Siddhartha and Raspberries
We
planted a new Heritage raspberry bush near the veggie garden.
Raspberries grow sweet and fat when they get lots of sun. I took some compost
from our compost bin and filled the hole with it before placing the young bush
on top. I’m letting it rest for a few days before I give it a deep feeding.
I
planted a new lemon balm in the front flower garden too. While not a flower, it
is a lovely, bushy, graceful herb with a wonderful citrus fragrance that
attracts pollinating bees. A few sprigs of lemon balm steeped in water is a
great summer drink. Anything of a lemon flavor that you want to make benefits
from lemon balm.
The
pink and white lilies that I started from tubers last month also went into the
flower garden last night. Looking around, I saw that lots of the perennials are
making their comebacks. The hydrangea that my husband bought me for my birthday
two years ago is maturing. I’m thinking of another hydrangea behind the arbor.
The Black-eyed Susans that thrive at my other house - a few tubers of which I
‘borrowed’ last year - survived winter and are putting out new growth.
I’m
leaning toward more perennials out there. No doubt I will plant annual
sunflowers, cosmos, and nasturtium for summer bouquets, but I’m getting fond of
this plant-it-once-and-forget-about-it flower gardening.
Not
much makes me happier than watching seeds germinate. It always feels like magic.
The Japanese cucumber seeds that I started in trays just last weekend are
sprouting. Cucumbers are germination champs. Fast and easy. In less than a
month, they’ll be planted in the food garden. The trays of basil seeds are also
poking through the soil. Basil is another easy germinator and a fast grower
that needs warm weather and lots of sunshine to thrive.
I just
bought a beautiful, large purple foxglove (digitalis). Gave it a good feeding
last night. I’ll plant in the front flower garden it this weekend. Besides
being lengthy and gorgeous, foxglove attracts pollinating bees, which help
fruit trees set fruit, flowers create seed heads, and vegetables fertilize one
another and make lots of food.
One
important warning about foxglove: it is a very poisonous perennial. Please don’t
ever plant it where dogs or cats can get to it.
I’m
about to start a new book, Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse - an English
translation of the original German novel. It’s a fictional account of the Buddha’s
spiritual journey, an unfolding of his enlightenment, and considered one of the
preeminent spiritual books of all time. Definitely looking forward to this.
Damah
Daya
Dāna 
