It’s not a new phrase. You’ve probably heard it a good many times.
Have you felt it? Have you ever had an event happen in which your heart and spirit feel suddenly full of all the positive things in life?
How would you picture it?
Summer abundance with overflowing cup.
I visit the Missouri Botanical Garden to:
Relax
Walk in the sunshine
Check on some favorites
Collect “pretties” for social media
But the Garden has a serious side as this building and monument remind us. This is a place of science and learning. (And you thought science was blowing up the chem lab.)
So be careful during your next visit. You might learn something.
Garden sculptures with shaped blades to spin in the wind are common. They come in all sizes and degrees of sophistication.
Think of the bright plastic pinwheels in yards.
Or something more complicated in both materials and design.
The breeze was light the day I visited this garden. The sun rested. Use your imagination to picture it on a windy day.
The most common place I’ve seen them is at ponds. The hover and dart a few inches above the water. They are difficult to catch with a camera — at least for me. But they make it tempting to try when they visit water lilies.
Shimmer. Shine. Do they make you think of flying jewels.
The damsel, while tending to run a little smaller and more apt to fold their wings along the abdomen when at rest — have nothing to fear from the dragon. No knight on a white horse required.
This pair of dragon, or damsel, flies invite you to sit a spell and watch the insects flit among the flowers in the garden. A meeting of art and practicality.
Tourist attraction. Local attraction. Research facility. Open air delight.
The Garden.
I’ve heard, and used, most of these to describe The Missouri Botanical Garden.
Regular followers of this blog are aware that I visit often and dot this space with photos from those visits.
One of the many things I like about my visits? Each one is different. There is always something new, or perhaps I see a plant at a different stage of development, or in a new light.
The staff works hard to make some of this happen. They erect seasonal items to enhance the plantings. Often these have a theme — sometimes connected to a festival.
This handsome fellow welcomed visitors during the Chinese Lantern Festival several years ago.
It makes a pleasant picture of peace and tranquility. The predator and the prey sharing space without danger or fear.
It’s also a scene I don’t expect to find in ordinary life. Predators are interested in survival. So is the prey. And the proven methods are actions such as flight or hiding or staying with the group. If I lamb does not want to become lunch — stay with the bunch.
So imagine my surprise when I noticed two signs in the same garden.
These are “Lion’s Ears”
And a few steps away:
“Lamb’s Ears”
No “preying” allowed.
It’s the size of a small farm. And a welcome green spot within the city.
Beginning a few years ago, I became a regular visitor. A few hours among the flowers, trees, and vegetables of the Missouri Botanical Garden turned out to be the calorie-free reward I needed for a writing goal accomplished.
My blog has often featured photos taken on the grounds. A piece of permanent sculpture. A glass creation from a temporary exhibit. A seasonal peek from the Christmas train display or annual orchid show. And plants —
Local plants in the home demonstration garden. Roses. Water lilies. Tropical species from within the Climatron. Trees and shrubs and grasses that caught my eye. And on a lucky day — the bee, butterfly, or dragon fly visiting a blossom.
So if you’re even in St. Louis with a couple hours to sightsee — go for a walk in the garden. Parking is fee. Admission is modest. The sights are constantly changing.
Reflecting pool with the tropical Climatron in the background.
Farmers have been in the news in recent weeks. The focus of these articles are the larger concerns where the crops are planted in the hundreds (and thousands) of acres and animals number higher.
Today’s topic concerns another sort of farmer. You’ll see him now as spring moves north. (At least I hope spring arrives soon.)
You see the press urging you to buy local. Buy fresh. This is your man. The people tending a booth at your local Farmer’s Market.
Here you find a mix of fruits and vegetables (sometimes meat and cheese) shipped in from other areas of the country and those locally grown.
If my thumb was green enough. If my yard measured in acres instead of square feet. If I had the ambition to tend and water and pick and sell.
Farmer Joe is ready for the season!
Autumn. Fall. Harvest. A time to gather together the bounty of the earth and store it for the bleak winter to come.
Growing up on a farm, this was one of the busiest times of the year. The oats were threshed (later combined), a final crop of hay gathered, and then the corn. These days there’s a soybean harvest also. Long, busy days full of dust and noise and satisfaction.
The final vegetables from the garden were picked. Or dug. Some ended up preserved in jars. Some, like potatoes or squash, in a wooden box to story in a cool, dry, dark place. Onions were pulled, the long tops braided together and hung on a nail in a cool, dry place.
It’s different when living in the city. Items we considered useful but messy are used for decoration. Cornstalks at the grocery store? One straw bale set out where the weather could attack from all sides?
An elegant, colorful, seasonal display.
My thumbs are pale, pale green. This is especially true with my attempts at a vegetable garden.
Now don’t get me wrong. Aside from a possible drowning if we get too much spring rain, the plants start out great. My tomato plants are both tall and bushy. One eggplant reached for the sky and challenges my own height.
The problem is thieves. In gray coats (some may be brown). They arrive when I’m not watching and steal the produce before it is ripe. Do green tomatoes have a nutrient lacking in the normal squirrel diet?
So far, these have survived. My friends the rabbits – in league with the squirrels – have not dined on the tops. My hope is that when I dig these up in the next couple of weeks I’ll have enough carrot to roast with some meat.
Considering a switch to all root crops next year. Suggestions?
