Columbine

Love Now

| Flower Roberts

I am home again. There could not be a more glorious morning. I am wandering my gardens in my pajamas, as usual. Birds are singing and flowers are blooming. Nature is partying right here in my yard.


My family is meeting at the home of our much-loved uncle this afternoon. He has chosen quality over quantity in his cancer journey. I support this decision with my whole, broken heart.


My urgent message to you is, “Love now.” Do not wait to visit or pick up the phone. Do not hesitate to say, “I love you.” Give longer hugs to more people. Life is in constant flux. What is blooming this morning will be setting seed soon.

I encourage you to include yourself in this loving. Do things that make your heart sing. You are not immortal. Time slips away while you are busy.

In the words of John Lennon 

“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans”

Make a good plan, get into good trouble and go love somebody.

FLOW

Don’t Listen to the Groundhog

| Flower Roberts

Since I have a garden, not a groundhog, I tend to consult it as to when spring will arrive.

The first place I go for this information is the weeds.  Yes, that’s right.  WEEDS.

They know more than the hybrids. Their DNA has not been tampered with.

They use old school, and I do mean old, methods to determine when to start growing.

Well fellow Carolinians, the weeds say get busy.

The mint family(square stems) and dandelions are all ready blooming.

That means if you delay in weeding, you will be weeding mama weeds and baby weeds.  Two generations!   That’s way more than twice as many.

You don’t have weeds, you say?  Lucky you.

Then consult some of your garden favorites.

The BULBS say spring is near.

Tete-a-tetes say yes.

The crocus concur.

The old daffodils on the hill are thrilled.

Bulbs are always ahead of the game you say?

Ask the PERRENIALS.

Foxgloves are growing foliage.

The columbines are coming out.

Perennial poppycock you say?

Then go see a SHRUB.

The Pieris are ringing their spring bells.

The Quince is quite convinced that spring is near.

If you still need to consult a CRITTER, or two.

The bunnies have some spring in their hop.

Get busy people. Being a gardener is like being part of a horse costume.  If you’re not a head, you’re a behind.

I said spring is near NOT here. You crazy people better not set out tomatoes yet. They go out the third week in April.

P.S. I do have a groundhog. But we don’t mention such things around Mr. Flower.

FLING

 

 

 

Columbine and the Miners

| Flower Roberts

The flowers are delicate and complex.

IMG_8383

The seed pods resemble green jesters’ hats.

IMG_9415

 

The leaves…ugly, whitish and sickly.

IMG_9370

I hate leafminers.  I got so disgusted with them that I chopped down the infected plants.

No use feeding the enemy!     Leaf miners are larvae of a tiny fly.

The fly lays its eggs on the leaves.  The hatched larvae eat their way through the middle of the leaf’s layers.

The flowers are so beautiful,

IMG_9035

but the leaves look ravaged.

IMG_9047

No pesticides for this gardener,

IMG_8385

so chop chop chop.

IMG_9039
Little Lanterns Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis ‘Little Lanterns’

I’ll just take photos of the blooms this spring.