The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers. ~Basho
My father was born on the 4th of July, so we always had a double reason to celebrate the holiday. And did we ever! As a family of musicians, we transformed our neighborhood block party into a morning parade, recruiting my father’s band students and anyone in the neighbor who could play The Stars and Stripes Forever while marching. The rest of the day was an ongoing musical feast in the form of continuous jam sessions, the repertoire ranging from jazz standards to German polka band arrangements. Sometimes there were local fireworks at night but more often, we lit sparkler wands and drew pictures in the night air to a backdrop of fireflies (locally known as lightening bugs) who ignored our fiery antics.
Now my 4th of July is usually spent enjoying the floral fireworks in the garden. Daylilies of all shapes, colors, and sizes are the feature, surrounded by true lilies, salvias, roses, flowering shrubs and clematis. 4th of July fireworks indeed! Enjoy the images (click on any photo to trigger the gallery slideshow) and have a happy and safe holiday. (All images ©2014 Lynn Emberg Purse, All Rights Reserved)
If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment. ~Georgia O’Keeffe
For my followers, I’ve wrapped up a demanding and complicated few months and am happy to return to blogging, gardening and composing. I look forward to visiting your sites and seeing what is new with you 🙂
composerinthegarden 
A wonderful blog post title and celebratory in Life, Nature and Art, Lynne.
Thank you, Jean!
Welcome back, my friend. I was just talking about your garden with my husband as we sat in our garden–wondering how you were doing. I think you outdid yourself this year. Oh, my! So glad to see you back online. Missed you. Looking forward to the weeks and months ahead of sharing and caring. ET
So glad to see you here, Eleanor, and delighted that you enjoyed the garden pics. We’re having a great year in the garden, thanks to all of the rain this spring and summer. How is your garden doing?
Oh wow … you have beautiful results from your gardening efforts! Outstanding collection for the day. By the way, we heard an interesting trio with the Cincinnati Pops last night … go to YouTube to search Time for Three. Welcome back!
I just came in from the garden to find your lovely comment here, Frank! I love Time for Three, very innovative and crossing genre boundaries with some great music. How neat you got to hear them with an orchestra! Here’s my favorite YouTube of them, on the NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert.
Thanks for the outstanding link. The first song on the video was how they opened their portion of the show. They seemed to really enjoy playing with an orchestra. … and glad you heard of them!
Happy 4th of July and welcome back! Wonderful fireworks to celebrate both occasions 🙂
Thanks, diversifolius! Happy 4th to you as well.
Welcome back, and happy 4th of July, Lynn! Your garden is always so lush and beautiful this time of year. You give me something to aspire towards in the making of my own gardens here. Our daylilies are pretty much finished for the season.
HI Robin, and thanks for stopping by. I hope you weathered the Arthur storm and got that rain you needed. We have had excessive rain and hot temps here since May, so everything is green, lush, and huge. A good year for the garden. I look forward to catching up with your posts!
That’s a great quotation from Basho. Thanks for putting it up.
I share your father’s birthday, so there have always been fireworks on my birthday too. What I can’t do with music, the way your family has done, I try to do with pictures. Happy Fourth.
Happy birthday, Steve! I always thought it was a great holiday for a birthday. And your pictures are always a celebration 🙂
I was quite taken with the Basho quote, it resonated with me as I often feel I can hear the garden singing.
That sounds like a title for a piece of music: “I Hear the Garden Singing.”
Hmmm, most of my music is actually about that, though I rarely call it that. I’ve been reading a lot of Roethke lately, especially his nature and garden poetry, so between him and Basho, I know I’m not the only one to hear it. 🙂
Welcome back, and happy Fourth of July, Lynn!
Thanks, Vlad, it’s great to be back. I hope H. Arthur isn’t putting too much of a damper on your holiday – happy 4th!
If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment. ~Georgia O’Keeffe – Amen.
But I hate the feeling of ‘offing their head’ so I just stick my nose in their business. Your floral fireworks, has a lasting effect, easier on the eyes and ears.
Hudson, you crack me up! I rarely pick my flowers except for special occasion bouquets – too “red queen” for me. Flowers stay in the garden here and live out their happy life cycle. Glad you enjoyed!
Your garden just gets better and better! Nice to see more of it.
Thank you, Ehpem – it has been a good year for the garden with all the rain we’ve gotten.
I’ve never seen the purple daylilies before. I may have to look for those. Are they hardy to zone 3? This is quite a lovely garden montage. Thanks for sharing.
Chlost, thanks for stopping by and commenting; I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I’m not sure if Shaka Zulu is hardy to Z3, but I know it was bred for a cold climate by Bill Munson, who gardened in northern Ohio. My guess is that most dormant daylilies (as opposed to semi-evergreen or evergreen) would be very hardy. I garden in Z 5B, but friends who grow day lilies in Canada and Wisconsin have great success with them, especially when they winterize them with a layer of mulch. Hope that is helpful!
I think that you may enjoy Lynn’s column !
Really gorgeous photos! I just found you. I love your shot of rosa glauca and clematis. Enjoy your florific holiday!
And I’m so glad you found me; I love your name! Just visited your blog, which is wonderful. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your holiday too!
So glad you’re back. Beautiful post. Gardens teach us celebrate in the best of all ways.
Happy 4th
Thanks, Carol. Good to be back, both in my garden and in the blogging world. Happy 4th to you too!
A splendid selection of fireworks.
Thank you, Tootle Pedal! I keep going back out to the garden to look some more 🙂
I shall continue to enjoy the subsequent pictures.
Breathless…in that these photos take my breath away: Glorious way to lose my breath and breathe your gardens’ imagined perfumes instead…just lovely, Lynn…I know the work it takes and that it’s hardly ever work. Blessings and hooray. Missed your creativity and spirit. Sending gentle peace and neighborly acknowledgement that we called them lightening bugs, too, and they’re one of my favorite delights during summer’s visit. 🙂
Ah, Kitty, you always make me feel glad that I posted! I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos; the garden has been glorious this year with lots of rain healing the damage of a tough winter. I look forward to catching up with your posts; I’ve missed reading your insights and reflections. Enjoy the holiday!
Lynn, your garden is absolutely beautiful (photos and pup too!) I’ve missed you! Welcome back.
Serendipity, Audrey! I was visiting your blog while you were commenting here. Thanks for stopping by with kind words 🙂
That’s quite a display, Lynn. Great to see you back here in cyberspace.
Happy 4th!
Thanks, Kerry; great to be back! Happy 4th to you too.