Old Lady with a Cane

This zinna flower is a couple of days old. She reminds me of an old broadway star now her 80's, perfectly coiffed, with bright pink messy lipstick. Hey, do you think they do that on purpose? I might do that when I get old.

The last couple of days have been great. I've had a bit of an awakening, or I should say that I've learned to see things a bit differently. The first thing I realized is that plants have cycles. I mean, I knew that plants have cycles, don't get me wrong, but I suppose I expected lily leaves to stay green and perfect all summer long and iris leaves to be green and perfect too, all summer long, that kind of thing. The last two days I have been spending time with Leslie Doyle, the "Tomato Lady", and she reminded me that, "Plants have cycles." "... and after they bloom, if they look kind of ragged, just cut them back." Wham. I needed to correct that garden faeiry notion that plants look great from the moment spring arrives until frost kills them dead. Ok. And the second thing I learned is to ramp up my watering schedule. I pulled the mulch aside next to my heavenly bamboo and expected to find the dirt slightly moist and it was bone dry! This can happen right under your feet! If you read the last post, It was happening right before my eyes and I even commented about it! Ok? So increase your water. (And if you did, maybe it's not enough!) Why not drink plenty of water, and reset your sprinklers! Oh, and another thing. I promise I will not get the leaves wet anymore, they don't like it and there is always damage to show for it! But it was fun water play......

Which leads me to Water Vessels.

And the innocent little gardener who sees colors and is enchanted by form, said, "Silly me, I thought they plants. You know, lovely plants that you just had to water. I didn't think they were Water Vessels! Water vessels with a vascular system and ..........", to be continued.