What I Have Learned this Summer

This bouquet of summer blooms on my dining room table features a couple of the flowers that I was able to grow successfully this summer. (camera phone photo)

The hydrangeas are doing well. The zinneas were grown from seed thrown into the soil and the purple spikey plant attracts many butterflies and bees. I don't know what it is called.

This year puttering around in my lawn and garden I feel like I became a gardener. My DH is happy to plant and forget. I personally like to plant and tend and pluck and pamper the plants. To me it's a big science experiment.

This year I learned that I have to start my seedlings in February so that they are ready to put into the ground in the Spring. The growing season is so short here...

I learned patience. How to wait for the beautiful blooms to appear.

I learned acceptance. The deer the moles and rabbits ate two-thirds of my seed plantings.

I learned some science. Fertilize at this time. Prune and cut at this time.

I also learned that if I have seeds of a plant that I want to see - plant them - seeds do not last forever. Did you know that seeds have an expiration date? I just learned that this year. Anyway. I planted some flowering seeds that did not flower because the seeds were too old.

I learned that my DH has much less patience for weeds than I do.

I learned that many weeds are actually beneficial foods for animals as well as people. The clover in my lawn has fed many insects and bunnies. The neighborhood children are happy to watch the bunnies graze on my front lawn. Crabgrass is very nutritious. I haven't made them yet but I found a recipe for Crabgrass muffins. The Bedouins would make a cake out of them.

I learned that one can be an an environmentarian and can eat for free off of the land. ( I am curious about bringing some of this to my little environment and making my lawn edible. )

I learned that my Grandfather was a gardener and a botanist. He hybridized a rose and has a rose named after him.

This was the year of planting many seeds. I treasure the beauty of each blossom that made it to the sunshine.