Spring Garden – Page 2 – Gardens For Goldens

Something to Dream On

“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
“Winter is dead.” ~ A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

With a brief, but welcome rain this week, followed by unseasonably warm temperatures, the garden truly came to life.

I should stop saying “unseasonably warm” and just get accustomed to it. Those who don’t believe in climate change surely are not gardeners.

Sarah is back; returned from a year of hard labor on the graveyard/weekend shift at work. We have missed her in the garden.

I love getting to the garden early before everyone else arrives. It’s my chance to survey and see what has newly popped up,

begun to blossom,

or made its way into the garden beds thanks to those mischievous elves.

This is my time to take a few photos,

and to enjoy the company of the garden creatures; nesting Killdeer…

worm-hunting Robins…

sleepy lizards…

and rare yellow ducks.

My solitude is broken by the play of puppies in the adjacent yard…

and dog walkers – not just passing through – but stopping to sit and play now that the weather is warm.

“You have to give people something to dream on.” ~ Jimi Hendrix

We give you the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden in spring.

Spring Greeted in the Garden

“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.” ~ Ruth Stout

Saturday was a picture perfect early spring day, which brought out all kinds of visitors to the garden: dogs,

lizards,

snails (by the thousands),

and Rocky! Our resident snake is back and apparently well fed.

And if the geese hadn’t found such a buffet in the wet field next door, they would probably have been in the garden as well.

We could have used the extra helpers. Twenty beautiful antique roses were gifted to us (thank you, Marguerite!); lifted from their home in Napa and delivered in a packed SUV by Maria. Since they were quite literally “bare root,” they needed to be planted right away. We sorted them by size and color, dialing up Anna’s mom, Lynn – a rosarian, for reference.

Somehow, Maria, Anna and I got all twenty planted in one afternoon. Somehow, we found space for them! In between there were “going home” pictures to grab. From across the garden I hear the holler: “photo needed!” It is an interruption that I am always happy to accommodate. Happily, there were quite a few:

Frankie,

Brandi,

Three of our hunting dogs, including Drake who found himself a family of boys,

and Bailey and Bandit, who found themselves a home together with a couple of girls.

But the best picture of all was a simple snapshot taken a few days earlier, capturing the smiling faces of Riley and his new mom.

“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke

The Color of Springtime

To my frozen blogger friends and family on the east coast, I send a tiny bit of spring and offer this deal: if you’ll send water in form of melted snow and ice, we’ll keep sending flowers. 🙂

“The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination.” ~ Terri Guillemets

Oops…those sneaky dogs!!
Stay warm all (and use lots and lots of imagination until spring).

Wordless Wednesday: Reawakening

Wordless Wednesday: WPA Garden in Spring

Renewed

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

It is hard to be a weekend-only gardener of the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden. So much changes during the week at this time of year; I have to take time just to soak it up each Saturday morning when I return. It is amazing to see last year’s perennials push their way skyward once again as the garden reshapes itself after the long winter.

The Snapdragon, Iceland Poppies and tiny Viola flowers worried Ina – a horticulturist with a penchant for California natives. She thought they might be too grandmotherly…but I think they have won her over, begrudgingly.

The roses are beginning to bloom.

You wonder what weighs them down? The tiny frogs have already taking up residence!

The California Poppies have opened; their gold offers striking contrast to the Lavender backdrop.

Maria’s Herb Garden is already lush and new additions will quickly fill in any holes.

Ina has prepared all of her beds for the dry days ahead, tucking them in with a blanket of shreds.

Even the Killdeer are back…leaving their nest eggs smack in the middle of the dog park!

Maria is off on another adventure, which means that I was left unsupervised on Saturday. That always spells trouble – and planting! When we began the garden, each person had their own bed to do with as they pleased. The good news was that the work was divided up; the downside was that the garden felt a little disjointed. Now that our core group is a little smaller, we can “color outside the lines” a little. I planted two beds, bridging the Daylily bed to the Rose bed – and the Perennial bed to a tree circle garden, echoing the most drought tolerant plantings in each.

