"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into."
~Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

That one bears repeating!

"Be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

I saw this one when I was looking for a quote about great women not being good little girls. Never found that one, but I laughed when I saw this:

My advice to the women's clubs of America is to raise more hell and fewer dahlias. ~James McNeill Whistler

LOL oh pup, mr. whistler is onto something there!
great quote.

this was in an email from my daughter this morning :)

A Posy

The cocklebur and ergot, horse chestnut, fescue taste not,
neither taste the green false hellebore nor jimsonweed
nor larkspur, nor even the wild black cherry, pigweed,
pokeweed, lupine, and Easter lily; regarding the cherry
there is a story, there is a story regarding the fescue,
men tell a tale about the green false hellebore, there are
accounts of the cherry, pokeweed, the jack-in-the-pulpit:
taste not, lest your skin harden, tingling like cooled wax;
lest your muscles straighten and snap like a candle
taste not the red oak lest your eyes redden and swell---

if you are hungry in this world you are in grave peril,
if it is food you want in this world beware, take care
never to go hungry so that the cocklebur or ergot say
jimsonweed pokeweed say, I am bread lupine say, I am bread

a poem by Dan Chiasson

I love that poem! I had to look up "ergot," as I was confusing it with "ergo," which may be intentional by the poet.

Lupine flour was pretty common at one time, I guess, but they boiled the seeds to get rid of the toxins.

I do so like the simile, "muscles straighten and snap like a candle." Can't you just feel that awful, irreversible sensation.

Think I'll go wild mushroom picking now....NOT!

For all things produced in a garden, whether of salads or fruits, a poor man will eat better that has one of his own, than a rich man that has none.
-J.C. Loudoun

I believe that. Just yesterday a coworker commented on how the lettuce that restaurants use always upset her stomach. She thinks it's the preservatives used to keep it fresh longer.

Wow, all the more reason to dine at Whole Foods! That turns my stomach to think they would do that. YUK. I do not eat takeout or in restaurants a whole lot. That would be a good question to ask them before ordering a salad.

Santa hoe hoe hoes!

courtesy of the Prairie Home Companion

"Some family trees have beautiful leaves,
but some just have a bunch of nuts.
Remember it is the nuts that make the tree worth shaking."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Gardening and researching Genealogy have more than a few things in common - trees, leaves, fruit, nuts and roots.
Both can be very fruitful endeavors. -Annie

I'm posting this after spending 10 days in CT with the family at Christmas. Had a loverly time but after that and two 14 hour trips in a jeep with sister, brother-in-law, two cats, a small dog and a kitty litter pan all I can say is....

there's no place like home, there's no place like home.

Adele

"Dream big and dare to fail."

This was the watchword of a man who was a sled dog expert with Admiral Byrd. He died yesterday at 100 (Nando obit.). He climbed a 10,000 peak at 89 with his wife and completed the Iditerod umpteen times.

SOOOOO, I guess we all can find some inspiration in all this...in planning some gardening adventures this year...dream big and dare to fail!

And, Adele, welcome home... too bad you couldn't have said 'there's no place like "homey"' and had a comfier trip.

I hear yah Claire, unfortunately brother-in-law is too thrifty to imagine spending the 800 plus dollars it would have cost in diesel. They will be coming back in April or May and I might make the trip back with them to CT for my neice's wedding in the "homey". Dawn was giddy with excitment to be on her way. After a month or so together we were both startin to "smell like fish" ha. Adele

Hey,good one, adele, that can be our quote of the day...it was Ben Franklin who said "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days."

My bachelor brother-in-law came to sanford last may for 10 days and boy were we ever smelling foul mackerel after about 5 or so! If he stays more than a long weekend this year, I'll just have to throw him in the garden for fertilizer!

This cut and pasted snippet is more lore than a quotation:

Hollyhocks were often planted next to outhouses long ago. Why, you ask?
So that in the event visitors came calling, a lady need not announce in front of everyone her need to use the privy. (Toilet) As the hollyhocks were next to the outhouse, one merely asked where the hollyhocks were, and when pointed in the direction, did not need to reveal if she were going to admire the hollyhocks or do something else while there. Ah, such a lady-like gesture! So if you have an outhouse, be sure to plant a few next to it even just for fun.

welcome home, adele!
great franklin quote - hmm i'm visualizing a needlepoint version hung in the guest room, claire?

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church,
I keep it staying at Home -
With a bobolink for a Chorister,
And an Orchard, for a Dome.
- Emily Dickinson

Good one, adele, I do love me some sweet Belle of Amherst.

Had to bite my tongue and slap my typing hand though...if I got going on that one, off to disney would I go...tra la la.

"a garden is like those pernicious machineries which catch a man's coat-skirt or his hand, and draw in his arm, his leg, and his whole body to irresistible destruction."

ralph waldo emerson
"The Conduct of Life" (1860)

Just call me Isadora!

"Her eyes were the same color as the little flower on blue-eyed grass just like Granny's."

