First Iris Of Spring

This is the first Iris of this spring in my garden....a beautiful gold, fragrant one..I noticed  buds showing on some of the other  Iris plants too..It is always interesting to me to see how many bloom....A couple of years ago my family helped me put in a raised flower bed  and we moved most of the Iris and Peonies to that new bed..They are gradually  getting used to it so should have more blooms this year...The daffodils outdid themselves this spring so are at home in that bed now....

Odee Wright Rhododendron

Odee Wright, this yellow Rhododendron, is the first one of my rhodies to bloom in the spring...in fact it is in full bloom right now..  It is a pale yellow with a light pink tinge around the edges so is very pretty.. Many people overlook this  as it isn't as showy as one like  Jean Marie the beautiful red  favorite of mine, but it is pretty in  your garden setting.. ...Now, while rhodies and azaleas are coming into bloom is  the best time to look at them  with the thought of adding them to your garden....Flowers are a part of nature's music.. Have a good day............Photo by  Kari Scott..

Magnolia Soulangeana

 It is spring again  and the Magnolias are in bloom.  I am glad that  both the Soulangeana and Stellata   are hardy enough to live and do well  in our part of the world..I look forward to their blooms each spring....The picture above shows Soulangeana with Stellata in the background....Both pictures to the left are Soulangeana  up closer....Both Magnolias should be planted with plenty of room around them so they can grow and spread at will. The blooms on both come out  before the leaves do ...Then towards fall the big seedpods on Soulangeana  come on..with  bright red  seeds...Try planting some when your plant is big enough to produce seeds....  Stellata is also called  Star Magnolia...
Photos by  Kari Scott

Ruth Alexander Rose

This a picture of the old, old rose, Ruth Alexander..The bud is always so pretty..The rose is pretty too but opens up to a single  rose that does not last more than a couple of days..So I enjoy it while I can..There are so many roses, old and new  that you need to  visit rose gardens or friends' gardens while the roses are blooming to try to choose roses for your garden.  Ruth rose is a bit more golden orange than this picture seems to show..It has a very nice scent..... ....Picture by Kari Scott..

Spring Flowers & Olympiad Rose

OLYMPIAD   ROSE

The violets are blooming...Primroses are starting..Other plants are starting to show leaf buds..  So I start thinking about spring and lawnmowing again.  Yesterday and this morning we had snow...just enough to whiten the grass here...Other places not too far from here had 6 to 8 inches.   I looked through some of my rose pictures and decided to  share.. I guess you might say I am rose hungry about this time of year...This  is the rose Olympiad...At dusk  it looks almost fluorescent..one of the prettiest red roses , I think..  ..If you are looking for a red rose bush for your garden,  look for Olympiad.....Enjoy

WELCOME 2012

     Well, another New Year is with us..  2011  more than flew by..  I had so many things  in mind to do and I did get a good start on the list,  so I will continue with that  for this new year.
Will be interesting  to see how this fall's election turns out... I have always quite freely written to my legislators and congressmen...However, I haven't  seen much improvement, maybe more of a backsliding... But, I  keep voting..it is my privilege and responsibility..I keep hoping for changes and updating in government.
Happy New Year...

How Do I Feel About Being Old?

That title interested me when I received it in an e-mail.  It is by the fellow Anonymous  at least that is all I could find..Very interesting read.
How Do I Feel About Being Old?

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old.. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old.  Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question and  I would ponder it and let her know.
Old age, I decided, is a gift.  I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.. Oh, not my body!   I sometimes despair over my body..but I don't agonize over it for long.
I would  never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair, or more of it, or a flatter belly.  As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself and less critical of myself.   I've become my own friend.  I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need but looks so avante garde on my patio.  
I am entitled  to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant.  I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read until 4 AM and sleep until noon?  I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50's and 60's and if I at the same time wish to recall some young loves I had along the way, I will.   I know I am sometimes forgetful.  But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten and I eventually remember the important things.  Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.  How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one or when a child suffers?  But broken hearts are what gives us strength and understanding and compassion.    A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am  so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.   So many have never laughed and so many have died before their hair could turn silver..  I can say "no" and mean it.  I can say "yes" and mean it.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive.  You care less  about what other people think.  I don't question myself anymore.  I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer the question, I like being old.  It has set me free.   Though others may not, I like the person I have become.  I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting  what could have been or worrying about what will be.    For the first time in my life, I don't have to have a reason to do the things I want to do.  If I want to play games on the computer all day, lay on the couch and watch old movies for hours  or don't want to go to the beach or a movie, I have earned that right.  I have put in my time doing everything for others so now I can be a bit selfish without feeling guilty.
I sometimes feel sorry for the young.  They face a far different world than I knew growing up, where we feared the law, respected the old, never blamed our parents for what we became, loved the flag and cherished our country...But, they too will grow old someday.
I am so grateful to have been born when I was, into a kinder, gentler world.......Yes, I like being old!

>
>
>
I wish I could have found the author of the above article.   This says it like it is.. To that anonymous writer, thank you  from so many.  You should have your name on that wonderful article.