"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

I had told myself, long before the chill of February had passed,

 

that I was not going to plant one seed or one blossoming plant from 
the nearby nursery in the upcoming spring and summer season.
The reason you may ask?............
For years I always have dreams of blossoming flowers, gigantic pumpkins, 
maybe a few cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes...........
each year I scrape, dig, plant, water, and drag a heavy water hose around...........
only to be beaten by a harsh climate with sun that bakes the land into
a brick,  along with tough hardy insects and ground squirrels.........who I know, 
watch with great intent and  happiness as I plant..........and then go
and eat everything I have managed to get to sprout.
I decided that I would be content to linger inside this sunny season and 
to simply stitch the hours away , letting my needle create the lovely and vibrant
flowers I have always dreamed of growing. 
However, there is just something about the fresh, warm, soil in spring
that reaches out to me as if to say "come........work with me"
And before I know it, I have the knees of my jeans dirt packed and
my arms and shoulders a shade darker than my face........
as I dig, scrape, pull weeds and push seeds into the ground ..........
with hope.
and now........how delighted I am  to try one more time.
With the recent rains and my constant looking over, the flowers are 
the prettiest I could have hoped for.
I decided to outsmart the ground squirrels by planting my pumpkins
in a large raised container, hoping they will dip down into the 
ground to produce pumpkins,
so far, it looks as if my plan just might work.
Now, here in July, where my garden once looked like this,
it now looks like this.
there are many flowers in the garden that cant be seen
from a distance
there are 4 o'clocks in varied colors
moss rose ( portulaca) ......growing everywhere
groups of happy daisies
Mexican petunia
and a mixture of morning glory, cosmos, zinnia and prairie aster.
The cosmos and zinnia I planted late and will be taller and 
blooming by late August.
among the flowers are lizards and little toads, who 
seem to always have a happy smile
and there is always a gathering of lovely butterflies

my dry garden that holds my cactus collection has a tranquil
little Buddha 
who looks as if he is happy to sit in the garden in peace.
That is how I now feel this year with my garden spaces.  
It goes back to the saying:
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again"
I am delighted that I did try..........just one more time.
How about you?
Have you tried over and over to grow something and feel 
like you are losing the battle with weeds, garden pests, or 
climate? 
What have you been most successful with? 
I would love to hear!



 










 





















 

19 comments:

Faith said...

Your flowers are so pretty. We have clay soil here with rocks, and tree roots. I too have planted in barrels and tins with success. I even have a few sunflowers this year, some very pretty Zinnia, and 3 mini pumpkins which have flowered all in buckets and barrels. That is the only way we could plant anything.

Barwitzki said...

Your flowers are beautiful ... I like these wonderful colors very much. Your floor looks dry, is that right? I made a new bed at the house and had planted seeds, it turned out very beautiful. I think I should take a picture :-)
The floods in Germany were terrible, it is appalling that so many people have lost their lives. I live on the other side of the country in the east. Many helpers came from my region to the flood area to help clean up.
Thanks for your greetings, I would be happy to visit you again.
Hug Viola

Hill Top Post said...

I love your garden. Yes, it's something to enjoy and to be thankful for this year. I have several old wash tubs of various sizes that I found in a dump heap on the place. They no longer have a bottom but I have planted in them anyway and found that most plants do very well in them. Ground squirrels have wiped me out of tomatoes many a time. And, even our sweet corn just as it is ready to harvest.

happyone said...

It was a joy to see all your beautiful flowers. Glad you tried one more time.
My little vegetable garden is doing poorly. Just have one eggplant and one pepper on the plants. We don't get enough sun here in the woods. Next year I may try using pots that I can move around to catch the sun.

Olde Dame Holly Rose said...