"My Old True Love" by Sheila Kay Adams, a novel about NC mountain life, is this year's Pittsboro Community Read

"It draws the eye, this landscape, as the lush comfort of summer never did, and the mind follows, noting the muted shades and the logic of root and branch."

The Seven Ages, Eva Figes

That is so true. The winter landscape has such a stark and dignified character.

A little early, but -- "That first whiff of pure spring is nearly always expensive."

The Fragrant Garden, Louise Beebe Wilder

Dry weather, indeed a drought, is on my mind right now and I long for the rains to return. This morning, I chanced to read in one of my favourite books, "Old Wives' Lore for Gardeners", by Maureen & Bridget Boland (two old self-proclaimed spinsters sisters who in 1976, lived together and gardened in Hampshire, England), and found something I wanted to share with you - a versified collection of weather proverbs, many of them from The New Book of Knowledge, published in 1758:

If ducks and drakes their wings do flutter high,
Or tender colts upon their backs do lie;
If sheep do bleat or play and skip about,
Or swine hide by straw bearing on their snout:
If oxen lick themselves against the hair,
Or grazing kine to feed apace appear;
If cattle bellow, grazing from below,
Or if dogs' entrails rumble to and fro;
If doves and pigeons in the evening come
Later than usual to their dovehouse home;
If crows and daws do oft themselves bewet,
Or ants and pismires home apace do get;
If in the dust hens do their pinions shake,
Or by their flocking a great number make;
If swallows fly upon the water low,
Or woodlice seem in armies for to go;
If flies or gnats or fleas infest and bite,
Or sting more than their wont by day and night;
If toads hie home or frogs do croak amain,
Or peacocks cry--soon after look for rain.
------------------------------------------------------
~Annie

There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter.
One is the January thaw. The other is the seed catalogues.
- Hal Borland

and camellia and rose and perennial and supply catalogues ... i've been *lost* in them every night!

this was on the Emily Compost site this morning:

"You know you are a real gardener when you think compost is a fascinating subject."

"Never say 'Thank You' for plants, as they might not grow"
- an old Bradshaw Family saying.

"the love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies"- getrude jekell.

i also liked the one from yesterday's page a day, which was
"flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity". - john ruskin.

i know when i need solace, my garden gives it, in spades. it gives me far more than i ever give it. tammy

I agree Tammy, no matter how hard I toil in my gardens, it seems a very small effort compared to the pleasure I get from them. Adele

Annie, I had a good friend tell me once that his wife believed the same thing but when you love plants as much as we do it's hard to abide by! I think I ended up thanking her anyway and the brug cutting they gave me is the only brug that has ever bloomed for me.

Shari

"we can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses"- attributed to abraham lincoln.

i'll admit, i'm a sucker for lincoln stuff because my dad looked a lot like him-right down to the scar on his cheek. dad was a bit better looking, though-less craggy, and nowhere near as tall. smiled more, too.

as i was pruning back some roses yesterday, i especially appreciate the sentiment in this one. it had way overgrown its area, and i hated to cut some out, but i guess it's nice to have the problem of a bounty of riches. it got me back, though- i still have some fine thorns embedded down deep in my thumb- just like cactus prickers. grrr. good thing is while i was in there i dug out 2 nice wayward divisions of it (dehlia's purple) for 2 someones at the spring swap. :) tam

Annie, my friend is half Windish (Germanic group, I believe) and says that one should never pay money for plants given by a friend, even when purchased on behalf of that friend. Only barter is acceptable. Bad luck would loom large otherwise.

And yes, Tammy, Lincoln is one larger than life hero/sage who lives up to the legend in every way, the more we learn about him.

Tam,

What "2 someones" kind of plants / roses do you have in mind? I sure would like some cuttings of Dehlia's purple...and how!

Annie

well, they'll be special trades at the raleigh spring swap here in north carolina. i don't have that many really unusual things to swap for, and there's a real need for that. i don't think they'd be suitable for mailing anyhow, sorry annie. i don't recall that this particular rose does well from cuttings, though i'm planning on trying. i believe i got it as a division, not a cutting, from my mentor- that's part of why i snagged the divisions when i saw excess growth. the roses only go semi dormant here, or i'd offer to send you some dormant cuttings(though i have no idea if that would work being sent so far). i do have veilchenblau, another purple, that does real well from cuttings. it's also a climber, but not fragrant like dehlia's. it roots so easily it would probably do alright sending sealed cuttings through the mail. worth a try, i guess. i really don't do long distance trades except for seeds anymore, because i got burnt one too many times and it's a big hassle. a few 'sticks' wouldn't be so bad, though- a padded mailer would do those just fine. email me and let me know if you're interested. tammy

I have to agree with Tammy, I've had little luck with rooting cuttings after they've been sent in the mail. I did get a black pussywillow (1 of 4 rec'd) to root once, but willow hardly counts.

Well Tammy,

'Tisn't anything to fret over. I wrote down the name. It is nice to get grower descriptions and comments along with the rose names, and I do appreciate that very much. I like flowers for their beauty, hardiness and fragrances.

