Tomatoes and succulents

Sept 08—Morning glories are such interesting little things—their seeds are.  Ah yeah, capricious little things these flowers are, for alas, I suppose they must have a brain of their own.

You see, this spring I put a few seeds by the feet of the “Naked Tree” below, for them to grow and from where to welcome the dawn with trumpet-shaped flowers...

How beautiful they'd had looked going up, up on the white trunk in their amazing coloration—ipomoea tricolor, ipomoea nil and ipomoea purpurea, Heavenly Blue Morning Glory, Pearly Gates and Scarlet O’Hara Morning Glory.  But, alas, what disappointment they were!  

Three times I tried planting these seeds in the same spot, and on each occasions they flew away and flew and flew away... then, decided to reseed themselves in a totally new place... far away on the opposite side of the garden, to say the least.  I finally gave up, and let them grow where they wanted to be…

But now, the best of the summer is gone, and chilly September days a here to stay, so today, I cleaned the morning glory patch and pulled them all out.  Morning glories die at the first sign of frost, and I don’t like to leave those ugly naked vines up all winter.  Sooner or later, they will have to be pulled out.  So, the sooner, the better, before it gets too cold.  But what pity!  For they were still so beautiful!

Sept 10—I was finally able to plant all those beautiful tulip bulbs that have been waiting in their packet for me to plant them for way too long… and what a beautiful thing it was planting them with bare hands, as I caressed the soil and parted the womb of the earth and deposited the sleepy rhizomes in it...  then, covering them with soil as my hands felt the warmth and miracle of it all; the very scent of earth ascending from the ground; a scent that always reminds me of death and life and all forms of hope.  I filled the rotunda with all these tulips, and I also put some in the dried creek garden side of the garden... now I sit, and wait until next spring.

Elves, nymph, fairies and goblins are watching… eyes silently following me everywhere I go; watching everything I do.  The garden has acquired that magical feel of pre-autumn and crisp apples and terracotta leaves, and I can only sit out here for hours and hours to come and just let my soul be enfolded in all the glories surrounding me… 

The sun sits on a low cloud these days; it's mellow light like globules of mercy and grace and forgiveness, and sometimes, when I go by the path that takes me straight onto the garden, I think I see it nesting on the leaves of the Virginia Creeper. 

Angels, big and tall, small and chubby live here too!  What a precious sight they all are to me!

Today, all the tomatoes plants were pulled out too.  What an amazing crop we had this year!  I kept some for ourselves and put the remainder on a bucket by the side of the road to share with neighbors, but I supposed everyone must plant tomatoes around here, for none stopped.  All the veggie boxes were cleaned up too.

Sept 11—I went to Lowe's this morning and brought home a few more plants, and another bag of tulip bulbs.  Tulip Angelique and Blue Diamond.  I planted them all in the epicenter of the garden, by where the larger fountain sits.  

Among the plants I got today, I brought home an African Violet plant, and a few more succulents.  I also bought a new flowerpot to plant my new succulents.  All my other succulents have nicely survived our hot summer days in the garden, and are doing splendidly. Except for the one pot I keep on the front porch, they are all now inside the house for the winter.

For this one, I decided to paint the terracotta pot all black.  I have found out that if you want to paint your terracotta pots, using acrylic paint is the best way to go.  The paint run smoothly on the porous terracotta and it adheres to it perfectly.  Much better than spray!

My gardens have such a strange way of lending me peaceful energy.  I like to tend in the cool of the morning and pick in the waning sun of the evening.   As the sun sets, the light dims and fades until my plants are in delicious shadow and the mysteriously dank scent of tomato leaves begins to spiral upward. The cool of wet earth spools around me and I find myself refreshed and invigorated in a quiet, sensory way.  I think this is how flowers feel when the day finally breaks back upon itself and a riptide of night moves fast to the West and the bugs spread their wings and fly towards the last of the sun.

I hope you all are doing well, and I hope you go sit outside sometime today or tomorrow, and just let Nature nurture you.  Close your eyes, and let your spirit fly.  Be blessed!