How Does Your Garden Grow?

Just look at these celosia! Wow! This coxcomb variety is like velvet brain coral. 

The celosia reseeds, as do many of the other flowers in this bed. I just added some zinna seeds into the mix this year, because I didn't dare to go out to the garden center during planting season. Some of the zinnas from last year came up too, as did the guinea impatiens. There's others in there too, some melampodium daisies which aren't really supposed to be perennials here, but apparently are. I love these dramatic flowers. There is a huge bush of yellow celosia that grew next to a bed of snapdragons from what seemed to be just a crack in the driveway. It is now so big I have to take care backing out my car so I don't run it down.

When these plants were first emerging, they looked quite weedy, but I knew they weren't weeds and let them grow. Growing flowers gives me such joy! Especially perennials who sleep and then re-emerge as bright little surprises. I am always amazed they survive. And always happy to see how they have redoubled or spread. (Like the white butterfly ginger plant below).This year was a particularly great year for flowers. We had a very wet winter which I think made them all very happy. 

As for my sweater, I got lost on sleeve island for some time. Truthfully, I knitted one sleeve twice. 

I started with magic loop and found that my stitches in the round were just too tight. I was also not happy pulling the cord of the circular needles back and forth every half row. So I pulled back (almost the whole sleeve--oh dear!) went up a half needle size and went round and round on trusty dpns.  Now that I have one sleeve finished, it shouldn't be too hard to motor on with the second. However, I am pretty sure I am not going to have enough yarn to finish. Even if I undo my swatch. I only have one more full skein.

Each day I go to school and come home and see my dear husband. I walk or walk the dog. We eat and watch mysteries or old movies on TV. It is a simple, routine life, which feels important now because nothing in the nation is simple or routine. Each day brings tremendously unsettling news.  I do what I can, make donations, love and support all the people I know and see. Little by little I try to keep the doomsayers at bay and fight in small ways for justice and truth and peace.