Redbuds and Wrens: "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, Oh What a Beautiful Day"! "I've Got a Wonderful Feeling"...

Another grand morning today to savor. Taking time to appreciate the day is one of my favorite passtimes. This past Sunday, I watched P. Allen Smith's Garden Home on PBS t.v. That is one gentleman who has a true sense of gardening for the soul, mind and body. His ideas exhibit harmony, visual aesthetics, atmosphere, texture, variety and fragrance in a broadened scope of ways. He seems to exhibit attention to detail on a grand scale.

While reading Martha Stewart's blog, I was amazed in the grandeur of her abilities and thoughts in the garden also. Her most recent discussion was expressing concern for her peony beds that are coming along earlier this year. The wonderful warm weather we have had this season has been coaxing them along at a faster rate than normal. Each May, Martha plans and hosts a garden party in and around her peony beds which I can only imagine is none less than spectacular visually and aeromatically.

A garden journal post.

The lovely home of Roger and Lenora

A garden that I think of on a grand scale is that of Lenora. She has revived and re-invented an area of bare land on a scale that is over-whelming to the hobbyist gardener. I love her style in garden selections for the feminine attributes in airy, fine foliage, calm pastel sweet arrangements and cool, soothing vignettes in shade gardens. On the other end of the spectrum her feminine flair is balanced with full sun heartier varieties in mixed explosions of cheerful color, variety and statuary depicting the loves of her life, her grandchildren, as well as other ornamentations to send the mind in pleasant inspiration. Roger keeps the property in impecably maintained condition while Lenora creates gardens that beautify their home with classic taste.

She has taken in information from t.v. programs, seminars, books, etc. and applied what she has learned for quite effective results. She tries and tests ideas on her own with amazing success rates. She is an inspiration to all with ideas on treatments, placement, soil condition and even care of her hands while engaging in these tasks. Join me on a tour of her garden as she begins to prepare for her late spring and summer of fine gardening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AJwYw-2Ztc

I've been working on a few experimentations in photographing Lenora's garden. While I was there, I took a video with my camera looking up in the crabapple trees with the blue sky as background. I have so much to learn in creating what comes to mind. The next time I take a video, I might want to try to mute the background noise of the wind, a passing car, etc., add music and possibly narrate something like:

In all my garden's length and breadth

I like these common things

A sturdy, low branched apple tree

where daily, a finch sings;

The clematis that trims the fence

with garlands of white lace;

The maidenhair and ostrich ferns

That fill each shady space.

The fragrance of quaint mignonete

when touched with evening dew

And best of all, I like grass pinks

Like those my grandmother grew.

-Velma D. Bates

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJFpHd9aPeM

Today was a commemorative day. I heard the Honorable Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio say, in person: "This is the day the Lord hath made". "Let us rejoice and be glad in it". This indeed was a beautiful day and it can always be enhanced with beauty in abundance when taking in the prolific gardens that Lenora tends. Thank you Lenora, for allowing me to take photos to share.

If I could add one more thought of my imagination about your garden, it would be that you have one very child friendly and represented garden which makes it extra special. The statuary that you have chosen and placed to represent your three granddaughters standing amongst a spray of flowers as well as the little fisher boy to represent your grandson and his help to you with fish pond care brings one of the sweetest child like songs to mind.

In the opening of the above slide show, I chose your tall hand created yard bird first. The movie Cinderella made in the 50's is my most beloved fairy tale and Walt Disney movie.

The movie contains a sound track called: The Music Lesson Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale/Bad Boy Lucifer/A Message from His Majesty, song sung by Ilene Woods.

The beginning of the song is being sung by one of Cinderella's step-sisters off key and tempo, of course. I could really imagine your yard bird in this character singing "Sweet Nightingale" in a rusty gravely child like voice.

Then as Cinderella hears her sister practicing her music lesson, she begins to sing the tune in angelic form. As she's scrubbing the floor, bubbles are gently rising in the air. For each bubble Ilene is singing in a round of angelic harmonies that are devinely glorious. I imagine these harmonies to be coming from the three girl statuaries that grace your garden. As the music progresses, Cinderella is splashing in a bucket of water but it could easily be transferred to your garden setting as a toad jumping in the pond that your grandson is exploring. Due to copyright laws, it wasn't a possibility for my own muse to combine the two, but I hope you can visualize it too and know that your garden brings many thoughts to mind for the viewer and thank you for that.