For the first 50 years of my life, my perfectionist self mistakenly believed it was all about knowing more, getting it right, planning, attempting to prevent bad things from happening, and keeping all of my chicks in a row. It took me this long to discover that the JOURNEY is all that matters. This quote from Gilda Radner sums it all up:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
"


Thursday, June 21, 2018

From Giverny to Ellington

At about this time last year,  my daughter and I had just arrived home from a trip to London and Paris.  It was a wonderful trip, but one of our favorite days was the one spent visiting Monet's house and garden in Giverny, France.




While there were thousands of gorgeous flowers,  
Annie and I were drawn to the poppies.


I purchased a packet of red poppy seeds in the gift shop that day
for planting at home.


The delicate field poppies were everywhere along the roadsides too.



Ever since then,  I have been on a mission to grow poppies of my own.
Very early this spring, when snow was still on the ground, I spread the
packet of seeds from Monet's garden.  I also spread seeds from various
other types of poppies that I had purchased online.


And THEY GREW!


The first ones to blossom were the very delicate California poppies. 




The petals are thinner than crepe paper and the seeds 
are yellow.  I love ALL of the shades of pink, coral and red!




Every morning,  I go outside to see more and more blooms.




I've been picking them daily to enjoy in the house too.




A taller, sturdier variety just began blooming today!


It's very pretty with more layered petals and a darker center.


This is what makes gardening so much fun.  I don't like to see the same
garden year after year.  I'm always moving things around and adding new
flowers that catch my fancy.  Sometimes things work out and sometimes
they are a flop.

It makes me VERY happy that this is a time when THEY GREW!