In Between the Rain

It’s been raining forever it seems, and according to the forecast there’s not much hope of it clearing up anytime soon.  It’s been a bit dreary and depressing, but it’s given us some glorious green color around here.  Just yesterday while I was out driving I couldn’t get over how alive everything is outside right now!  One thing rain does is bring life.  Makes me think metaphorically about the rainy seasons we go through in life and how much we grow during them ~ even with as dreary and depressing as it can sometimes be.  Gosh, I miss the sun.  In reality and metaphorically.  Hope it comes out to shine on me again soon…

In the meantime I’m doing what I can to find the simple joys, and there are plenty.  Gardening truly is my therapy.  ✿

The scent of lilacs is still filling the air here, and in between the rain I have been bringing out a little folding chair to sit on out on the patio (the patio furniture is quite damp), just so I can be outside smelling their lovely fragrance.  They will be gone before long, their bloom time sadly brief, and I can’t let the rain steal that enjoyment from me.

While the lilacs are on their way out, the Lily of the Valley are in full bloom right now.  They are another one of my favorites so I’ve tried to go out enjoy those as well in between the rain.  I’ve brought my camera out there with me on a few occasions and have tried to take pictures of them, but I’ve had a heck of a time capturing a clear focus with my humble little camera.

Although, I think this shot turned out nicely…

I absolutely adore their delicate, pretty, little white bells!  And they’re so unbelievably fragrant!  I love them.  ♥

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I also snapped a picture of my fairy statue that I have out there.  Back in 2010 when I lost my house and moved into an apartment, I couldn’t bear to part with it, so I brought her over to my mom’s thinking she’d fit in nicely among the Lily of the Valley.  I think she’s quite happy in this spot.  🙂

 As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, my Grandma planted these Lily of the Valley on the side of the house over 60 years ago, that makes them even more special to me.  I think my Grandma would like my fairy statue being nestled in among them.

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I wonder what she would think of this silly fish planter that I have sitting on my potting bench nearby…

There is some confusion and a bit of disagreement over the story behind how we acquired this little guy ~ my mom, my sis, and I all have a different recollection on it.  It’s rough getting old, but I’m the youngest, so I think my story is the correct one.  😉  One thing we all agree on is that he’s a cute little spud.  I think he originally had a succulent type of plant in him, but this year I planted Baby Tears in him.  It looks like hair haha!

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I was concerned that all my plantings would get water logged and drown with all this rain, but they all seem to be coming along just fine.  In between the rain I’ve went out and tried to take a few pictures of their progress.

My beans are emerging…

In typical alien looking style, I might add.  😉

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The lettuce is coming up…

I foresee delicious salads in my future.  🙂

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Carrots…

So tiny I could barely get them in focus.  Once they get just a little bigger I’ll have to thin them out quite a bit.

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I’ll have thin out my cukes as well…

Hope these do well because gosh I would love to have another bountiful crop of cucumbers like I did last year.

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My peas are coming along quite happily…

It doesn’t show in this photo, but I planted some mint in with my peas this year.  Don’t know if that will end up being a great idea or not, but I bought so many varieties of mint this year that I ran out of places to put it.  Couldn’t help myself, I’m such a huge fan of mint!  😀

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Another thing I don’t know whether or not was a good idea, is that when I noticed peppers already forming on my bell and jalapeno plants, I plucked them off.  It just seems too early for them yet, the plants are still so small that I wanted to give them a chance to grow a bit bigger and stronger before they started dedicating all their energy to the developing fruits.  Sad little discarded lifes…  😦

Thinning, plucking and pruning is always a hard thing for me.  They all want to live!  Hopefully I did the right thing.

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All of my herbs are doing well.  A few I happened to take pictures of were the Oregano…

and Rosemary…

They both smell delicious!  😀

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I rearranged and planted a few new things in the flower bed, one of which was this Columbine…

The lighting on this photo isn’t exactly true, in person it’s more of a bright, rich berry color.  At the garden center, I agonized between this one and a blue (purple) variety, but in the end decided on this one because even as much as I love it, I can’t have everything be purple.  😉

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Lastly, I’ll share this picture I took of the pretty lavender colored Lamium I planted in my mom’s flower bed many years ago.  It’s a ground cover type of plant and is really a bit of a nuisance, but it is pretty…

And my mom really loves it, so that’s what matters.  But I do plan to yank some of it up.  Shh don’t tell her…

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So in between the rain, we can still find many simple, beautiful, living things to enjoy while we wait for the sun to return…

✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