Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Shooting stars and a savage garden

I missed the fireworks tonight but I have my own starburst display in the front yard. The Whirling Butterflies (gaura) are shooting out right and left, reminding me of those cool starburst fireworks that rain down from Fourth of July skies.

The slightest breeze sets the blossoms fluttering on their long, wand-like stems, imitating a cloud of white butterflies flitting across my yard. This guara is called Geyser White.


What do you do with a day off in the middle of the week, with two days of work behind you, and two more to come? A holiday in the middle of the week doesn’t lend itself to serious pursuits like heavy-duty gardening chores. No, much better to fritter the day away, which I did, with this book.



A Savage Garden? How can that be? Finding the answer was a pleasant summer read - a delicious trip through a mysterious 15th century garden (which is much more than it appears to be) in the heart of Tuscany. Complete with a 400 year old mystery, a World War II murder, and a young scholar trying to unravel numerous threads; it was like reading The Da Vinci Code, only without the religion, and with a garden as the main character. I liked it.


Occasionally I got up and wandered around and pulled a weed or two, and petted a neighbor’s cat that prefers my back porch during the day. I was treated to the sight of four fighter jets flying in formation overhead, and later the deep boom of fireworks. I can no longer see them from my back porch as well as I could 30 years ago before the trees got bigger. Just a hint of shooting stars overhead.

18 comments:

Mary said...

Lost Roses, we could all use a day like yours - just reading, and not doing much. A holiday in the middle of the week is kind of a drag, though. Back to work too soon!

Your Whirling Butterflies are very pretty and do resemble fireworks.

Cute kitty, too!

Carol Michel said...

Lost Roses... Yes, a holiday in the middle of the week is a drag unless you take off the two days afterward, like I'm doing.

Your book sounds quite interesting. I'll have to check it out, maybe it is one for the Garden Bloggers' Book Club?

Carol at May Dreams Gardens

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Sounds like a good read that book. Gaura grows in my garden too. Some I've grown from seed, others I've bought. There's pink and white gaura but its flower stalk are flat on the ground because of all the downpour. It's raining buckets here.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Those are pretty flowers- they look perfectly made for motion.

MariaJ said...

That book sounds good and you flower is beautiful so you had a perfect day off.

Melissa said...

Oooo that gaura is beautiful!!!
Those are my favorite fireworks too, I'm going to have to look into getting some of those flowers! LOL
Melissa

Bev said...

It sounds like you had a wonderful day! The gaura is outstanding and certainly does look like fireworks...the best kind... and a LOT quieter. I tried growing one once but don't think it was in the right place. Yours is very happy there. I'll be sure to check that book out... sounds great.

NatureWoman said...

Your Whirling Butterflies are gorgeous! Ohh, a mystery garden book - I'll have to read it since I *love* books like this. Thanks for the title!

LostRoses said...

Mary, today was the longest day at work - it felt like Monday again!

Carol, clever girl to take an extra two days off. I never get enough vacation days so I have to hoard them.

Have you ever done a novel for Garden Blogger's Book Club?

Yolanda, your poor guara, but nice to get rain. Guara sure don't want extra moisture, do they?

Lynne, they usually are in motion too, thanks to all the bees that flock to it!

Maria, it was a good day, very self-indulgent!

Melissa, this is only my second year growing them and they've already made it to the top of my list for fuss-free, gorgeous plants.

Bev, a hot sunny spot with little supplemental water makes them really do their best. I'm always moving around plants I've put in the wrong place!

Naturewoman, good novels with a garden theme are few and far between, we can't let them go unnoticed!

KGMom said...

I have pink gaura in my front flower bed--also now flat after a day of heavy rain.
The book does look intriguing--one to check out.
And the kitty--what a cutie. I am a sucker for cute animals.

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...

Sounds like my kind of book, I'll have to pick it up. My kind of cat too, enjoyment without the responsibility. I would have been quite content with the day you had rather than the chaos i had.

Dawn said...

That's my type of fireworks: on the ground in flower form. They are very pretty indeed! And I love your neighbor cat. I can see why she prefers your back porch. Maybe she's a plant lover. Black & white cats are too cool.

:-)
Dawn

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a lovely day, and I love the sound of that book, I'll have to check it out. But my favorite? The gaura. Just beautiful and your photo is beautiful too. Love it! ~A :-)

Iowa Gardening Woman said...

The neighbor's cat looks very content on your back porch!

I will have to check out the book The Savage Garden, I finished an outstanding book a week or two ago, Julia's Chocolates.

LostRoses said...

kgmom, I have a pink one also but I think it's getting too much water in the bed I put it in, it's not performing very well! Guess I'd better move it. Kitty helps me water also, besides being very pet-able.

Apple, I wish you a day free of chaos! I really did fritter that day away and enjoyed every minute of it. I bet you'd like that book!

Dawn, after taking that photo I realized there really are a lot of "fireworks" flowers - cleome is another good one. Kitty does appear to like gardening - and birdwatching.

Angela, I ignored guara for years, can't believe I missed out on all those blooms for so long!

Iowa gardening woman, Julia's Chocolates came across my desk when I was cataloging it last month, glad to hear you gave it a good review. It did sound intriguing, so I'd better put it on my list.

kate said...

The Gaura is lovely - I can only grow it as an annual here, so I quite enjoy photos of it. Thanks for the mystery recommendation. It sounds like a good read ... perfect, actually, for today when it is raining ... a relief after record-setting temperatures these past days.

Anonymous said...

Hello, you have wonderful hollyhocks in your garden.
I am glad I found your blog, very nice pictures.
cheers from Canada

LostRoses said...

Kate, I was pleasantly surprised when the guara came back, I think that variety is marginal here. But so far, so good. Hope you enjoy the book!

guild_rez, thanks for your visit and your nice compliment!