What Flower Are You

I came across this blog, This Garden is Illegal, which has a little survey asking "What flower are you?" I generally don't like taking surveys and personality tests, but I thought that it would be a fun, so why not. After taking the survey, I found out that I am a violet and have the following personality:

"You have a shy personality. You tend to hesitate before trying new things or meeting new people. But once people get to know you, you open up and show the world what you are really all about."

What's so interesting about this personality test is that it's generally true. I hope that you take the time to take the survey (it took less than a minute) and let me know what type of flower you are (and what it means). Just click on the blue writing in the box below. For those who know me well, am I really a violet?

I am a Violet What Flower Are You?

"Koy" Fishes

Love in the Time of Cholera

When I start a book, especially one that I find to be engaging and profound, I often finish it within a short period of time, strictly from cover to cover. Lately (to my chagrin) I've found the following an exception to my reading method: Gabriel Garcia Marquez's engaging, profound, and beautifully written book, Love in the Time of Cholera. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to be agreeable and disway others from reading the book (I really cannot emphasize how well written this book is ). I find that I'm having a very hard time finishing the book because I find certain parts heartbreaking and just can't continue reading. I'm not ashamed to admit that I skipped many of the book's chapters and read the ending. It is my hope, however, that I'll eventually come back and read the whole book in order and from cover to cover.

Yes, the book was turned into a movie that was released in 2007, but I'll wait to see it after I finish the book.

Geranium

One More Attempt

As I previously wrote (see July 17, 2008 blog entry), I had raspberry canes growing on the north side of my garage. The raspberry plants came with the house and I allowed the plants to bloom for about three springs/summers, always hoping that the canes would produce fruit. Unfortunately for me, no real fruit ever formed and the most I ever got was the formation of several druplets. (According to Cornell University Dept. of Horticulture, “[t]he raspberry fruit is not a true berry, but rather an aggregate of many individual drupelets. Each drupelet is anatomically analogous to a cherry with a hard endocarpic seed (pyrene) surrounded by a fleshy mesocarp and an outer exocarp.”)

So with a heavy heart this summer, I chopped down all of the raspberry canes. Rather than waste another summer hoping that I will actually get some fruit from the raspberry canes that came with the house, I became realistic: The space is best used to grow something else and I am now turning that site into a flower garden. However, I have not given up on the idea of growing my own raspberries. Thus, I ordered two different raspberry plants, Heritage (which produces red berries from June to August) and Ann (which produces yellow or golden berries from August to October) and have planted the plants on the south side of my home. If the plants do well, I’ll have fruit all throughout summer and well into the fall. I will eventually mulch the top of the garden site and protect the plants in preparation of winter, but hopefully these plants will be alive in the spring and be able to produce fruit.

Mums

If tulips symbolize the coming of spring, then mums symbolize the coming of fall. Also known as chrysanthemums, these flowers are ubiquitious in the fall.

I've never seriously considered these perennials as having a place in my garden until last fall, where I gave in and purchased three hardy mums on a whim. I planted them in the garden and only two survived. Despite losing the yellow blooming plant, the other two are flourishing and have doubled in size.

I am now very enamored of these plants and very excited in acquiring different varieties, or at least doubling the number of plants in my garden. Lucky for me, these plants are easily propogated. All I need to do is take a cutting from the plant, strip off any leaves from the bottom, and put it in water. In about a week or two, the plant will have grown several roots. I've currently propogated two cuttings and will eventually plant the cuttings in potting soil. In the spring, I hope to transplant the "cuttings" to my garden.

Wisconsin "Rock Formation"

Busy Autumn

Lately it’s been nippy here; a sign that autumn has arrived. Autumn was my favorite season as a kid, but as an adult now, I think I love spring and summer more (just because our winters are so long and I get to garden during those seasons). In anticipation of winter, I’ve already started planning what I’m going to do with my container plants and how I need to prepare my garden beds for winter.

I’m also thinking about the layout of my flower garden (see July 17, 2008 blog entry), considering that I’ve got co-workers willing to give me plants from their gardens. I’m pretty excited about the different plants I’m inheriting (e.g. bleeding hearts, hostas, daylilies, Easter lilies, Siberian irises) and the space these plants will take up in my garden. I also have to replant the existing bearded irises in my garden because I planted the plants too deep last fall (which will cause the irises to not bloom, therefore explaining why only one plant bloomed this year). I’m also debating whether I want to spread manure on my garden beds or whether I should wait until spring. I use to think of autumn as a time to just rake leaves, but as a gardener it's actually the other time in which I need to prep my garden for the spring (planting, clearing, raking, etc.). I didn't think I would be this busy, but I am (not to say that I'm complaining).

My Condolences

Several people in my life are going through a rough patch right now, specifically, someone related to them have passed away. Having attended several funerals in my own short life, I know how hard the grieving process can be. I also know that sometimes, it's hard to find the right words to say to those in grieving.

Although the following are not my words (I actually came upon the following poem a long time ago and recently rediscovered it), I want to let these people know that I am thinking of them and I hope this poem provides them with some consolation:

Do not stand at my grave and weep;

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunglight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

Purple Vegetables

I was at the Farmer's Market yesterday and saw several purple vegetables. Yes, purple vegetables. Maybe you've already seen purple peas, purple potatoes, and purple bell peppers, but this was the first for me. I was so intrigued by the potatoes and bell peppers that I purchased some (I was a bit skeptical of the purple peas due to their leathery shells).

When I got home, I did a little preliminary research about purple potatoes and found contradictory reasons for their existence. One stated that it was bred and created by a university to have the same antioxidants and vitamins found in blueberries (as indicated by the purple color). Another source stated that these potatoes are naturally purple and can be dated back to the Incas, when it was served only to Inca kings. Regardless of how these potatoes came to be, they are really yummy (although I'll admit I'd prefer to believe that these potatoes are of Inca origins than a university origins).

I have yet to try the purple bell peppers, but I'll let you know.

Marjorie McNeely Conservatory

Labor day weekend came and went. The weather was beautiful and those who were able to experience the weather was wonderfully lucky. As an outing during the weekend, I visited the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory with friends.

I love this conservatory. I know there are probably other conservatories that are bigger, "better," and more varied, but I have so much of a emotional attachment to this conservatory. When we were much younger, my parents would take my siblings and I to the conservatory to look at the various plants and take pictures. Of course it looked (and felt) much bigger when we were little. As an adult, I still find the conservatory impressive and I've learned to appreciate the various plants and the effort that comes in maintaining in a conservatory. Depending on the area I'm in, I love to just sit and pretend I'm in a jungle or a cottage garden.

Almost Forgotten