Have a lovely day all!
sweetannie4u

I am strongly of the opinion that a quantity of plants, however good the plants may be themselves and however ample their number, does not make a garden; it only makes a collection.

Gertrude Jekyll
"Colour in the Flower Garden" (1908)

Many thanks to Gertrude Jekyll & Marsha!

"...a quantity of plants...does not make a garden, it only makes a collection".

I am not collecting "Flora", I am growing pretty flowers. I enjoy digging in the dirt and the smell of it, especially when it is damp. I like pulling weeds. I love designing new beds and terracing with rocks. I tend them and care for them as children. I marvel at their complexities and simple charms, although I may not know all of their proper names. I drink in their fragrances and feast on their beauty. I grow vegetables and fruit because I want to, and because they are more nutricious and tastier than anything I could ever buy at the grocery store.
I am happy to share my gardens with the respectful humans & adorable pets. (However, naughty dogs that dig up my larkspur seedlings to bury a Milk Bone dog biscuit are another matter. Ahum!)
I am thankful for the activities of the bees and birds and butterflies and moths that frequent my property throughout the year. I grow flowers in response to some ancient instinct that draws me to the land.

Thank you so much for this one Marsha.

~Annie

my quote a day calendar's had 2 good ones in a row.

"half the interest in a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination."
mrs. c.w. earle, potpourri from a surry garden

"when daffodils begin to peer,
with heigh! the doxy over the dale,
why, then comes in the sweet o' the year.
for the red blood reigns in the winter's pale."
william shakespeare, a winter's tale

not that our winter has given us much cause to fret- other than an overabundance of warmth. my daffy's have fat buds on them. i always feel lucky if they bloom about on my birthday at the end of feb, but they'll beat that by aplenty this yr. tammy

Wish I had a quote a day calendar a la garden...good ones, tam.

Looked up "doxy," her being a strumpet of sorts. Guess we all will have our red gardener's blood pumping soon...how we do get "aroused" by the thoughts of the lush growth of spring and the infinite possibilities of the new season!

Daffs, along with daylilies are some of the most indestructible plants on earth...showing up along cellar holes of long-gone houses and in abandoned fields. I just read that they have calcium oxide crystals on their leaves that are a natural deterrent to insect and animal predators. Nothing like Mother Nature!

Socrates called narcissus "the chaplet of the infernal gods." NEVER WAS A POISON PERKIER.

claire in sanford

another good one

"Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see Beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." Franz Kafka

i like it! beauty is certainly something i look for everywhere- so maybe i'll have the fountain of youth! lol.

i have't enjoyed this quote a day/flower of the day calendar as much as some past ones. the photography isn't as good- some of the past ones have been great. but i love ripping off a sheet each day, and i use the sheets as my to do lists. one yr they were even printed with a grid on the back so you could sketch or whatever. very nice. my only problem is that when you get a really good one. you don't want to throw away all the really nice photos after you chicken scratch the back, and so have a collection of 4x5 paper floating about. i try to only keep my very very favorites and use them as books marks in my garden books or some such thing.

i love daffs- for their indestructability, beauty and ever growing bounty. some of my very favorites are the tall, tiny flowered 'wild' ones i find one the back of my prop. they aren't as good at multiplying, but the bulbs go down like a foot underground, and so are just about ironclad. i've tried to move them, but often break off the plant. have moved a few successfully- even the broken ones come back eventually. the flowers have a perfect form- six petals and six little perfect scallops along the cup rim. all sunny yellow. just a divine fragrance, too. i gave up moving any more, and just appreciate them where they are now- that thrill of yellow gladdens my heart some bleak winter's day. i've got tons out front, but those back sweeies stea the show. i do have a soft spot for the mini species, too.

where i grew up in PA, we had pheasant's eyes growing in the back woods, where there was a homestead a century before. i've tried transplanting them with no luck. they just diminish each yr- it may be too much of a climate shift. so sad, and i feel terribly guilty to watch them waste away. i was able to transplant lily of the valley, ferns, periwinkle and some antique sweet williams successfully. the sw willies are looking good and i can't wait to see what colors they bloom! it varied from yr to yr, and they were always such a thrill for me to find in the pasture. since my mom will be selling the house in the next yr or so, i'm tickled to have a small piece of my childhood to remember it long after i can't visit. i don't care so much about the house, but the back yard, pasture, and woods i'll miss like crazy. *sniff*
tam

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming
gardeners who make our souls blossom." Marcel Proust

tammy
some great quotes you've posted. love the one about gardening as an exercise in imagination.

ditto to you- i love the souls blossom line. how, well, poetic. :) tammy

ok- i have another.

"gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it." author unknown.

too funny. i think that's true for me each spring! tam

This is a good thread.

It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a home grown tomato.
Lewis Grizzard
This is one of my favorites it is so true for anyone who loves a home grown tomato, just try not to smile while eating it.
This quote is probably my all time favorites and is pretty much how I learn about my garden.
Flops are part of life's menu and I'm never a girl to miss out on a course.
Rosalind Russell