Supposedly Georgia O’Keeffe once said, “I hate flowers - I paint them because they’re cheaper than models and they don’t move.” I find it difficult to believe that Ms. O’Keeffe said she “hated flowers,” especially given the awareness she brought to their details by her paintings.
But be that as it may, if Ms. O’Keeffe did say this, her experiences with flowers are most definitely different than mine: I have yet to find flowers to be “cheaper than models,” and, as for them “not moving,” well, I’m not a tripod user, and I find flowers move all the time during my attempts at a photo-op! AND, besides moving, flowers talk ALL THE TIME; as evidenced by the images at the top of today’s posting, which feature my Black and Blue Salvia in action as it was this past weekend, chit-chatting and gesturing away,enjoying life, where it grows in my urban (New York City) garden!
The aforementioned flowers are not the only animated ones in my garden! In bygone seasons, my flowers, including ones from my Echinacea Plant, Physocarpus opulifolius (Coppertina Tree), Yellow Rose Shrub, Red Rose Shrub, Orange Rose Shurb, Paeonia Suffruticoasa (Peony Tree), H.F. Clematis, Strawflower Family, and the Tulipia Family, have all weighed in with their opinions on an array of topics on my Blogger Pages — and they did not sit still whilst expressing their well respected opinions!
In fact, not only did my flowers express their opinions within blog posts, but many of them have been featured in Virtual Stories (mini movies) that can be found within my Vimeo Library, and they certainly did not “sit still” for these venues!
It seems one of the rosebushes that lives in my urban (NYC) garden, was playing charades the other day, as he struck a pose with one of his flowers that resembled a wine goblet as evidenced by this image!
“It must be 5:00 PM somewhere, which mean it’s time for a toast with a glass of Goisot,” the rose remarked when I asked him about his stance.
The cause for his wanting to celebrate? TLLG and my roses have just learned that the garden designer, television host and speaker, Shirley Bovshow, has featured my videos from my “giving voice to what lives in a garden,” Campaign which I’ve launched on indiegogo, on her Facebook Page! AND, she stated, “Watch Patricia’s videos. She is a gifted artist and poet.”
I’ve never met Shirley Bovshow but got “acquatinted” with her on Twitter. I’m grateful as well as thrilled for Shirley Bovshow’s recognition; but I’m frustrated because I am unable to comment or “like” the posting on her posting! FB does not allow Business Pages to comment on Personal Pages! If any of you who follow my page have a few spare minutes, please visit Shirley Bovshows’ FB Page and leave a comment (or a “like”) on my behalf. Thanks SOOOO much!
Shirley Bovshow’s FB Page is @http://www.facebook.com/shirley.bovshow
Ms. Bovshow is referring to the Virtual Stories (garden themed movies) that are a big part of my “giving voice to what lives in a garden” project; a project which I’ve launched on indiegogo.
“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter, he who finds one finds a treasure; A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth …”
And nothing could be truer of the friend that I have found in Victor B, my dear friend who grew up in Trinidad, Land of the Hummingbirds.
It was fitting then, that Victor B helped me “install” three hummingbird feeders last evening in my urban (NYC) container garden. A feeder (each one made of recycled glass with a red top), can be seen in each image accompanying this entry, and please click on a given image to see a caption and detail.Victor and I put up the feeders because Juan V saw a hummingbird when he was here this past Monday to help me with my gardening.
Juan V’s observation prompted me to investigate what might lure more humming birds back to my garden; and I was told by various sources, that by tying red ribbon in various places in my garden, the hummingbirds would be sure to come.
Was this red-ribbon advice a quasi Field-of-Dreams-if-you-build-it-they-will-come; or if I tied red-ribbon in various places in my garden, would the hummingbirds come visit? I posted this question to my LinkedIn discussion groups including Garden Writers and Rooftop Gardeners, and I want to once again thank the folks who weighed in on my question by sharing their suggestions.
As of this posting here on tumblr, these folks include Mary P, Athena M, Thomas O, Sara C, Mary C, Lisa W, Arleigh B, Maureen L, Mark K, Lee K and Thomas R. I do not know any of these people personally, so I am especially grateful they weighed in on my question, and now my hope is that I’ll have hummingbirds singing praises in my lovely garden.
And yes, I tied a bit of red ribbon throughout my garden.
“Do you see what I see? Do you hear what I hear?”
As posted on TLLG’s Facebook page today, these are the questions that the red roses which are growing in my urban (NYC) terrace (roof extension) garden seem to be asking, but I am posting it here too (for tumblr users who do not do FB).
Re my roses’ questions: I think Juan V may know what’s prompted the roses’ inquisitiveness, because, yesterday, when he was here to help me in my garden, he saw a hummingbird checking them out.
This has peaked my curiosity about hummingbirds, and I will be putting in hummingbird feeders soon and verrrrrry soon, but, I’ve also just learned that they love the color red.
Moreover, someone has advised me to hang red ribbons in my garden in the interim (as I await my hummingbird feeders to arrive), but it seems like a misrepresentation, to hang red ribbons to lure hummingbirds here until I am sure I have food for them.
