Fall Beauty

The leaves aren't the only ones sporting bright colors.

Lots Of Luck

What's luckier than a horseshoe?  How about one in clover?  I'm sure I can see a four-leaf one in there!

Green And Gold

Need a bit of green?  Wish you had some gold?  Mother Nature has plenty.

What's In A Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."

Despite Juliet’s impassioned speech to Romeo, names can add color and feeling.  The word, koru, for example, evokes far more mystery than fern.

Gardening Is Child's Play

This post brought to you by Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.

 Miracle-Gro wants to encourage and inspire new gardeners of all ages.  Check out their video below, then continue reading to learn how to make this picket fence garden.  Even the youngest gardeners can help with this project and I'm betting that you'll have fun too.

Signs Of Spring

Spring fever is in the air.

Colorful Design

Things are looking quite bland outside my window these days and the cold weather has barely begun. By spring, I'm sure I'll be more than ready for the reappearance of Mother Nature's colorful palette.

Clover

Rich and green, clover is the epitome of fresh, natural beauty.

Green Concrete

Nature is a strong survivor.   Think how it could flourish, if we gave it a helping hand.

Cotton

Enjoy the feel of cotton towels or that favorite cotton t-shirt? You’re in good company. For more than five-thousand years, cotton has been grown and transformed into fabric.

True Love

When a boyfriend brought me a bouquet of wildflowers, my mother was ready to set a wedding date.  She claimed that anyone could order flowers, but handpicked bouquets were a sign of true love.

Flowers Of The Field

Consider how the flowers grow. They never work or spin yarn for clothes. But I say that not even Solomon in all his majesty was dressed like one of these flowers.  Luke 12:27

Pine Cones

The woods behind our Georgia home held an abundance of pines and cones as well. Whenever we needed any for crafting, it was easy to gather as many as we needed. Here, we lack the pines and cones are sold at craft stores. I did prefer the free variety!

Pink Kale

Pink kale looks almost too pretty to eat. Its sprouts, however, are similar to broccoli and cabbage sprouts and quite edible.

Tulips

Highland Park in Rochester, NY, is well known for its annual lilac festival. The variety and beauty of the lilacs are incredible and I'll post pictures at a later date. It's no secret to residents, but most visitors are unaware of the gorgeous tulip beds that also adorn the park in the springtime.

Daffodils

No matter what the groundhog says, I know that spring is arround the corner, when daffodils begin to bloom. Alas, I have not spotted any this year.

Tree Fern

There is a symmetry in nature that always amazes me. Check the web in the previous photo and see if it reminds you of this fern formation.

This fern is found in Australia and New Zealand. Its unopened fronds can be roasted and eaten. I'd love to try that.

Butterflies

Our short reprieve from cold weather has ended, so I thought I'd add a little summer warmth with this pretty monarch butterfly in its colorful setting. I used to work in a high-rise park that had a beautiful park in its center. One of its features was a butterfly garden - a bed planted with flowers that attract butterflies. I was a bit skeptical the first time I heard about it, but once the flowers were in bloom, it had a continual array of colorful butterflies. I can't believe that I don't have one picture of it.

Seeds

We've had some relief from cold weather for the past few days. Just enough to get me thinking about gardening. The mail no longer brings a plentiful supply of seed catalogs and I'm sure that the digital ones are a greener option. Still I miss the days of purusing the catalogs, almost feeling summer warmth as I paged through the seed collections. January is too soon for planting, but by February, we can justify ordering some seeds. When life gets hectic, I've resorted to buying seedlings at the garden shop, but nothing beats planting seeds and watching them grow.

Rain

There's nothing like a soft rainfall to clear the air and make everything smell new. We've had to turn on heat a couple of times though, since the dampness doesn't feel as good inside as it does outside.