Say Hello to the Peonies

What is a June garden without peonies?

Litany

Litany

You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine...
- Jacques Crickillon

You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way you are the pine-scented air.

It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general's head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.

And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.

It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.

I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley,
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.

I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I am not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and—somehow—the wine.

-Billy Collins

Graduation Day at Inchelium High School!

"Our greatest glory lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

I love graduation at a small school. It is personal and family like. All but one of these students spent three years through middle school in my class. Knowing them as I do they will rise every time they fall. Another thing to celebrate was five of them had taken Running Start classes while in high school and three of them also earned AA degrees from Community Colleges of Spokane! They will have another graduation coming up.When you teach in a small school you wear many hats. Mr. and Mrs. L are proud parents of a graduate, she is senior class advisor, they are both high school teachers, and also find time to be my friends and have a life outside of school!

The Run of the Roses With a Brass Band

The run of the roses has started in the gardens. About five years ago I saw a photo of the William Baffin rose in a magazine and was amazed at the number of blooms and hardiness of this rose. The William Baffin is a hardy shrub rose developed in Canada and is known to withstand disease and winter temperatures.Mine continues to be the workhorse of the garden. I am glad I put it in a place where it could just spread. I did read this morning that you can also train this rose to be a climber. My newly added Brass Band rose continues to be an eye pleasing plant in the morning garden. I love the ruffly petals as the bloom opens up.

Pelargonium cv. : aka Scented Geraniums

a photo by JEJ of our large scented geranium that we keep wintering over

I really like scented geraniums. I discovered them years ago while visiting a little nursery with my mom in Dayton, Washington. When you rub the leaves of a scented geranium, the scent of the plant is given off. Through the years I have propagated and repropagated my plants and now they all smell the same... nice, but the same. Recently I found a new catalog that carries a very large variety of scented geraniums. I ordered some online from Mountain Valley Growers and they arrived today.
I am now the proud owner of geraniums that smell like lemons, limes, roses, nutmeg, ginger, and peppermint. I am going to plant them in separate pots to keep the scents from intermingling. These plants are usually annuals, but can be kept inside during the winter. They have small blossoms which are usually pink. I did order one that will bloom in red. I am eager to introduce these wonderful scents to our garden. They are a perfect filler in a bouquet, especially one that doesn't have strong scents from the flowers.
I did glance through the catalog from this company today and am thinking I may do another order. These are plants that caught my eye that I had never heard of : light pink double columbine, chocolate scented daisy, rosemary that blooms with pink flowers, rose scented bee balm,and an herb called Society Garlic which has grass-like leaves and edible garlic flavored flowers!! I better count the change in my piggy bank!

The plants from Mountain Valley Growers came packed very well in 2 3/4 " pots. With the day as hot as it was, they were hardy travelers!

The First Rose Blooms and Other Wednesday Garden Delights

I purchased a new rose called Brass Band and it has already performed beautifully on the morning side of the house. Our William Baffin is covered with buds, but one here has just opened.The honeysuckle vine is filling in with color next to the lilacs that are done with their show.
I have gone through a love hate relationship with petunias. Some years I use them everywhere, other years I grow tired of them. I decided this year to try a combination of white and purple. In the evening the white blooms catch the eye.

Here is one of those heirloom iris plants we got from the neighbor. The deep color adds richness to the wedding garden.I think you can never have too many dame's rockets. Between their color and lovely scent they dress up the area in front of the shop.