Still, I am wondering if anyone out there in cyber-space knows if there is a connection between hummingbirds and the color red
TWO THUMBS UP!
The yellow rose shrub which grows in my urban (NYC) garden seems pretty excited about something (as evidenced by this image) which isn’t always the case with my yellow roses. As you may recall, one of them was pretty disgruntled about nybg’s (New York Botanical Gardens) using the term “eye-candy” to describe flowers! Details @ http://bit.ly/MVqrSt as well as @ http://bit.ly/JC3PV6
“HERE WE GO ROUND THE ROSE’S FLOWER,” sing some rose buds that “belong” to one of the rose shrubs that grow in my urban (NYC) terrace container garden. These buds are enjoying the holiday week-end — in spite of the rain — as they recall my prickly pear’s antics (seen in TLLG’s Blogger Blog entry @ http://bit.ly/JHCSPO).
BUT, my roses are also mindful and respectful of the solemness of the “reason” behind Memorial Day weekend as they recall some meditations from last year which appeared on TLLG’s Blogger @ http://bit.ly/K3TIuf
Upper Westside Play-Date
As usual, the roses growing in my urban (NYC) container garden are having fun. To read about their antics, please visit my Blogger Blog of the same name, The Last Leaf Gardener where you will find related posts @ http://bit.ly/Mvyhlr
“OH MY!”
A few of the roses from one of the bushes that grows in my urban (NYC) terrace garden have just seen one of my Virtual Stories (garden themed movies) on VIMEO and they are awestruck as you can see by them “clasping their cheeks” in the image accompanying this text. If you’d like to see what my roses are reacting to, please visit my VIMEO Library where you will find, “A Tribute to Ethel Merman” (the “film” my roses are so excited about) @ http://bit.ly/KmvARi
AND for more info, please visit TLLG on Blogger @ http://bit.ly/JQAcvU
Most of the comments that come up in my Facebook Feed for The Last Leaf Gardener’s FB Page @ http://on.fb.me/vvmjB0 , have to do with folks who “can’t wait for spring,” and, I also hear this from many of my friends as well as from people I meet in passing!
I continue to find these comments disturbing and even stressful!
We still have (including today), FIVE days left in February (as it is Leap Year).
AND, then, we have TWENTY-ONE days until spring “officially” begins!
Why does anyone want to rush the time we have on this earth? When it’s summer, I hear news of Christmas prep; when it’s Christmas, I hear news of summer travel plans, please, please SLOW DOWN.
As the song* says:
“Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy.
Ba da, Ba da, Ba da, Ba da…Feelin’ Groovy.
Hello lamp-post,
What cha knowin’?
I’ve come to watch your flowers growin’.
Ain’t cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in’ doo-doo,
Feelin’ groovy … “
*These lyrics are from Simon and Garfunkel’s, golden oldie known as “Feelin’ Groovy, The Fifty-Ninth Street Bridge Song,” which I have referenced in a blog post @ http://bit.ly/zst2VJ , however, I include the lyrics here today, as I cannot stress enough, the importance of living in the now: the “traditional” in-between growing seasons time (at least in NYC where I live and have an urban terrace garden where I grow 80+ things).
For, if I had not been living in the now, I would have missed countless moments in my garden, as evidenced by the images accompanying this narrative. They reflect only a minute portion of the wonderful experiences I have when I “slow down” and “make the morning last”!
“God gave us memory so we might have roses in December,” J.M. Barrie the creator of Peter Pan is known to have said.
The quote is often interpreted to mean that in bleak December, we will be consoled by our memories of June’s roses, or, that in the darkest hours of our lives, we will be consoled my happy and beautiful memories.
Thus far, on this rainy morning of the seventh of December, I still have roses in my urban (NYC) terrace garden, and, because of the “anniversary” of this date, offer them to those who lost the lives of their loved ones as a result of what occurred on this solemn date in 1941.
“Es ist ein Ros entsprungen,” is one of the many songs being sung in my garden on this Monday after Thanksgiving (as evidenced by the images accompanying this narrative, which were taken in my urban — NYC — garden less than one hour ago).
One of the orange roses which I grow in my urban (New York City) terrace garden has filed a disclaimer with Gertrude Stein’s quote wanting it to be known that a rose is not just a rose …
The photographs accompanying this narrative were taken in my garden within the past few days “proving” that my rose shrub has been busy. It was even “featured” within a blog entry that I made on my Blogger-blog this past May, and if you’d like to refer to it, please click on the link posted below:
http://thelastleafgardener.blogspot.com/2011/05/monday-morning-musings-reflections-on.html
It came to the attention of one of the yellow roses, which I grow in my urban (New York City) terrace garden, that nybg had posted a photograph of a lovely pink rose speckled with rain drops; and then called it “Morning Eye Candy”.
As a result, of seeing this, my yellow rose implored me to post photographs of it, reminding me that even though its yellow color used to symbolize jealousy — and it insisted it was not jealous of the photo-op which the pink rose had received — yellow roses are more commonly associated with joy and friendship.
