Fiction, Flowers, Plant Talk

June 11, 2014 – Striving

Gloriosa Daisy opens his eyes, looks around and says “Oh Yeah!  This is gonna be a great year.”???????????????????????????????Old Gloriiosa has been striving to bloom for weeks now.???????????????????????????????He’s very nearly there.???????????????????????????????Striving.  Striving to bloom.  Striving to lead.  Striving to be the most awesome flower ever!

???????????????????????????????Nasturtium looks up from below and cheers him on.???????????????????????????????“Come on Gloriosa.  We believe in you.” says Nasturtium.???????????????????????????????Red Red Rose agrees. “Come on Gloriosa.  Everybody is watching you.  But you’d better hurry.”???????????????????????????????“Because I’m ahead!  You’re playing catch-up!”???????????????????????????????Poppy doesn’t say a thing.  Poppy knows what she has in store this year.  She’s neck and neck with Gloriosa on bloom and thinks she might just overtake him on summer spectacle.???????????????????????????????Yep.  Poppy is striving too.  Poppy thinks this might just be her year.???????????????????????????????Spiderwort enjoys the show.  Old Spiderwort was here long before these showy garden flowers came and will probably be here long after they are gone.  But Spiderwort loves the sense of friendly competition and just adores all the colors.  Spiderwort thinks all this striving is the way to be!DSC08075Tiger Lilly wishes she had some of the gumption of those summer bloomers.  Tiger Lilly strives.  Oh yes, she strives.  But she struggles too.  She may strive but she just can’t thrive in this garden like some of the other flowers.???????????????????????????????Wild Geranium and Coreopsis laugh.  They’ve had their time.  They prefer the late spring bloom.  Now as summer gains force, they will bow out and let the others reign supreme, but it sure is fun to watch those summer bloomers strive for attention.???????????????????????????????And strive they do.  Striving to be beautiful.  Striving to be awesome.  Striving to do their part to make the garden wonderful.???????????????????????????????

24 thoughts on “June 11, 2014 – Striving”

  1. Beautiful, Jim. You take such lovely photos and the life and soul of your garden are expressed well.

    Hmmm.. sometimes I think my garden has caught up with yours, but right now, I think not. Our Gloriosa is nowhere near ready to bloom.
    Other than the shy night-bloomer, and one early day lily, our yellow stuff is nowhere near blooming. We’re still in our pink, purple and blue phase here at the old farmhouse gardens.

    1. Thanks Cynthia. Pink, Purple and Blue phase sounds pretty good to me. I’m glad to hear you have Gloriosa Daisy. It’s starting to become more popular. I grow it from seed. I’ve only ever seen in sold as a potted perennial once and they had the audacity to label it something like “Autumn Beauty Black Eyed Susan.” Grrr. It is a rudbeckia, like black-eye-susan, but ever so much more. Cheers. 🙂

    1. Great. I’m glad you love them. They are a chatty bunch and they are just getting warmed up. Thank you most sincerely for reading and commenting. 🙂

    1. Thanks. I think you and I have similar styles in our blogs. Pictures and text with lots of crisp close-ups. You prefer poetry, I prefer…. what do I prefer? Fantasy narrative or some darn thing. Who knows. I love your blog. Thanks for being part of mine. 🙂

    1. Me too. I wish they didn’t struggle so. Some plants thrive here – the lillies do well to survive. Cheers Cat!

  6. I love the notion of striving as life. My ol’ buddy Nietzsche called it “the Will to Power”

    1. Thanks Nate. “The Will to Power.” How very interesting… I’m glad you brought that up. Cheers. 🙂

  7. I had no idea flowers could be so supportive of each other in their friendly competition. It’s win-win for everyone including us. Off to read up on gloriosa daisy now.

    1. Oh yes. Very supportive. It’s a natural tendency to cheer on your leader. This “Daisy” is a member of the rudbeckia family. I grow it by direct sow method with seeds I purchased from Vermont Wildflower Farm. I cast out a bunch the last couple years and they are really gaining steam as perennials. They bloom beautuifully through the much of the summer. With so many coming from seed I have had the chance to share many with family and friends. Win-Win indeed!

  8. Thank you for reminding me that photos of flowers in buds can be as beautiful and interesting as flowers in full bloom…perhaps even more so!

    1. I find that moment as the flower is just coming into bloom to be the most intruguing. So fresh and full of promise… Striving, if you will. Thanks for letting me share. 🙂

    1. Thank you Julie. You are very kind and generous. I’m thrilled that you like my work. It’s my pleasure to share, knowing that a few folks seem to like it. Cheers.

    1. Wowser! Thats quite a lot. :). We are very lucky to live in such a nice place. Thanks so much for reading.

  11. The beauty of your garden justifies all the work you put into it. How pleasurable it is to look at your garden photos! Blessings to you, Jim…

    1. Thank you. I’m glad you like it. Pleasurable is good – very good. Oh, I work at it. But I like working at it, which makes it a good thing all the way around. Cheers. 🙂

  12. I love your chatty flowers. I can’t wait to hear them tell the tales of a full summer bloom. I live in Kula, Maui and look forward to the Jacaranda blooms when spring finally arrives. There are hundreds of the trees here and for a few weeks it’s like living in a purple haze. But, alas, the flowers fade fast and fall. However, I love wading through the purple path to my car. I do wish I had the photographic skills you possess.

    1. Thanks. My chatty flowers have some fun. I’d say were coming into the full summer bloom real soon. I hope you share some pictures that cool purple haze when it comes along. I’ve never been in Hawaii, but I hear it is most amazing. 🙂

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