Our tall pink hibiscus seems to attract the male ruby-throated hummingbirds in her new home! Why not, she is gorgeous! In the short time we are home today Dean & I have not seen the territorial rights being displayed amongst the male hummingbirds. This will take place, if it has not already. I know her nectar is sweet, but there are plenty of blossoms to share guys!
How many hands does it take to tear down and haul the parts for the Deanna Greens and Garden Art 1300 square foot greenhouse? Well, it was Dean and I plus 10 family members and 4 friends, so that makes 16 able bodies, 16 smart brains, 32 sure feet, and 32 working hands. The temperatures hit a hot & humid 95 degrees on the tear down day, typical summertime weather in St. Louis, Missouri. Iced water, soda, and beer waited in coolers, and our lovely landlady brought us iced wet cloths for our necks and heads to keep us cooled down. Freshly made sandwiches for lunch and home-cooked BBQ pulled pork with coleslaw for dinner. More than anything, it was the attitudes that got us through. I never heard a word of complaint, and no injuries were occurred at this Memorial Day holiday weekend project. Tear down on Saturday, clean up on Sunday, and Monday hauling the greenhouse parts to Defiance, Missouri. I am proud of this team! Dean & I have the rebuild the next 3 or 4 weekends, and more help promised. God is good! And so are His people! We are thankful!
Summer time is here! It is the Memorial Day holiday weekend, and the forecast promises sunhat weather. High 90’s, sunny, & humid, and we are moving our greenhouse! My prayers were for no storms and lightening, but I was not specific about my temperature request. 90% of our plants are moved. Tonight we have more hanging pots to cart to their temporary residence, our backyard! Our neighbors probably think we have flipped or saying “Dean & Anna are flower children for sure!” My grandson exclaimed, “It’s a jungle out there!” I keep wanting to get beyond this move, dreaming of a slower pace, less plants, and more time to care for them. It will come!
I ponder the Photo Challenge of the Week: Hands. I keep coming back to the famous art work by Michelangelo’s “Hands of God And Adam”. Adam literally means “earth” in Hebrew, what God called His first man. This Hebrew word is derived from a word which means “to be red”, ruddy color like man’s skin or the Akkadian word “adamu” meaning “to make”. According to Genesis, Adam was made from the earth “adamah”.
With gardening, I feel the presence of God in all my senses. I touch the dirt, the living earth. I smell the basil as I plant it in the terra cotta pot, and hear the raindrops fall on its leaves. My eyes and heart see the delicate pink hibuscus blossom opened wide to the sunlight peaking above the green tree tops. And I taste the goodness of God when I indulge in my salad greens. God is good!
Being home today brought a sense of belonging. I am rarely home, and it was wonderful to be here. “Home is where the heart is” as the saying goes. I took a stroll around the yard checking the greenhouse plants that now make home here. They like it here! They nestle between trees and shrubs and in our lime green screen house. The beautiful Japanese maple and dogwood trees in the photo below provide shelter so filtered sunlight peeks between the lush leaves, perfect for the red leaf philodenrons and ferns.
After my morning stroll I ate my tuna sandwich and sipped on iced gingerale with the windows open, fresh air gently blowing in, and sunshine beaming through the tree branches. This lovely May day brought another mild evening with a cooling breeze. Ah, it is quiet at home as I am here by myself. Only the sounds of birds tweeting while I prepare dinner. Dean is visiting with family at his son’s out-of-town graduation. Simple. No conversation, no TV, no need for music as I sing my own tunes today. Life is good.
Blooming and green plants, and planters, these have been my focus for the market the past couple of weeks. Mother’s Day weekend went well. I anticipate this coming weekend to be another great day at the market. Rain or shine, the families come to buy local! The Lake Saint Louis Farmers’ and Artists’ Market made the “Show Me St Louis” show on April 30. And I am proud that the Deanna Greens and Garden Art booth shows up on the segment after about 1 minute into the video. I am servicing a woman and her daughter in this short clip. Here is the link:
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=318235
I have been everywhere and back this past 10 days. Yes, it has been that long since I posted on my blog. Besides my full-time job and everywhere it sends me any given day, I have spent time with family, and of course at the greenhouse. The greenhouse is not so crowded these days. Yeh! We have been selling many botanicals, perennials, and herbs, mostly at the Saturday farmers’ market. Our wild-looking tomato plants have not been a hot selling item. Not because of their looks we do not suppose, but because the township where we sell does not allow its residents to plant vegetable gardens! Yes, you read that correctly. I could not believe what I heard residents saying. So our healthy, long-stemmed tomato plants have made new homes in organic farm fields as well as in family and friends’ yards where they are wanted. Our farmers’ market clients have swooped up bedding plants and hanging planters. Our greens are loved by others besides ourselves! With my restless personality, we have started moving some other plants out of the greenhouse to our yard in preparation of our move Memorial Day weekend. Our “momma” plants, a huge arrowhead, rabbit’s fern, and red-leaf philodendron are sheltered under the Japanese maple near our front porch. The beautiful geraniums made their way to the wagon in our front yard. And the Kingston ferns are loving the filtered sunlight under the big sugar maple. My husband put up the screen house in the backyard ready to put the little plants on tables inside after this busy Mother’s Day weekend. It the midst of all this activity, one evening I found an immature robin bird sleeping in the “momma” red-leaf. It was awaken by my watering. He scurried away from me in short flight, but hung around the front yard. I think this robin bird became as restless as I feel. He was not around the next morning. So happy our plants made a home for him while he was learning to fly. Just hope the neighbor tom cat did not come around.
Deanna Greens and Garden Art 