Bunnies, Blooms, and Serenity

Our faithful bunny Hoppy had a mishap the other day. He went out into the courtyard to escape the heat and a hanging plant narrowly escaped conking him on the head. One of the cats had exited the bedroom window above the wooden grid of the courtyard, in order to munch on some catnip. We planted it in a hanging pot on purpose, to keep our numerous cats from harvesting it too quickly. But the kitty loosened the hook and the heavy pot plunged, almost flattening our bunny. Glad to report that both bunny and catnip are alright.

Sara’s Double Purple Coneflower is flourishing. It was billed as among the Top 10 for 2006 from Heritage Perennials. The Golden Splendor Lilian Trumpet is at my eye level, and I’m five eleven. The Scarlet Runner Beans are filling up the bamboo structure quite nicely. The Miniature Rose is yellow orange and exquisite.

Our long stemmed Daisies are very prolific this year, providing the garden with that classical touch. When she was five I tried to teach Hedgehog the “she loves me, she loves me not” counting game with the petals of a daisy, and she got real mad at me for destroying the flower. The light purple Daylily has a name, it’s called Catherine Woodbury.

Aside from the flowers in the pictures, the Cranesbill Geranium (Rozanne) is filling up one section of Sara’s flowerbed with its characteristic blue blooms, and the Candelabra Primrose (Primula x bulleesiana) is showing its gratitude for Sara’s frequent waterings. This shrublike plant with its reddish orange flowers doesn’t relate well to drought, it prefers moist soil.

The Aquilegia vulgaris has very striking flowers, but its other name has a frightening association. In the vernacular, it’s called Columbine. Most people won’t be able to say that name without thinking of that ill-fated high school in the States where two students went on a shooting spree. These are things that came to mind, as did gratitude, when our kids asked to be home-schooled.

Ever since Sara fed them with Iguana Juice Bloom, our geraniums in the window boxes have perked up and are growing like there’s no tomorrow. It’s amazing to watch the effect that this 100% organic plant nutrient has on all our plants. My vegetables are progressing very nicely, thanks to Iguana Juice Grow and the other outstanding products we use from Advanced Nutrients.

We had to use Bug Away recently, because we had a slight infestation of spider mites. Aside from this and a touch of Black Spot on the roses early on, we haven’t had too much trouble this year, thanks to Scorpion Juice, no doubt, which inoculates our plants against most pathogens.

Since we got rid of the Black Spot, our roses have been rewarding us with clusters of magnificent blooms. It calms my spirit to see the beauty of each individual rose. It’s easy to see how this flower has been used for centuries as a symbol of love and spiritual awakening.

Sara and I travelled to Hungary before the kids were born and we visited the tomb of a Turkish saint, named Gϋl Baba. He was also known as the Father of the Roses, and spent many years in Budapest, during the Turkish occupation. Some of the rose bushes he planted high on top of a hill are still blooming next to the small circular building, which houses his sarcophagus.

The spiritual peace in that hilltop garden is marred only by the pockmarks of bullets that cover the building, a reminder of two world wars and one major revolution. As another insane conflict is threatening the peace of our world, it is well to remember the existence of rose gardens such as this where the spirit can take solace from strife and help transcend the pain and violence by an infusion of beauty and serenity.