Ina thinks I’m nuts (again), but allows me to play as long as I steer clear of her beds!

With the “dorms” (aka “kennel”) full – the dog walkers arrived in force this weekend, allowing me to work without too much guilt. There were dogs everywhere…

and some happy “going homes” including the dog I wrote about last week; our other Daisy who had been returned for being a still rambunctious two-year old. This time, we found the perfect home where her youthful exuberance will be exhausted by an outdoor-loving and very active mom.

The world is right again.

Spring and Hope Greet the Garden

“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
“Winter is dead.”
~ A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

Spring has greeted the garden.

The rains last week produced blossoms on the apple tree, and set the Wisteria, Iris and Tulips to blooming.

Maria has been working on a new stone base and platform for the St. Francis statue that graces the garden. A mysterious message: “finish me” – appeared to urge her on.

Between stones and mortar, she planted sunflower seeds in the Iris and annuals bed.

Rows of sunflowers will hopefully frame a colorful center of annuals and grace us long after the Iris have faded away. I focused on replacing the Little John plants that we lost to frost last winter in the entry beds. Ina strictly forbade me to go to the nursery in springtime. She must have known that would only encourage me. A mix of drought tolerant Lavender, Ceanothus, and Artemesia will provide near year-round interest – and their performance is proven through two seasons in the garden.

“Spring drew on…and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.” ~ Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

The ten dogs that arrived nearly two weeks ago are gradually coming out of their shells.

Tails are less tucked and smiles quietly cross their faces.

They are gaining weight and regaining their strength.

We call them “The Reservoir Dogs” and you can read their rescue story by following this link.

Dakota is one of our latest arrivals.

He needed emergency surgery to remove one of his eyes – a choke-related injury. We are hopeful that the other eye has been saved; it appears better each day.

You’ll notice an unusual twist to his paw as well. While he does not let it slow him down, he will be having surgery soon to repair and restore his beautiful gait.

These dogs have endured some long hard days – like the garden has weathered winter. But it is spring again – and hope is everywhere.

From Darkness to Light

“Gardens are made of darkness and light entwined.” ~ F.T. McKinstry

Our Homeward Bound Memorial Garden was gifted with light, bright sunshine on Saturday…

And dark, grey skies on Sunday.

A blessing that means much-needed rain again tonight. Last week’s storms produced a profusion of blooms…

and delivered a huge undertaking for our rescue – one that we gladly take on. Two van loads; ten dogs; twelve hundred miles to bring them to safety. I’ll be able to share their full story with you soon (as soon as I finish writing it!) Gorgeous all…and all in need of significant care –

for untreated medical issues –

and human socialization.

From darkness to light. Like the spring unfolding around them –

the best is yet to be.

Through the Lens

“It pleases me to take amateur photographs of my garden, and it pleases my garden to make my photographs look professional.” ~ Robert Brault

I have enjoyed taking amateur pictures of our garden – watching it progress through the seasons and develop over time. But lately, the amateur quality of the photos has been a sense of growing frustration and disappointment instead of joy. So, with appreciation to our Presidents for the three-day weekend, I rented a camera that takes a couple of leaps from my current gear.

When I started studying painting many moons ago, my student tools were inexpensive gessoed muslin canvas, cheap brushes and acrylic paints. I will never forget the first time I put fine sable brushes and a light oil wash to a linen canvas primed with rabbit skin glue (sorry bunny). The paint had a completely different feel, a brilliance and transparency. It did as I commanded – effortlessly gliding into place. That has been my experience behind the lens this weekend. Not just photographing our budding spring…

or happy birds…

but the beauty of the dogs –

and the delight in the faces of our volunteers and families.

“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera” ~ Lewis Hine

Tuesday, I return the camera and turn back into a pumpkin. But something tells me there is a purchase in my future. So when words are inadequate, I can (happily) share our joy in photographs with you.

Signs of Spring

“The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.” ~ Gertrude S. Wister

The signs of spring are everywhere in the Memorial Garden. For those of you still suffering winter, a few vignettes are shared here with a hope that your spring is on the way.