A sad sign of the times. Every day now, when I put up a photograph of a flower, people from drought areas of the Southwest and West send me messages thanking me.
Because of fire and water shortages, they have been asked to abandon their gardens and have to watch them die. This year, as I plant my first garden that is all mine, I feel this pain particularly keenly.
I’ve worked so hard on my raised bed Zinnia garden; it would be heartbreaking to watch these flowers wither and die.
We want those suffering these awful droughts to know that we hear you, think of you, and are sorry. So many of you out there are thanking me for posting photos of our gardens.
I hope the flowers we are growing can in some way be adopted by you and bring you some comfort and color.
I will share mine with you as best I can every day and hope they bring you some comfort and light. And thanks for e-mailing me.
What would we do without flowers in our lives. I spent about 5 springs in Calif but this year I was back home in Indiana and the spring flowers were spectacular! It was like seeing them for the first time.
Owning a farm, I thought you might enjoy this!
Forethoughts – Buying a Farm
by Jonathan Greene
We thought we knew what we wanted,
put earnest money down the day we first saw
the farm (fools rush in).
We wanted to be on water, and this has three-fifths
of a mile of river frontage. Did not know we’d be here
for five of the six highest floods on record.
We wanted to be secluded. Over a mile back
from a one-lane county road. Road work and
tons of rock that would cost a small fortune.
No access to potable water. Three wells dug but
no good water (sulphur and salt, the culprits)
but a cistern off the barn still works.
No electric. A right-of-way lawsuit
with our neighbors. Lawyers on all sides lying to us.
Turns out they had no clear title to their place.
After forty years we wake to our view
of the river bottom and the surrounding hill,
often socked in with river fog. Can’t imagine
seeing anything else every morning.
Jonathan Greene, “Forethoughts-Buying a Farm” from Ebb & Flow published by Broadstone Books. ©2021 Jonathan Greene. Used with
What a glorious picture of Stella D’Oro lilies! They’re small, sturdy, and prolific, somehow endearing as opposed to the larger, flashier lilies. Thank you!