The pleasure of our gardens: Welcoming the spring equinox to our backyard garden

Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. ~ Gertrude Stein

How lovely a rose smells when left on its stem.

Spring's recent arrival in the Northern Hemisphere offers all of us a chance for reflection as we begin our break away from winter and welcome the new season.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems as if the sun's just a bit warmer and the flowers are a little brighter than they were just a week or two ago.

Speaking of flowers ...

Springtime means new growth for our rose bushes. Our First Prize rose bush has been an early bloomer this year and, at the time of this writing, we have five First Prize roses blooming.

As a caretaker and devoted photographer of nine rose bushes that shine brilliantly throughout much of the year in our backyard garden, my appreciation for roses has grown exponentially over the 14-plus years I have resided in the foothills above Oakland in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Roses have become an everyday part of my life, and in photographing and sharing them with my friends via my Facebook page, I have gained a new appreciation for their colorful beauty and their fragrance, too.

Remember, it's always about how lovely a rose smells when left on its stem.

Photograph of First Prize rose by Michael Dickens © 2014.

Sharing a checklist that's always in season

In our garden / A spring white rose blooms after an April shower.

Sharing a spring checklist

 that's been making the rounds, 

but one I admire for its sincerity and purpose.

 And, it's one which is always in season,

rain or shine:

"Be kind.

Work hard.

Stay humble.

Smile often.

Stay loyal.

Keep honest.

Travel when possible.

Never stop learning.

Be thankful always.

And love."

Photograph of white rose by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013. All rights reserved.

Welcoming the summer solstice to our garden

A summer's sun is worth the having. ~ French Proverb.

As we bid adieu to spring, the morning sun glistens
 upon the petals of our newest Queen Elizabeth rose.

It's time to say goodbye to spring and, soon, it will be time to welcome summer ~ sunshine and all.

Tomorrow, the sun will arrive at its northernmost point in the sky. With it, we herald a season change on Earth as summer officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere. As for our neighbors in the Southern Hemisphere, it's time for winter. However, your time for summer will come again, soon.

As the beauty of the morning sun glistens over our backyard garden, it's a delight ~ more than ever ~ to photograph our summer roses.

Photograph by Michael Dickens, copyright 2012. All rights reserved.

It's what's on my mind on the first day of spring

"Daffodils that come before the swallow dares,
and takes the winds of March with beauty."
~ William Shakespeare

Today is the first day of spring.

"Spring has returned," the early 20th century Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote. "The Earth is like a child who knows poems."

And, spring conjures up pleasant memories of walking through St. James's Park in London this time of year in 2005 and 2007 enjoying the pleasant sight of daffodils.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, spring arrived on March 20 with neither a bang nor a whimper. As I look up from my MacBook Pro and glance out the dining room window of our house, I can see the sun is desperately trying to peek through the cloudy skies. Yet, there is the possibility of a sprinkle or two in today's forecast, too. Unsettled like everything else in the world these days, right?

We're expecting a daytime high of about 60 degrees (16C), which easily bests Seattle's 46 degrees (8C), and it's warmer than what we've experienced the past few days. However, our temperature and forecast pales in comparison to what my friends in Belgrade (67F, 19C) and Tunis (70F, 21C) experienced today in their first day of spring.

Spring is full of optimism ~ think baseball ~ and its annual arrival at this time of the year leaves chilly winter memories behind. Thankfully, spring has been widely rhapsodized in poetry for many centuries by Shakespeare and Wordsworth, among many poets.

Ultimately, whether sun or rain greets the arrival of spring, poetry does seem right for the occasion of celebrating the first day of the new season.

A Prayer in Spring

By Robert Frost (1915)

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,

Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;

And make us happy in the happy bees,

The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird

That suddenly above the bees is heard,

The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,

And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,

The which it is reserved for God above

To sanctify to what far ends He will,

But which it only needs that we fulfil.

Photograph of daffodils in a vase by Michael Dickens, copyright 2012.

The pleasure of our gardens, part 17

I am always amazed at how the color and shape of a single rose can change in just a matter of days.

The spring weather has been kind to the rose bushes in our backyard garden and has made photographing our roses and other flowers a real pleasure ~ and, a daily habit.

Last week, I followed the progress of a single rainbow-colored rose over the course of four days and recorded three photographs that illustrate how its color and shape changed day by day.

May 11, 7:58 p.m.

May 13, 7:13 a.m.

May 14, 3:25 p.m.

Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of sunshine, coupled with a little overnight rain, to make things nice and colorful in our garden.

All photographs by Michael Dickens, copyright 2011.

An appreciation of daffodils

Daffodils / Fond memories of spring time in London

I have fond memories of visiting London in spring time.

Let's see, where to start: There's world-class museums like the Tate Modern and the British Museum to lose yourself in; there's the sight of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace to admire; there's walking across the Millennium Bridge with St. Paul's Cathedral looming bigger than ever as it draws nearer to you; and, there's a plethora of wonderful theatre awaiting on both sides of the Thames that's guaranteed to leave you feeling gobsmacked.

Yes, March is a great time to drop in for a bit of fresh air and fresh culture ~ I've done it twice, in 2005 and 2007 ~ and I can't wait to do it again.  If you go in March, you'll get to enjoy the daffodils that seem to be everywhere you walk throughout all of London's beautiful parks.

It's spring time and the daffodils are in bloom.

Daffodils in bloom /
 St. James's Park (2005)

There's an intellectual quality about daffodils worth admiring. They are hardy flowers.

Their perianth and corona are very detailed and they exude a beautiful yellow hue, although sometimes daffodils contain more than one shade or color.

Daffodils in bloom /
Regent's Park (2007)

And, personally, I like that daffodils mature very quickly. They don't waste time blooming.

My photo of our daffodils (top), in a vase, was shot just three days after we bought them last Saturday at our favorite local grocery store.


Here are a few things worth noting about daffodils:

* Daffodils are the national flower of Wales.
* Daffodils were a central part of e.e. cummings' poem, in time of daffodils.
* The Irish band The Cranberries once sang about daffodils in their song, "Daffodil Lament."
* In Nantucket, Mass., there's even a Daffodil Festival held annually during the last weekend of April that celebrates the flower.

So, you see, there is a bit of shared history ~ and meaning ~ for the daffodil.

Finally, I think daffodils are indeed a sweet image amidst all of the upheaval, disaster and tragedy that is happening throughout our world these days.

It's spring time and the daffodils are in bloom.