“The long, languorous days of August have cast their spell over the earth. Little by little, nature yields to the seductive influence and sinks into her summer sleep. Lazily-languid like southern beauties, the hours follow each other in slow succession.”
~Sister Mary Blanche (Elizabeth King, 1852), “A Summer Siesta”
August is usually HOT! We can help by providing shade and water options. Keep your COOL and give us a call: 717-653-1273!
Contributed by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife
This year, rain seems to have been a constant companion. While I like sunshine as much as anybody (maybe more!), I am coming to terms with the amount of rainy days we’ve had this year–especially when I see how our garden plants are thriving!
And I have not let the rain hinder me from getting outside for my daily walks. In fact, I am actually glad for rainy-day walks. Rain slows me down to pay attention to my footing so that I don’t slip on slick grass or shiny stepping stones and in slowing down, I look around more. You wouldn’t believe the beautiful displays I’ve seen–of raindrops on the myriad varieties of leaves in our garden!
Take a look at the photos I’m including in this post to see what I mean! These are a few of my favorite things . . . .!
Joyfully shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& rain-drop beauty collector!)
Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,
With the wonderful water round you curled,
And the wonderful grass upon your breast-
World, you are beautifully dressed
The wonderful air is over me,
And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree,
It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,
And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.
You friendly Earth! how far do you go,
With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow,
With cities and gardens, and cliffs, and isles,
And people upon you for thousands of miles?
Ah, you are so great, and I am so small,
I tremble to think of you, World, at all;
And yet, when I said my prayers to-day,
A whisper inside me seemed to say,
“You are more than the Earth, though you are such a dot:
You can love and think, and the Earth cannot!”
~ William Brighty Rands (English writer and poet; 1823 – 1882)
Gladly shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& awestruck Creation-gazer)
“So much about modern living assaults our senses. We’re buffeted by bad news, harangued with hurry . . . until we unconsciously pull down our awareness levels like blinds on a too-bright window. No wonder we forget to breathe deeply. No wonder we become half-blind, hard-of-hearing . . . hardened to the point that we can only discern the harshest of realities.
But a garden is a safe place to reverse the hardening process, to become more conversant with realities that are no less valid for being softer and more beautiful. The garden is a place of tenderness, of freshness, of joy and delight. The triumphs and sorrows here are on the scale of centuries, grounded in the eternal rhythms of the earth. Here, I find my numbed senses . . . coming alive again.”
~ Emilie Barnes (Contemporary author and gardener, in Time Began in a Garden)
Thoughtfully shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& grateful for our garden’s restorative capabilities)
Can you relate to the sentiments expressed by the author in today’s quote? I can. But I have an “out”, and it is literally just outside my windows and doors. I only have to glance or step outside into the lush and leafy beauty around our home and I am revive–heart, soul, mind, and body! If your hectic, noisy life needs an “out”, please talk to us (717-653-1273). We are in the garden “restoration” business!
“Are we not standing in the gardens planted by our forefathers?
Are we not reaping a harvest we didn’t sow?
Are we not leaning on the limbs of an oak and standing within the shade of a forest that someone else chose to grow?
Martin Luther was asked, ‘If you knew tomorrow the world would end and today would be your last,
How would you spend it?’ And he said, ‘I would plant an apple tree.’
The Greeks believed a society only thrived when people plant trees they know they’ll never live to see.”
~ Joshua Luke Smith (excerpt from “Sunflowers in Babylon” by contemporary British poet, pastor, rapper)
Can we help you with your “estate planning” so that you leave a garden legacy for those that come after you, while creating beautiful spaces for the here-and-now?
Shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& ‘garden legacy’ advocate)
