Two years ago, on a bitterly cold January day, we brought sweet Pixie home, a 6 month old poodle puppy frightened because she had never been away from her first home before. She was reassured by stuffed toys and cuddles and quickly settled into our lives. Her first moments outside were spent dashing joyfully through the deep snow while I laughed at her antics.
She loves taking afternoon naps with her Dad
and keeps a watchful eye out for visitors.
She’s gone on to be a cheerful garden helper
and has had many cameos in my garden films.
This past week, a beautiful snowfall brought inches of white fluffy fun to the garden and Pixie responded by joyfully racing through the snow. What a beautiful sight! It was the perfect time to make her the star of her own Pixie movie – enjoy!
We need beauty because it makes us ache to be worthy of it. ~Mary Oliver
I stepped outside at dawn this morning to a tuneful chorus of birds in the trees above me. After days of torrential rain, the birds seemed to celebrate being able to hear their own songs again. But the rain was welcome after a month of heat and drought and the garden is lush and green again.
In my garden, after a rainfall, you can faintly, yes, hear the breaking of new blooms.” ~Truman Capote
I sometimes wonder how life can be this beautiful, this life in a garden. As I continue to leave behind the intention of striving for success in the world, I am content to allow the garden to rule my imagination and inner life. Last night I dreamed of orange poppies and purple alliums but walking through the garden this morning was more beautiful than any dream.
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers, where I can walk undisturbed . . . ~Walt Whitman
In late May and early June, the irises rang out color through the garden – bearded and Siberian iris are well known flowers and create bold imagery. (click on any thumbnail to see full size images)
‘Beverly Sills’ singing on the steps
Siberian iris ‘Riverdance’
Firefly on iris
Bearded iris ‘Beverly Sill’s
River of iris
Our less well known native Iris versicolor
and Iris virginica
bring a quiet and subtle grace to the garden.
Watching the iris,
the faint and fragile petals –
How am I worthy? ~ Amy Lowell
On the cusp between May and June, peonies and allium bloom outside the fence where the herds of deer ignore them. My favorite peony is ‘Krinkled White’ whose single flowers expose the inner parts that feed the bees and yet resist falling to the ground after a rain.
It is a fairy flower. Can you see it, touch it, smell it, and not love it? . . . The next time I live I wish I might be a single white peony so that people would . . . involuntarily catch their breath at the sight of me. ~Ruth Stout
As June arrives, foxgloves and native iris join the peonies in the front garden to create a peak moment of bloom and offer more food for pollinators.
The roses lead into early summer, heavy with perfume and transcendent beauty that catches the light as the earth spins toward the solstice. The simple pink blossoms of rose ‘Complicata’ adorn the arbor above while geraniums and peonies add color underfoot.The single rose flowers catch the sun and spread their sweet scent in every direction.
Rose, O you completely perfect thing, always self-contained and yet spilling yourself forever . . . ~Rilke
The lush blossoms of a David Austin pink rose throw a June garden party with Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’ and Clematis ‘Comtesse de Bouchaud’
while the rich color and heady fragrance of ‘Rose de Rescht’ captures the eye and the nose.
. . . when I am alone I can become invisible. . . I can hear the almost unhearable sound of the roses singing ~Mary Oliver
The native white Hydrangea arborescens has begun its long summer bloom cycle as it surrounds the bench where I often sit in the shade of the woodland.
Pixie, sweet and ever present garden companion, just celebrated her second birthday.She asked if she could help me with garden chores. So grown up.
I filmed a slice of life in my garden from May into June filled with color and light. I invite you to walk with me through the garden that I love and treasure – may you find pleasure in the shared journey.
Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. ~Mary Oliver
Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot
I have always loved autumn, with its cooler temperatures and crisp golden days. There were many mornings this past week where walking in the garden felt magical, the low light sifting amber through the leaves. The flowers of PG Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ have turned a soft pink yet still play host to sleeping bumblebees.
The oak trees have been putting on a brilliant display this year, hung like jewels against vivid blue skies.
It was a beautiful bright autumn day, with air like cider and a sky so blue you could drown in it.” ~Diana Gabaldon
But there was also a few foggy days that brought out the more subtle colors of autumn.(click on any photo to see the full size version)
Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonise. ~George Eliot
The leaves have been falling for days. I set my coffee cup down for a moment in order to take a photo and it was covered in leaves within moments.
The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground . . . ~George Eliot
The coleus and other annuals have became gigantic displays of warm color surrounding the house and deck
while a few roses bloom their last flowers of the season.
Pixie has been the real star of the garden this year, racing through the woods and tracking my every step through the garden, gracefully posing for the camera.
She is featured in a little film I made of the autumn garden, working her way into the path of the camera with ease.
The leaves continue to drift down, in a few days the trees will be bare and the ground covered. Until then, I celebrate the garden as it completes its final dramatic act of the season.
The leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the world’s oldest performance art . . . ~Shauna Niequist
(All text, photos, and video @2022 Lynn Emberg Purse, All Rights Reserved, except where noted.)
Her first moments outside were spent dashing joyfully through the deep snow while I laughed at her antics. 
My favorite peony is ‘Krinkled White’ whose single flowers expose the inner parts that feed the bees and yet resist falling to the ground after a rain. 
and offer more food for pollinators. 
The single rose flowers catch the sun and spread their sweet scent in every direction. 
The flowers of PG Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ have turned a soft pink 
yet still play host to sleeping bumblebees. 
composerinthegarden 