Gardening and Reading- two of my favorite things......

I spent a fair bit of time outside today, working in my perennial beds. Unfortunately I did find more lily beetles. Please keep a sharp eye out for these little pests - (see my post on Sunday May 10 titled "Catch of the Day") - and if you find any, destroy them asap before they have the chance to lay eggs... Spread the word to any neighbours who garden as well as they can sure cause a good bit of damage very quickly...

I love this plant and it's spotted leaves - Pulmonaria.... the common name is not so pretty - Lungwort. I love the fact that it has both pink and blue flowers at the same time. I think it is also known by the name "William and Mary"...

I got some Hostas split, one dug out entirely, and made room for a new one or two... felt good! My back lawn has several lovely drifts of New Brunswick purple violets - they are beautiful ... I love them. I hate it when Brian mows them off....

Tulips are still blooming, I have several nice clumps right now... Things are growing so quickly - it's hard to keep ahead of things at this time of year. I still haven't done my top-dressing yet. Hope to get to that this coming week, emptying out my Compost bin...

Thought I would share this little poem with you- it's one of my favourites about gardens...

"The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

than anywhere else on earth."

~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts"

Finished two good books this week, the first being "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks. (It is the second book of hers I have read, the first was "Year of Wonders".) This is the story of "the journey of a rare illuminated manuscript through centuries of exile and war. In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. Priceless and beautiful, the book is one of the earliest Jewish volumes ever to be illuminated with images. When Hanna discovers a series of tiny artifacts in its ancient binding -an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair - she begins to unlock the book's mysteries. The reader is ushered into an exquisitely detailed and atmospheric past, tracing the book's journey from its salvation back to its creation." This was a wonderful read.. I highly recommend this book.

The other was totally different- "No Time for Goodbye" by Linwood Barclay. Fourteen year old Cynthia Bigge awoke one morning to find that her whole family, father, mother and brother had vanished. No note, no warning, no trace. Vanished. No return. Now, twenty-five years later, strange things are happening, and she learns the devastating truth about what happened to her family. If you like a "page-turner"... this is it!! Don't start it until you have a good block of time, because you won't be able to put it down...

Piece,

Linda

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero