Give me flowers in the perfect shade of purple and
The color of the sky.
Flowers that feed the butterflies,
the bumbles,
and even a tiny fly.
Give me flowers that glow in sun or shade
That start the purist white and mellow to pink
That make a dramatic show
That bloom and bloom until frost.
That follow the sun in a worship that begins as they are unfurling
and only ends when they go to seed.
A flower whose fragrance can scent an entire garden
Give me flowers that make me smile...Who needs diamonds
When we can have flowers
and toads.
When we can have flowers
and toads.
xxoo,
Gail
*Gail to Mr I when he asked her if she was disappointed she hadn't diamonds and pearls.
But aren't these beautiful flowers really the gems of the earth! Nice response.
ReplyDeleteI agree and love toads in my garden. They are always welcome. Beautiful pictures!
ReplyDeleteGail girl I too would rather have toads and frogs in the garden to keep me company and keep the bad insect population at bay !
ReplyDeleteI would so love to hear them sing .. I have to get to a post on my sumacs ! The tall and short of it all ? LOL
Joy
Music to a poor husband's ears.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures Gail! What kind of coreopsis is that red and yellow one?
ReplyDeleteSo many flowers and lovely prose to boot. Happy day, Gail.
ReplyDeleteGail I have the diamonds but it's the flowers in my own garden that are the true gems!Love your statement and all your gorgeous flowers!Enjoy all these pretty gems!
ReplyDeleteDave Plains Correopsis C tinctoria. I got the seeds in Austin. gail
ReplyDeleteAll these lovely blooms would make me happy, too, Gail! The butterflies are my favorite to watch--is that a frittilary? I didn't see any toads in the photos, but I suppose they're hiding underneath. I have so many toads that seem to pop out when I least expect it; they're enjoying all the rain we've had.
ReplyDeleteI once told Mr. P early in our marriage that I didn't need diamonds, which seemed a frivolous waste of our limited money at the time. He's taken me at my word ever since:)
I agree 100% with you, Miss Gail! Hey, it's hard enough to keep the fingernails clean as it is--can you imagine having to deal with fine jewelry, too?!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I seem to remember that your new fence is painted in a rather amethyst-like color, and that your DH did a lot of the painting. So he's giving you jewels anyway! ;)
Rose, It's funny how husbands hear some of the things we say, but miss others!
ReplyDeleteLes, My Birthday is next month and I have asked for a compost tumbler...
Anna, hello dear~The mosquitoes are terrible but I go out there to see the garden as often as possible.
Darla, It made mr I smile!
Layanee, Thank you and I can't believe I will get to see you soon!
Joy, I look forward to hearing about your pampered sumacs!
Carol, Thank you...I love critters who eat bad critters!
Gail
Kim/Blackswamp Girl, You have a great memory! He' did stain the fence and I am pretty sure he'll gift me with a compost tumbler for my birthday! He's so romantic! gail
ReplyDeleteHow true, diamonds are pretty but their beauty doesn't begin to equal that of a flower.
ReplyDeleteMarnie
Gail, I am right there with you. Flowers and toads and all things buzzing, please give me those.~~Dee
ReplyDeletePure poetry, dear Gail and the photos are out of this world! Of course I agree completely.
ReplyDeletexxxooo
Frances
Frances, I know you do! Hoping your day is bright and sunny! xxgail
ReplyDeleteMarvelous poetry Gail. I too would prefer toads to diamonds. I have more toads than diamonds too. This makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteI love having toads in my garden, but I think I'd rather have diamonds on my fingers than toads in my hands. They like to lurk in the leaf litter under my loquat, which being evergreen drops its leaves all the time.
ReplyDeleteThe leaves are big and leathery, and perfect camouflage for Mr Toad. The number of times I've picked up a handful of leaves and found a squidgy amphibian glaring up at me from the middle of it...
Me, too!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post.
What is that yellow sun burst plant?
gardenpath, Hypericum frondosum it's a beauty! gail
ReplyDeleteBeautiful sentiments!
ReplyDeleteYour blooms are lovely and you've got life and priorities in perspective.
ReplyDeleteI must ask--how are you getting photos in the humidity? Every time I walk outside with my camera, the lens fogs up! Sweltering.
Nice post...love, love, love.
ReplyDeleteAlthough can't we have it all. :)
Cameron, The trick is to hold the lens against your arm where it will quiickly acclimate to hot! gail
ReplyDeleteGail, what a charming poem. Yes, toads are good. For our 29th anniversary I asked for and got a pickup load of composted buffalo poo :)
ReplyDeleteGloria, That's a great gift! gail
ReplyDeleteLots of interesting flowers in your garden. Lilies are always so dramatically showy. All these flowers that you are showing are at least a month from blooming in my garden.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly Gail!
ReplyDeleteGems, and beauty, a great post.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather have toads also.
Jen
I'm sure Mr I was happy with your answer ~ he knows you have all those things of beauty so he's off the hook about the jewels! ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely, lovely, lovely there Gail. I would take all of the above too. So much more satisfaction in something living than in inanimate objects.
(I just rescued two toads from my neighbors window well using my pond net today ~ so you know I'm all about the toads too!)
You want larger pictures? We share the same template. Minima, which won't allow larger pictures. You would have to change to something like Minima Stretch, then chose XL. I did that, but ended up with a slower loading blog. So I changed back to this.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are photos are great, but your words are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteDiamonds?! Those are for GIRLS! Compost and toads are for WOMEN, lol. What is that striking bursty yellow flower?? Love all your blooms.
ReplyDeleteSo true. And amazingly enough, the plants we choose for their looks bring all sorts of other things to gawk and stare at, a continual visual feast loopback. Your photos make this point so well. Wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a diamond person - I prefer little jewels with roots! I love yours here......... Any toads would be made most welcome in my garden.
ReplyDeleteLove that yellow starburst photo :) Rosie
Oh, goodness, I can't even imagine my gardening companion (aka my husband) thinking I might like diamonds and pearls instead of flowers and toads.
ReplyDeleteBut he's a like-minded sort of fellow, so I'm fortunate to be sure.
Cheers,
Lisa
I feel the same way, I don't want fancy clothes or jewelry...I'd only get them dirty while I'm out digging. :)
ReplyDeleteI love your poem Gail! Your blooms are strikingly beautiful in how you captured their essence in light and movement. Very Lovely! Beautiful photographs. I should rather have toads too, for they are honest, useful and far more valuable.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, couldn't have put it better myself. Your flowers are such jewels.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pictures and I couldn't agree more. What would I do with diamonds other than worry about them? While plants and wildlife always raise the spirits. Well, I do make an exception for bindweed!
ReplyDeleteExactly! (well may one diamond :0)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos of your gorgeous gardens Gail. Thank you for sharing.
Very pretty & very well said. I agree.
ReplyDeleteI just got a big smile on my face. Lovely sentiment and I can so relate.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I've missed visiting you! Your residents have been busy while I was away, I see...and I agree, riches can't compare! That's why I asked for a load of dirt for Mother's Day.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly! The pictures are lovely.
ReplyDelete