Listening for fairies...

Today is a day of beauty in Northern Indiana. Fat, heavy raindrops splattered trees and earth earlier this morning, but the afternoon became heavy with sun. My garden has never been more beautiful...dripping blossooms of peonies, tall Irises, honeysuckle so heavy that one has to duck under the trellis. It is one of those days that I know the fairies will be waking up. When I was a little girl, my Dad bought me poetry book and inscibed it to me....always take time to listen to fairies, he said...This past month, slowly recovering from eye surgery, I have spent time waiting for the fairies to wake up and prepare for the solstice and midsummer's Eve. Here is a lovely chant to help bring the fairies into your own garden, should you chose.

Ring, ring in fairy ring,
Fairies dance and fairies sing,
Round, round on the soft green ground--
Never a sound--never a sound.
Sway, sway as the grasss sway
Down by the lough at the dawn of the day. (from Ireland)

Meandering Roads..

They say the road to a friend's house is never long....Yesterday I spent the day with my college roommate, Sally...she made the trek appearing at my House at White Picket Gardens with stories and friendship and gifts...We had a candlelit luncheon with fresh strawberries from my garden and flowers in tiny vases. Our lives have taken such different directions..she has three daughters..I have three sons...she is still married to her high school sweetheart..I live alone....but kindred spirits we were meant to be. We told stories. We remembered. We looked at our photos..were we really 12 when we went to college???? (Well, we definitely looked it.)

It was a wonderful day. Before she left I opened up the festive bag of gifts...a bracelet of beads...fishnet kneesocks (I always wore kneesocks in college, much to her despair), a fairy handkerchief for treehouse parties, and a wooden sign: We dwell in possibilities by Emily Dickinson.....
An inscription on my guest wall, an endearing hug good bye....and a wave....ah, yes, possibilities.

Thoughts on gardening...

I have loved flowers since I was a little girl. I used to take my allowance to the farmer's market and buy bouquets of gladiolus with my money. Herbs and flowers all have a world of their own and each has a special meaning. In Victorian times, gentlemen would send their lady friends flowers according to their meaning. Here are a few examples:
feverfew, good health, warmth, you light up my life; heliotrope, devotion, faithfulness, I adore you; lavender, passion; lemon balm, healing lore; laurel, sucess, glory; marigold,health, joy, sunshine, thyme, bravery, courage, strength; yarrow, cure for heartache; bleeding heart, elegance, fidelity; daisy, innocence; cosmo, modesty; heather, admiration, wishes come true, lady's slipper, capricious beauty; nasturtium, patriotism; Queen Anne's Lace, I'll return; snapdragon, no, you are dazzling, but dangerous; sweet william, childhood, memories; verbena, faithfulness, and lastly zinnia, thoughts of absent friends! So, next time you send a bouquet....