Pleased and Thankful

I’m just so very pleased and thankful with how well everything is doing in my garden right now.  I guess all of the rain we’ve had has been agreeable with it.  Every morning when I go out there to sit on the patio with my coffee, I am greeted with new little surprises.

It was especially wonderful the other morning when I went out there quite a bit earlier than usual and discovered dainty little dewdrops all artistically arranged around the edges of my cucumber leaves.  I tried my best to take a good picture, but in the dim lighting of the new day I couldn’t get it into focus very well.

The color is a bit off as well.  But it was such a cool effect to have the droplets only on the very outer edges like that, and all glistening, it was magical!

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The dew also graced the ends of my celery leaves with a lovely sequined pattern…

Again, the color is a bit off and this photo lacks in capturing just how pretty it really was.  Sometimes pictures, much like words, are just inadequate in truly conveying what our eyes are seeing and how our heart is feeling at a given moment.  But I was altogether delighted by that early morning display of a bit of nature’s delicate beauty, and I felt thankful and special to be there to see it .  ♥

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I unknowingly purchased a different variety of green bean seeds this year and was pleasantly surprised to find lovely little lavender colored blossoms on them rather than the white I am accustomed to.

Ah, so pretty!  Hopefully the beans will taste yummy too!  😉

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And speaking of lavender, my French lavender is now blooming.  And smelling absolutely heavenly!  ♥

I’m still waiting for my English lavender (my favorite variety) to bloom, it’s progressing agonizingly slow.  It’s really hard waiting to have something you love and want so much.  Hmm… it suddenly appears there’s a personal metaphor lurking there for me in multiple ways in relation to this.  I’ll have to ponder on it…

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But aside from pondering and metaphors, other things are progressing ~ in the garden.  My peas are blooming away and producing dozens of pods.  I really can’t hardly wait to eat them!

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I was also excited to see a round little tomato developing on one of my plants.

Interesting fact:  I don’t actually even like tomatoes.  I like tons of things made with tomatoes though.  😉

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But I do like jalapeno peppers, and this little fella is just one among many that are growing on my pepper plant…

Although, there are also some shriveled ones too, like the one right next to it.  Not sure why that is happening.  I’m noticing that on my bell peppers as well.  I’ll have to read up on it.  Hopefully it’s not a big deal.  Maybe it’s just a result from all of the rain.

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I also like (make that love) zucchini!  Just found this bad boy starting to develop on my zucchini plant this morning…

Technically I suppose it’s a bad girl, as zucchini plants have both male and female parts and it’s the female part that produces the fruits.  Even though they look like male parts.  😉

Oops, did I just type that in my outside voice?  And am I leaving it like that?

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I guess so.  Okay then, moving right along…

In addition to the edible delights I’ve got going on in my vegetable garden, there are also a few floral delights that I’m seeing around the yard that are out there doing their thing.

The buds on the new trumpet vine I posted about last time are looking even more plump now.  I imagine they’ll be opening up soon…

Hopefully that gross black ant crawling around on them isn’t a bad sign of anything.

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I just noticed yesterday that the Stella de Oro lilies that I divided up earlier this spring have buds on them…

They are quite spindly though, so I’m not sure they’ll amount to much this year, but I’m happy they’re surviving being separated, as they were very crowded and I had be a bit brutal with them to get them apart.

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The Astilbe in the flower bed has buds as well…

And the Astilbe on the side yard is already in bloom…

It’s such a pretty, light and airy looking plant.

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The yellow Loosestrife we have on the side yard is blooming too…

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And I have to share this photo I took of the Coleus I have planted in one of our patio pots.  The foliage is so bright and colorful!

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You know, at the end of each of my gardening posts I always write “Gardening is my therapy,” and that’s not just a saying, it’s really true.  Nature in general always gives me such a wonderful sense of peace, and joy.  It helps to center me, along with my faith.

I have many other things outside of gardening that are going on and sometimes when things are really pressing in and my heart feels heavy, even the joys of my garden can’t seem to bring complete relief, but even still… gardening really is a therapy for me, and I’m so very pleased with and thankful for my tiny garden.

Thanks for letting me share a bit of it with you…

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✿~Gardening is my therapy~✿