Gladioli Belinda


Would these bring joy to your heart? Would they make you happy? Would it matter that they don't directly contribute to the saving of the world through digging for victory?
Fionn and I planted five bulbs of Gladioli Belinda this afternoon. We weeded out onion weed and other uninvited squatters. I surveyed the rise of my garlic shoots with satisfaction and Fionn and I discussed plans for his garden some more.
Planting the seed for such beautiful red and white glory made today special. The children made today special because I'm glad they are with me, healthy and alive. The picture on the bulb packet, which looks like the image above, gave me a sense of beauty and poetry and good things to shine above dishes and laundry and cooking and cleaning and dishes and laundry and cooking and cleaning and insurance companies and fire nurturing and fireplace cleaning and fire maintenance and and and.
It's going to be a spring and summer of flowering beauty here. I've been buying a few bulbs each season and the effect is starting to accumulate. There seems to be some naturalisation and growth of bluebells and crocuses (and something else that I'm less confident of, possibly a misplaced daffodil) outside our bedroom window, where it is too shady for food plants apart from parsley. In earlier years I mourned not being able to buy $50+ worth of bulbs and imagined a time when I would have a bigger bulb budget. But now I am beginning to feel that little steps also grow beauty.
There is an article in the August (09) NZ Gardener on crocuses. I found it a particularly useful article in that it identified which crocus varieties naturalise (multiply by themselves if left in the ground for more than one season) easily. For the budget flower lover, this is valuable information.
I don't know the quote about bread and roses accurately - give us bread but give us roses too - nor can I quote from whom it first came. But I feel it's sentiment and I love this time of the year when brassicas bed down beside beauty.

Comments

Sharonnz said…
Beautiful words, Sandra. Looking forward to seeing the irl beauty of all your bulbs too.
You need to sort out some pictures of your garden please Sandra. We didn't get around to doing anything apart from one courgette plant (!) this year so I need to live vicariously through you.
Sandra said…
Thank you Sharon.

Tania I can't even find our camera! So the current outlook for photos on my blog is extremely poor. If we really can't find the camera soon then replacing it will go on our wish list but there are some other bills to pay and home maintenance to do before we swan round buying a camera. On the other hand, when we do have one again, FH has prmised to show me how to upload to the computer.
Sandra said…
And Tania - one courgette plant! Go throw some rocket and lettuce seeds around outside AT ONCE!!
Will do I promise! Actually, we did plant a couple more, plus some cucumbers but the slugs got them. I went and inspected further yesterday and it seems one of the cucumber plants has made it. Plus a tomato plant from an unemptied pot from last year has resurrected itself it seems, though quite woefully, and has a very respectable two tiny green tomatoes. Have I redeemed myself yet?

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