Words of Life

As far as I know, Jesus never said:
"I'm proud of you."
"Wow, look at all your stuff!"
"You're beautiful, that makes you special."
"You're so smart! You're amazing."
 "The goal of life is to live to 100."

He did say:
"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." John 6:29
"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11
"I am the bread of life." John 6: 48
"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31
"I am the way and the truth and the life." John 14:8
"I will never turn away anyone who comes to me." John 6:37
"Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20

Shapes of Light

 Here are a few photos that focus on shape and light. The first two are peonies.

Hosta in dappled shade.

Rose in bright sunlight.

Big Poplar Sphinx Moth

 I think this is a Big Poplar Sphinx Moth which would be reasonable seeing as there are lots of poplar trees in the area.  In some photos on the internet, this type of moth appears larger than this one, but I 

suppose the size could be somewhat variable.  The underwings have some pink on them, but that isn't

visible with the wings partially closed.   The moth's colours are muted  but I find the pattern attractive.                                                                                                

 

After a rain, the wet leaves are bright highlights in the bush.

Oriental Poppy and a few other flowers

It's time for the Oriental poppies.  I like the soft pink and frilly edge that this one has.

 The sun was low and making a nice pattern on the white cosmos.

 A new addition to the garden is Pink Fizz Foamy Bells (a heucherella). I prefer the heucherellas to the heucheras as they don't tend to pop out of the soil from the frost.  Their plant form is more like the tiarellas,( foam flowers), but the flowers are more like a heuchera.  They enjoy a shady spot as the leaves will scorch in a location where they get the hot afternoon sun.

 An old pink rugosa that is limping along in a much too shady spot, has produced a couple of pretty, fragrant flowers.

 Perennial cornflower makes a nice medium high clump. It's good for bees and butterflies.

Salad time.  I love being able to pick what I need for salad from the garden. So far we only have lettuce, onion,parsley, oregano, and radishes but soon I will start picking celery, and in July, hopefully tomatoes and cucumbers.

Tree Peony , Sporty Forget-me-nots ...

 My tree peony has a couple of great big blooms about 8" across. Tree peonies are a woody plant from China so our winters are a bit of a stretch for them, however, this one has survived for about 10 years. Always a treat when it blooms, and this year the weather is co-operating by not being too hot during its bloom time.  One day at 30C and the blooms would be finished. I'm not sure when they opened as I was away, but I think they will last for a few days with temperatures  in the low 20s.

Forget-me-nots are pretty biennials that have an easy ability to "sport", that is, to produce different colours from the seed of the parent plant. I have tried to establish patches of white and pink forget-me-nots , but they will not seed true to colour.  You just have to be happy with whatever naturally pops up.

The pink ones are very nice, but I don't get many of them.

The columbines are starting to bloom.  This one is a double purple that I started from seed a few years ago.  They like rich humusy soil and do best in partial shade.  They won't come back if they are in a hot, dry location.  Some people find they self-sow but I've never really had that happen.

 These are wild ferns that I transplanted to the north side of the house.  I think the long mild fall we had last year was good for them, because in spite of the dry spring, they are growing very well.