Perfection and Obsession

And what is so rare as a day in June?

Then, if ever, come perfect days.

I learned those lines from my Grandmother Rathfon who was a lover of poetry and a gifted poetess. Those two short lines come from James Russell Lowell’s long poem The Vision of Sir Launfal, and they reflect my opinion on the month perfectly. June is, in my opinion, the finest and most perfect month of the year here in Potter County. I know some people would contend that October is better. They cite the glories of the changing leaves as proof. I love those autumn colors too, but they are too entangled with the end of things and the approach of winter. June is all about burgeoning life and has its glorious colors too – green in a hundred different shades and a rainbow of colors from the softest pink of the Sarah Bernhardt peonies to the bright blues of the larkspurs, the yellows and oranges of the daylilies, and the scarlets and purples of the poppies. Plus June also brings us bullfrogs and fireflies. Let October try to outdo that!

June played us a mean trick by starting our week with a brief return to March. On Monday night we had frost. I knew it was coming. It seems the forecasters are never wrong when it comes to frost – they often miss the mark when predicting good weather, but they are always spot on when it comes to the bad kind. Stacey, Miriam, and I went out on Monday evening armed with buckets, sheets, blankets, tablecloths, tarps, clothes pins, and safety pins and we covered what we could. When we were done, the garden looked like a strange tent city. I prayed that night that the damage would be minimal. When I awoke on Tuesday morning, the thermometer was at 30° and there was frost. I waited a while for the sun to come up and the temperature to rise into the 40's and then I went out to remove the covers an assess the damage. I was amazed to find that other than the tips of the grape and kiwi vines being nipped, nothing else was damaged. I knew I had been blessed.

Preparing for frost on Monday evening.

Frost nipped kiwi and grape vines.

The rest of the week the weather was perfect – warm and sunny. I spent most of the day every day out in the garden and the orchard. I mowed the tall orchard grass on Monday. I planted out my broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower plants on Tuesday. I planted squash and cucumber seeds on Wednesday. On Thursday I dug a new flowerbed along the wall by the back porch. On Friday I mowed the lawn and planted flowers. And every day I spent an hour or two weeding and thinning. It was glorious.

The mowed orchard.

These are the days when my woodland garden is at its best. The ferns are full, the bluebells are in bloom, and the pink woodland azalea fills the garden with its sweet fragrance. I have some pink columbines that showed up in woodland garden years ago. They aren’t the usual wild type, they are more refined. I don’t know where they came from, but I’m glad they moved in. In my flowerbeds, the irises and lupines are at their peak. I have columbines in my flower beds but they are a deep red. I need to get some other colors.

The woodland garden looking in from the back.

The woodland garden looking in from the front.

My columbines.

My irises.

My lupines.

We had some beautiful sunrises and sunsets last week. Friday night and Saturday morning were especially lovely.

Sunset on Friday.

Sunrise on Saturday.

On Saturday morning we left home early and headed north to attend the temple in Palmyra. The early morning drive was spectacular. Western New York is almost as beautiful as Northern Pennsylvania. The temple was peaceful and beautiful and serving there brought happiness to my heart. After the temple, we drove through the beautiful countryside and the lovely little towns of Western New York to visit our friends Rob and Karin Mayo in Mendon. We had never been to this home before and had long wanted to see it. Rob Mayo and I are kindred gardening spirits. When we got there, he walked us around his property. His yard and gardens were amazing. I love to walk in and talk about gardens. I love to see new plants and see how other people plant them. I came away with a list of new plants I want to acquire for my own gardens. Rob’s gardens inspired me to try some new things. The Mayos provided us with a nice lunch. Rob picked us a bouquet of some his beautiful peonies to bring home.

At the Mayo's house and Honeyoe Falls.

A bouquet of Rob Mayo's peonies.

When we left the Mayo’s house, we drove home via the town of Honeyoe Falls. It is a very pretty town and the falls, right in the middle of town, were beautiful. After that we stopped in Hornell at Wegman’s, our favorite grocery store, to buy a few things. We got home at 4:30. We unloaded our groceries and changed into work clothes. I did the chores. There was still plenty of daylight left and the day was so lovely that we decided to get some yard work done. Stacey helped me get the ladder and we cleaned the rain gutters on the back porch and down at the barn. Then Miriam joined us and we stacked logs from the spruce trees we cut down last week. Then Stacey and I spent the rest of the evening burning the branches from those trees. By the time the sun went down, I felt like I’d had a full and satisfying day.

Stacked logs and burning boughs.

I realized after visiting the Mayos yesterday that I am an obsessive plant collector. Actually I’ve known it for a long time, but yesterday helped to reinforce my realization. I saw new and exciting plants in Rob’s garden and I wanted them! I won’t say that I coveted his plants. Coveting is a sin. I don’t want his plants, I just want some like them. Rob told me about one of his favorite nurseries, Digging Dog Nursery, and I went on line as soon as I had a chance to look over the amazing variety of plants they offer. After that I spent an hour singing “If I Were a Rich Man” to myself. If I had the means, my property would be a botanical garden. And don’t even get me started on orchids. I contracted orchid fever immediately upon my first encounter with them. I could easily become one of those crazies who travels the world collecting orchids. The only thing holding me back is a heated greenhouse and the thousands of dollars required. My plant collecting is necessarily humble. I buy plants in modest quantities every year. And I love to acquire them from others who are willing to share plants from their own gardens. I always have a wish list forming in my brain.

I love to watch gardening shows too. I think that’s also an indicator of plant obsession. I used to watch The Victory Garden every Saturday morning back in the day. Now my favorite garden shows are the ones the BBC does with Monty Don. I watch Gardeners World. I watch the shows he does on Netflix – The Gardens of Italy, The Gardens of France. I watch any I can find. They inspire me. The plant world is so vast and endlessly fascinating and I am obsessed with it.

Today is another perfect June day. It is warm and sunny and the air is soft and fragrant with the sweet smell of cut grass. We are home from church. Today was Fast Sunday for us because we had Stake Conference last week. Therefore, I am hungry. Stacey is making our favorite Sabbath go to meal – oatmeal burgers – and they smell especially delicious. She’s also making that salad with broccoli and bacon and cheese. I love that stuff. After we eat I plan on taking a nap – but just a short one – I don’t want to use up much of such a beautiful day sleeping. Maybe I’ll take a walk this afternoon. I haven’t been up to the woods in a while. Then I have plans for the week ahead, of course. Project after project. The weather looks variable through the week, some rain, some sunshine, some thunderstorms – but no frost. I’m thankful for that.