Celebrating new life in the garden on Mother's Day 2016

Happy Mother's Day! 

It's a great time to celebrate new life- so I'd like to share the new life growing in our garden... with these pictures, enjoy :)

Tiger swallowtail butterflies are my fave! This photo isn't new... but is still
from my garden :)

A beautiful magnolia bloom, smells just as lovely.

Our magnolia in bloom.

These magnolia flowers are huge & smell so delightful.

As the magnolia fades, this snail is catching a nap in its shade.

Fancy daffodils- so pretty.

Lots of spring colours

Our white dogwood in full bloom

Wooly caterpillar :)

Rhododendrum flower buds...
 with a daddy long legs checking them out.

Peonies flower buds... with an ant to help it open.

Pretty heather blooms

Is this the birth of a walnut tree?

Our pink dogwood has lots of blooms forming!

Close up of the pink dogwood bloom.

Purple irises. I need more of these :)

Birth of a fern plume.

 Wisteria starting to bloom.

Our wisteria starting to bloom, more spectacular every year.

Columbine abounds in our gardens with their pretty pink blooms.

Columbine almost blooming.
If you look hard, you'll see a face in this fairyland photo.

Our azalea, preparing to bloom soon.

Tiger swallowtail butterfly- saw the 1st one this year- yesterday :)

I wish I could add the delightful scent of these lily of the valleys.

Photos of garden visitors.

I was hoping to do a "quickie" little post of some photos I've taken this spring... here's the photos, but I don't know how quick it will be :)

Osprey high up in our tree- using mega zoom

Some flowers in my garden :)

Robin, we have so many of them here, I call them my garden
"Drama Queens"  as they are pretty noisey :)

Stellar's jays visiting our patio looking for peanuts.

Stellar's jay- a quiet moment for a noisy bird.

A blue jay- a rare visitor here.

Sun- dog... mid summer halo around the sun.

I love creatures- big, small & even slimy :)

Wisteria in the front yard.

Our magnolia in full bloom.

Azalea in full bloom.

Not sure what kind of humming bird this is, but adorable &
fun to watch although very shy- even with a zoom.

Another robin... this one has a nest in one of our trees :)

Oh deer! How sweet- even if they do eat
most of my flowers :)

Bald eagle...using mega zoom :)

Stellar's jay visiting our little bird bath.

Not sure what kind of bird this is- perhaps a young kestrel?

Nuthatch defying gravity and hiding sunflower seeds
in the bark. I love their little buzzing sounds.

Raven on a post posing for me.

Another blue jay looking for peanuts :)

  I hope you enjoy my photos.

Weddings are a lot like flowers.

It's spring here in the Kootenays …



 the season of new life, with courtships and weddings popping up, 

sort of like the variety of plants and flowers sprouting in my garden.

Short version: Weddings are a lot like flowers,

Longer version:

 I love flowers with their amazing colours and endless variety.

Since weddings and bouquet charms are on my mind a lot these days it makes me wonder: 

"Are there similarities between weddings and flowers?"

  Hmmm, I never really thought about it, but now that I am, let's see...

Weddings are often: colourful, vibrant, elegant, exciting, memorable events. 

They come in infinite varieties: sizes, presentations, characteristics, traditions, expectations, 

and even emotions can vary  significantly. 

 With so much variety in weddings, what do they all (or almost all) have in common?

A wedding is really a ceremony that begins a marriage.  Uniting the lives of 2 people- to each other, 

based on commitment and a desire to bond their lives together, call it love.

  If Love is the soil, our earth, it provides the nutrition and base for all the flowers to grow and multiply. 

 A flower, can multiply and become a family.  Many other families are connected by numerous weddings to form a unique garden, in a plot, in a community, in a region, in a zone, in a planet…. um, maybe I'm getting carried away.

Some flowers will thrive and grow well together creating a beautiful, harmonious space, while some are more prolific or aggressive, taking over and pushing others out of the way…

 Yes, I believe I could go on, but I won't. (Not now anyhow. I certainly don't want to get into  "weeds"… and seeds.   : )

 Anyhow, I guess the analogy of a wedding being like flowers, has a lot going for it.

I like the idea of a garden full of weddings. Families, growing and thriving together, with their roots bound in love.



I will likely read this again in a couple of weeks (to add more links), and feel silly for posting it, but I hope not.

 I'd love to hear  your thoughts...