I lived in Midland for 18 years, and tried and tried and tried to grow things. My first year, before the drought got so bad, I had a lot of success. I grew pumpkins along the fences and Spanish Flag up strings, and had Mexican Petunias and asparagus, and while that wouldn't be much when I lived in the South, in Midland it was a LOT to have growing! But then the drought stayed, and the hose water in Midland is very bad and comes from 100's of miles away. The ground water is the same salinity as the sea! So not much was able to be grown, then. I always did have at least one pumpkin vine, though. I see you also have stock tanks/fire rings planted! I finally figured out that was the way to go, and I have five of them here. Not as big as yours, though. I think your pumpkin will work real good in it. I went to growing Cherokee Bush Pumpkins in the rings, because they make a bush and don't wander. BTW I saw a Mexican Petunia for TWENTY-NINE DOLLARS at the Home Depot yesterday!!!

Prims By The Water said...

So glad you decided to try again because it looks so beauiful! Janice

Henny Penny said...

I am so happy for you! Your flowers are beautiful! and such a big pretty pumpkin plant. For years we tried to grow vegetables in heavy red clay and finally decided to not have a garden. But I remember my step-dad saying once, you're going to have to change the color of the soil if you want to grow anything. So, my husband fenced in the garden spot and I began adding leaves and mulch and compost...in no time the soil turned a dark brown. It was amazing. I had better luck growing vegetables. Plus, we got chickens and I would rake out the chicken house and lot and add that to the garden. Once the garden is planted I put leaf compost between the rows to keep the weeds and grass from growing. Didn't mean to get carried away. I love your garden spot!

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Everything looks wonderful! The rain has really made everything sit up and smile! Of course it has helped the weeds, too. Unfortunately. But the flowers and tomatoes are so beautiful.

Granny Marigold said...

I'm glad you persevered and planted again because your flowers are amazing. I do okay growing flowers but I can't grow veggies. Not even lettuce. We have a raised bed and filled it with compost and good soil yet nothing thrives there. I must be the only person who can't grow zucchini!! Oh well, no one in the family cares for it anyway.

Laurel Wood said...

Oh, I enjoyed this post so much! I am happy that you tried again. Your variety of flowers and the pumpkins are lovely.
We moved in March and left behind many nice perennials. We only planted Lantana and bee balm for the butterflies and hummingbirds here at our new to us house. We had so much fun last fall growing pumpkins to share with the neighbors kids. Wishing you a lovely day. Mildred

Lady Locust said...

Your garden looks lovely~ I can grow tomatoes, but corn is a different story. Weeds are always a part of the garden, but this year with the early "heat dome" of triple digits for 3 weeks early in the year, they have thrived better than the garden plants. Ah, but ere I go back out for more :-)
I've always liked portalaca (sp?) It looks so cheery.

Brenda Kay Ledford said...

Your flower garden is awesome. I'm so glad you planted the seeds. The work paid off with this lovely garden.

Gretchen Joanna said...

How gratifying! I love portulaca but rarely see it growing anywhere. I have had success with it sometimes but I wonder if it is just not hot enough here...?

Your garden looks very inviting. I've never seen such butterflies! Do you know what they are called?

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Indeed good advice, Kathleen, to try again if at first you don’t succeed. The flowers and those yellow butterflies were so colorful and I M sure it cheers your day to see them. I am sure that the recent rains helped as well. We have not had a garden in years, but I can recall some failures when we did. The first year, Pat planted pumpkins too early.

R's Rue said...

Wow. Everything looks so good.
www.rsrue.blogspot.com

Vivian said...

Hi My Lovely!!! as you, your garden is lovely, delightful, full of sweetness. I have heard the statement you shared in this way, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try till you do succeed." You are not one to give up easily, I am happy with you on your success this year and hope it will be so year after year. In Joy ")

Sally said...

Oh so glad you tried again, Kathleen! How beautiful; love all the colors! My mexican petunias have failed to bloom yet while yours are. The problem here, as mentioned before, are the grasshoppers. I'm still trying though. I'm glad you did, and look what you have. :)

xoxo

Megan Schetsche said...

Your portulacas have grand colours, and I'm always a sucker for anything blue. I don't know the Mexican petunia, will look that up.
I think we have a similar climate here in South Africa. Most certainly, my garden has arid soil and we never have enough water to keep the garden alive in summer.

Brenda Kay Ledford said...

Hello, again. I just wanted to stop by and visit your lovely blog again. I love all the awesome photos.