Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Garden Abundance, and a Massage


We have an almost embarrassing abundance of flowers in the yard at the moment. The roses are going haywire, exploding like a big ol' Fourth-of-July fireworks display. The beach asters, like the one above, are glowing highlighter-pink. The blackberries are buzzing with bees. We have purple spikes of sage, purple Chinese foxglove, purple clematis, purple chives and scabious, pink persicaria, and orange geums. There are buds on the lilies, the thistles, the geraniums and the hydrangeas. It's crazy.

At times like this, I don't know how we ever survived in a high-rise apartment with no garden.

I spent yesterday dead-heading roses, running errands and reading, mostly. I took Olga to Hampstead Heath for a few hours and then got a massage in the afternoon -- the last of the five that Dave bought me for my birthday way back in November. I'm so glad to be done with them. I mean, I enjoyed them, but I was constantly afraid that something would happen -- the massage therapist would move away again, for example -- and we'd never get our money's worth. So at least that pressure is off!

Also, I'm having the balloon picture reprinted and I'm going to mount it correctly for the photo panel. It was just too crooked.


I didn't take photos of Olga yesterday at the Heath -- I left my camera at home. But here she is at the cemetery over the weekend. No sense of decorum!

9 comments:

alphabet soup said...

Yes, I see what you mean with the balloon photo. However, if you hadn't pointed it out I would never have known.

Ms Soup.

e said...

That dog certainly knows how to enjoy herself!

Lynne said...

What a beautiful color on that aster. Yes, highlighter pink -- a perfect color description! Can you take a photo of the whole garden in bloom? It sounds wonderful.

Olga: ROGLOL !

Ms. Moon said...

The presentation of your work will say a lot in and of itself.
How DO people manage to live in high rises with no dirt to play in? I can't imagine. That is one of the main reasons I want to die before I get to the nursing home stage. What a nightmare that would be!
Olga. Her joy is simply astounding.

ellen abbott said...

as they say...presentation is everything. in juried shows excellent art work will get dismissed if the photo isn't professional looking. and I agree about having a garden. how do people live without a green space to putter in.

Sharon said...

That flower photo is stunning. I'm not familiar with beach asters but, I have to say they are a gorgeous flower. I bet that garden is spectacular. I love that photo of Olga too. It's a look of uninhibited bliss.

37paddington said...

I'm gonna say it again: An Olga picture book! That dog has so much personality! William Wegman did it, but I find your photos of Olga to be infinitely more interesting in that they are less staged. Another winner!

Elizabeth said...

Your whole post made me smile -- from the "embarrassing" amount of technicolor flowers to the anxiety provoked by massages to hilarious Olga frolicing in the grass. It seems like summer, for sure!

The Bug said...

I'm so jealous of your flowers! I keep saying that I want a wild profusion of flowers, but our yard is like concrete & I don't want to put in the effort. So I get what I sow, eh? :)

I would buy an Olga coffee table book!