WORLD INTROVERT DAY

World Introvert Day.  

“This is a day for the dreamers, the thinkers, the quiet ones, the ones sitting in the back of the room or standing on the edges, the ones who know more than they show, and feel more than they let on.

Today we celebrate the Introverts.”

from

~Jenn Granneman~

at 'Introvert, Dear'

(Jenn's website is here.)  

Thank you Jenn!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

For those who are celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful day. 

The year has turned its circle,

The seasons come and go.

The harvest all is gathered in

And chilly north winds blow.

Orchards have shared their treasures,

The fields, their yellow grain,

So open wide the doorway

Thanksgiving comes again!

~ by Leanne Guenther ~

MORE PHOTOS FROM GREEN SPRING GARDENS

I didn't share all the photos taken on our last walk around Green Spring Gardens.  Here are several more flowers.  

I have more to share from the garden, but I will leave those for another day. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

LIKE A PEAL OF A BUGLE...

Like a peal of a bugle

Upon the still night

So flames her deep scarlet

In dim forest light.

A heart-throb of color

Lit up the dim nook

A dash of deep scarlet

The dark shadows shook.

Thou darling of August

Thou flame of her flame,

'Tis only bold Autumn

Thy ardor can tame.

The Cardinal Flower by John Burroughs

(1837-1921)

GREEN SPRING GARDENS, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA - PART 2

Continuing from my previous post of our walk - you can find Part 1 here - in the photo below we are looking back at the front of the house.  There is a gift shop and tea room inside.  We haven't had a meal there yet, but it is on our list when things start getting back to normal.

This is the same house that we had walked behind.  The people who owned this home must have enjoyed their large garden at the back.  It is a very large grassy area and is edged with beds of pretty plants and flowers.

I didn't know whether the fruits were edible or ornamental from the Red Date tree, but from what I read they are edible.  However, there is no way I would eat one without the advice of an expert.  It is the first time we have been here where the fruit has been visible.

I have enjoyed finding out their names, always looking for a marker first and then using my plant app.  If I am not convinced of an ID I will research them on line.  A fun activity when I get home as I go through the photos.

In one of my previous posts there were hundreds of these pods that had dried up and dropped onto the ground.  I am sharing that photo again below.  I checked on line and there is a site that sells 800 of them for $55 dollars.  People use them for crafts, ornament making, wreathes and more practically as a mulch.

The dried pod photo was taken when we were here in February of this year.  Here's what they looked like when we were at the garden the other day.

I am very happy to be able to see the butterflies before the colder months.  There were also a lot of bees around.  I feel the same about them.  Two of the many things in nature that I enjoy.

The first time I saw a Peruvian Lily was in a birthday bouquet Gregg gave me the first year we were married.  I am drawn to them every time now and am very sentimental about this pretty flower.

What an interesting name for a plant.  Its other names are Button Eryngo, Button Snakeroot, Beargrass or Bear's Grass.  Its scientific name is Eryngium yuccifolium.

The bushes were overflowing with these bright red berries.  They attract songbirds, cedar waxwings, cardinals, blue jays and many other back yard birds, and they feast on the berries in late autumn.  They are poisonous for humans and can be mildly hallucinogenic for the birds.

These Rice-paper leaves are very large and can grow up to 20 inches.  It produces white flowers which the birds are very attracted to.  It is a shrub or small tree of the ginseng family, and is native to southern China and Taiwan.  It is the source of rice paper.  The central tissues of the stem are split and pressed into thin sheets used for surgical dressings and as watercolor paper.  Fascinating what you find out isn't it?

I still have a few more flowers but I am winding down this post now, with a promise that I will share others as time goes on.  

A lovely path behind a vegetable garden.  I like to take it every time I come here.

Here's my doggy fix!  Such a cute four legged friend having a walk with his family.

This little chap was making his way along the fence near the children's garden.

And we were very happy to find a Goldfinch before we left the garden.  

Gregg and I both enjoy taking photos when we are at Green Spring.  I have identified his by providing a watermark at the bottom.

I hope you have enjoyed Part 2 of our walk.  

Take good care of yourselves out there and I wish you all a very happy weekend.

GREEN SPRING GARDENS, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA - PART 1

All through this blog I have shared walks around several of our local gardens and parks.  We take turns visiting them and our last walk was around Green Spring Gardens.  If you click on the label with its name below this post, it will take you to all the other visits we have made.

At this link you can read all about its history.  This was the first time we explored the back of the house.  We normally keep to the path which takes us in front.

I have tried to identify many of the flowers, plants and trees, and hopefully my plant app didn't make any mistakes.  I am learning as I go along.  Some are very familiar to me, others not so much.

Below this post you can click on the label "Green Spring Gardens_Alexandria_VA" to see more posts including photos and sometimes history.

Several photos today were taken by husband Gregg, and those I have identified at the bottom of the photo.

Song of the Flower Xxiii

by 

Khalil Gibran

I am a kind word uttered and repeated

By the voice of Nature;

I am a star fallen from the

Blue tent upon the green carpet.

I am the daughter of the elements

With whom Winter conceived;

To whom Spring gave birth: I was

Reared in the lap of Summer and I

Slept in the bed of Autumn.

At dawn I unite with the breeze

To announce the coming of light;

At eventide I join the birds

In bidding the light farewell.

The plains are decorated with

My beautiful colors, and the air

Is scented with my fragrance.

As I embrace Slumber the eyes of

Night watch over me, and as I

Awaken I stare at the sun, which is

The only eye of the day.

I drink dew for wine, and hearken to

The voices of the birds, and dance

To the rhythmic swaying of the grass.

I am the lover's gift; I am the wedding wreath,

I am the memory of a moment of happiness;

I am the last gift of the living to the dead;

I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.

But I look up high to see only the light,

And never look down to see my shadow.

This is wisdom which man must learn.

I am going to finish today's post right here.  This is in two parts as I have many other photos I want to share.  

IT REALLY DOES....

Tempus fugit - Time flies