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Japanese Garden

I Couldn't Resist  

The Black Thumb Tries Again

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I have a notoriously "black thumb" when it comes to growing things in a garden.  Actually, a good part of it is that I'm just too cheap to buy the plants each year, and too lazy to plant them and then care for them once they're planted.  So the only things that grow and bloom around my yard are hosta,  which is all-but-impossible-to-kill, and orange day-lilies, which are equally hardy.  

And the bonus is that they both spread and thrive without any human intervention whatsoever!!!

Today, though, I just couldn't resist.  I saw these lilies for sale.  I bought three of this variation and two that are solid deep plum.  Now I just have to find the perfect place to plant them and trust that they'll thrive and propagate as profusely as the hosta and day-lilies.

Of course, that still only gives me "color" in late June/early July, but what the hey!  Something is better than nothing and it's all about baby steps.

Deception

Many years ago, when I cared, I planted a small flower garden in my front yard. Over the years it has gone to wrack-and-ruin and each year I vow to remove the wooden border and mow it down. I haven't managed to do that yet.

When I pulled into my driveway this afternoon, I noticed that some daffodils had bloomed--tenacious little things! So I decided to get some shots of them. Most of the images are really bad, and the one I posted is pretty pathetic too, but bear with me, there's a point to this.

It's long been known that photography can tell whatever story you want it to depending on the way the photo is taken, ie. the perspective, the lighting, the lens used, what's included in the frame, or omitted, etc. (I'm not even talking about the deception one can create with Photoshop)

So if this first image were the only one I posted, it would appear that I had either planted a great garden, or come upon a nice flower bed.

But just to show the truth of the situation, I took a wider view of what used to be my nice flower bed. Unraked, weedy, grungy, unkempt...

All of this to say that things are not always as they seem. A good lesson for me, as well as for all of us. Don't judge without all the facts. Don't jump to conclusions without all the facts.

On the other hand, the lesson could be--make lemonade out of lemons. So what if my ex-garden is a mess--I can still enjoy the beauty that blooms in its midst.

What's the moral? Don't know! Glean what you will and what you need.

Late post for Sunday

Yesterday Jackie and I went to the Foster Botanical Garden. It was one of the first places I went to by myself when I arrived in Hawaii last year. That would have been early Jan. There were almost no flowers, but I managed to get some interesting images of the greenery. I was assured, by several people, that by this time (April), flowers would be blooming at the Botanical Garden, so I happily accompanied Jackie on this jaunt.

Well!

There was one section where there were hybrid orchids and that's pretty much all we saw in the way of flowers. Coming from a climate such as exists in upstate NY where "warm" weather heralds in the buds and blooms of a cacophony of flowers, it still confounds me that in a year-round warm climate, winter is still winter as far as the flowers are concerned.

So we wandered around the botanical garden viewing the lush foliage (it has rained a lot this winter--have I mentioned that before?), hoping to see an occasional bloom, and, yes, once again, getting rained on.

It was a struggle for me to get interested enough to take photos. I appreciate beautiful landscaping, but could really care less about names. It was worth the the small entry fee (thank goodness for kama 'aina discounts) and the effort to get there, but unless someone could guarantee that I would be engulfed by a sensory overload of blooming flowers, I probably won't go there again. I would, however, recommend it to any of my friends who have a propensity toward horticulture.

It was a nice way to spend a few hours on a cool afternoon with a good friend. Below are a few of the images from the hybrid orchid garden.

While waiting for the wind to die down to photograph a flower, I saw this reflection ball. The wind finally died down and I took the shot. It was a bust!

The tree in the following image is called The Cannon Ball Tree--obviously not the technical name. But it's very interesting looking, and is nothing like anything else I've ever seen.

Posted for Sunday, on Monday, April 6, 2009