Smell the Roses Along the Way! A Gallery….

I love this time of the year. The roses are blooming and the yard is a galaxy of flowers!

We haven’t always had a yard that looks beautiful. But we have always tried, no matter how hard times were, to eke out a little bit to get some blossoms going. Flowers spread joy and happiness. They are a gift from God and therapy for the soul.

We lived in a very small, one-bedroom home for ten years. We had seven children in that home. We tacked on a couple of little make-shift bedrooms for the kids off of our own bedroom.

It took us a few years to build our new home and we moved in when it wasn’t really livable. But it was all good….an adventure. Maybe some day I will write about it and dig up some old pictures.

Anyway, when we lived in the little house, (which many called “the shack”) we always had flowers, though not an abundance like we do now. I didn’t plant perennials there and I am glad of that so I didn’t have to say good-bye to them. But we managed somehow to have our little annual flower garden.

This year, my husband, Vincent, and daughter, Rosie, along with Angelo, the youngest, have done most of the yard work. Vincent has his own small greenhouse now and is able to start a lot of the flowers…or over-winter them from last year. Their team work has paid off! We have lots of beautiful flowers!

So…if you can, plant some flowers, nurture them, watch them grow and bloom. Maybe each year you can get a perennial or two so you can enjoy them each growing season and one day have an abundance of easy-to-care-for blossoming smile-makers!

And when the winter months come, get yourself some African Violets for the house. They are not expensive and they will bring a smile to your heart. 🙂

I love this quote from My Prayer Book by Father Lasance:

“I have always noticed that wherever you find flowers, no matter whether in a garret or in a palace, it is a pretty sure sign that there is an inner refinement of which the world is not cognizant. I have seen flowers cultivated and cherished by some of the lowest and poorest of people. Where these emblems of purity are found, you may rest assured that they represent a hope, and speak of a goodness of heart not to be found where they are absent.”

These photos are  about flowers….and other tidbits of our summer…just stopping and smelling the roses! I hope you are doing the same. 🙂 Click on the first picture to view gallery. (The gallery ended up being a whole lot longer than it was supposed to be…. )