

of plants which exude charm, pleasure,

 beauty, oxygen, conversation, friendship,

confidence, and other rewards should you

 succeed in meeting their basic needs.  This 

is why people garden.  It can be easy but

 challenging and the rewards are priceless.

~Tom Clothier

Postcrossings

              Postcrossings - I found this website via a reader and promptly signed up- that was over a year ago and since then I have happily exchanged postcards with lovely writers all over the world.  Just this morning I sent out cards to Luxembourg, Russia, Austria and Finland.  I received one from Germany today.  growing up I always had a Postcard collection getting family and friends to send or bring them to me when they traveled.  Postcrossings randomly selects someone for you to send a card to  and then when it is received your name is released to someone to send a card to you. 
     I still try to send postcards to friends and family when we travel- just a small little piece of life that can brighten a day for someone.
        People in other countries are most interested in our postage stamps.  It is fun to make up combinations of  them to reach the international postage rate.   This endeavor has made for interesting dinner conversation about people and places around the world.  We have recieved cards from countries that we needed to do a little research on as far as location. 
               I encourage any one who enjoys writing and travel, learning about new places and meeting nice people to give Postcrossings a try. 

Bronze Fennel . . .

Nature will bear the closest inspection. 

 She invites us to lay our eye level with her

 smallest leaf, and take an insect view

 of its plain.

~ Henry David Thoreau

This bronze Fennel Blossom is very fine and intricate, best viewed close up . 

 It is amazing to watch it grow and blossom day by day.  Lacy and delicate are the leaves and popular with the butterflies. 

Friends in the Garden . . . .

Most people don't see the sun,soil,bugs,

seeds, plants, moon, water, clouds, and 

wind the way gardeners do.

~ Jamie Jobb

Although most bugs in the garden are not invited or wanted . . . but they have found home, comfort, food, shelter in my garden. 

Glory of Gardening . . .

The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, 

head in the sun, heart with nature.  To 

nurture a garden is to feed not just on the 

body, but the soul.  

~ Alfred Austin

The Field . . . .

Those who contemplate the beauty

of the earth find reserves of strength

that will endure as long as life lasts.

There is something infinitely healing in the

repeated refrains of nature  - the assurance

that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.

~ Rachel Carson

Grace in the Garden . . . .

I look at how incredibly different these 3 flowers are in size, color, style.  Rose of Sharon the top, Cone flower in the middle and Bronze Fennel all delicate at the bottom.  We as humans share those differences with the plant world.  Some of us are bright and forward some are quiet and delicate, some fit  in the background, some are showy and center stage.   I am a background girl myself.  Where do you fit in the garden of life?

" Everything that slows us down and forces

 patience, everything that sets us back

 into the slow circles of nature is a help.  

Gardening is an instrument of grace" 

  ~ May Sarton