under his breath,
he repeats the nomenclature
of flowers,
Aquilegia, columbine, the dove
Liliaceae , lily, the sweet
Violaceae, violet, the hidden,
memorizing latin names
and habits of each flora,
indigenous and cultivated,
he bends to the earth
in admiration.
every flower whispers
of pistil and stamen
petal and stem
their closely kept secrets
confessed
to his willing heart
and he keeps their confidences.
Garden Dictation
Come, bring your pad
and a sharp pencil
Let’s see-
First there is soil and toads and pebbles
then a bit of shiny stuff
and pine bark
(can you smell the difference?)
Now, columbines, astilbe
(the wee ones called sprite)
daylilies, roses, hostas and hydrangeas
an odd yellow lily
(not sure when it arrived)
Are you getting this all down?
Don’t let the butterflies
interrupt your train of thought-
Next the moneywort,
lemon thyme, a bit of bind weed too,
and the ivys: English, birdsfoot,
the white splotched variegated creeper
Did I mention the ferns?
Painted, everdale and cinnamon
and this one that was dug
from the bank of the creek
Iris: butter yellow, midnight black,
sweet apricot and white edged grape
stiff daggers of leaves stand
to mind their place
Now where was I?
Cosmos, pinks, mums, and hollyhocks
violets, a dandelion or two
soft lambs ears and ghostly dusty miller
pale grey to light the shadows
against the deep dark green
Well, that is that..
Tomorrow, we shall count the trees.
Marigolds
Marigolds always remind me of you,
I guess because you despised them so.
Were the flowers too ordinary
or their spicy fragrance offensive to your superior senses?
Were their colors of yellow, orange, gold, rust
too garish for your discriminating taste?
Too bright, too gaudy, too common?
A lowly flower found in cheap seed packets
and blooming in less tasteful gardens,
their cheerful, happy countenance, a childish bouquet.
We were never the exquisite flower to place in your lapel,
marigolds and me.
– Kathleen G. Everett © 2012
The climate has changed for us – we lost a huge saw tooth oak that shaded the whole front of our house. Broke my heart, but it was rotten and a hazard. So now, instead of my old standbys of impatiens and other shade lovers, I am experimenting with more sun loving flowers.
So far, I have been happy with the result. I am hoping that that the speckled coleus will keep doing as well as it is. It is a cheerful welcome at the door.
We are off to Colorado for a week. Not sure if I will be checking in, but hope to have lots of things to tell you and pictures to share.
Take care, my friends, and enjoy this first week of summer!
As always, it is all in the course of our seasons!
thecourseofourseasons 