Geranium

 As sunlight breaks through the old oak’s branches, streams of white light flood the garden and

Marigolds glitter reflecting dew drops as spider webs trace intricate designs throughout the buds and flowers and stems and stocks.The roses show translucent petals of individual color: cream and fuchsia and orange and yellow. Spears of Russian Sage glow violet held long and straight by the surrounding patch of purple Echinacea. The garden populations stand super-sized and healthy after a spring of cool days with rain and hot sunny summer days ending in thunderstorms. I sit on the deck observing and drawing the healthy, vibrant pink geranium planted in a terra cotta pot while an emerald green Hummingbird assesses the Oregano in the nearby herbs. A most beautiful morning with no rain on Walnut Street.

Echinacea

Early, on this July evening in the backyard garden, two colors become what I see. The lavender-blue of Russian Sage and the lavender-purple of Echinacea. Colors that penetrate the air. Breathable colors. Both slightly faded in the high summer sun. Both calling for study or bemusement. Lush, together they're the stamp of summer; the magnet of inspiration; the beauty of impressionistic art. As daylight becomes less than the dark of night, I sit within an essential spectrum of peace and it soaks my senses in full shades and hues--the majesty of lavenders, violets, blues, pinks, and purples. A time to sleep in the soft bed of color.

Gray Spider

I've been waiting for a poem and it hasn't come except for this flower that  I've never seen before — 24 long petals magenta on top and white on the bottom and the bottom curls up turning each petal into a spoon. Look closer and see perfect little yellow flowers with 5 petals each and thin saffron like yellow threads weaving around them like a dance circling the center of the magenta flower—a center that is raspberry in shape and color and size. This flower carries a critter—a busy gray spider and I think the flower would not be complete without her.

Oregano

What can I say about Oregano? It is magical with a bit of whimsy . . . its dark green foliage with sweet violet blossoms last the whole summer long. Our Oregano resides in an Italian  pot of pink and brown clay with classical wording around the rim. This plant is not elegant but it is noteworthy. I took notes by drawing it and went to the Internet and read that it is a native of the Mediterranean, hence the recognizable affinity of plant to pot. Sometimes, some things, small things catch my gaze and I stay a while in the pleasure of the moment. It has been two days and now I assign it to the blog, so that I can come back to taste its fullness, smell the spice of it and see the greens and violets, too.