Flower happy

I am the temporary caretaker to a sad little garden.
I'm sure it is sad partly because renters have moved in and out of here, and don't want to invest time and money on a bit of dirt that doesn't belong to them.
It also doesn't help that whoever dug out the garden beds did not take into consideration the placement of the underground sprinkler system. Therefore, half the plants do not get watered.
I admit I do not want to put much time or money into it myself because of this problem. We live pretty much in the desert. We don't see much rainfall, and I think some of the more delicate plants might not make it by the middle of summer.

After moving in here, I cleared out the 4 ft. weeds that had taken over the beds, and discovered a little mound of thrift here, a clump of lillies there. I then planted a few heartier plants to fill in the now cleared out beds, and hope they survive. I would love to do more, especially since the owners of this home will be moving back to it in the fall right after we move out. He has been serving in Iraq for the last few years, and she had twin babies right before he was shipped out. She went to live with family somewhere until he returns. SO, I want to leave this place a bit better than we found it. I can't promise much, but will do my best to nurture what is here for them.

Having said that, I took a lovely walk this morning! Don't you just love that word? It was lovely because the birds were chirping like crazy. I love that sound. I passed by homes with gardens that took my breath away. They weren't professionally landscaped, but they were full of the owners' favorite plants. My favorite kind of garden! I got to see purple clematis growing like crazy on what must have been a very mature vine.
I passed a yard with masses of iris! Smelled so good, just like the iris garden on the grounds of University of Lincoln in Nebraska. A few different yards had my favorite peony plants just full of buds on the verge of blooming. Can't wait to see those on future walks/runs. Lastly, I saw quite a few quail families. Love those. They are so cute with mom and dad leading the babies, and always making sure they are safe before crossing the street. I think I will be dreaming and scheming my future garden for the rest of the day.

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." - Claude Monet

"Flowers are not made by singing "Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade." - Rudyard Kipling

"Who would have thought it possible that a tiny little flower could preoccupy a person so completely that there simply wasn't room for any other thought..." - Sophie Scholl

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck." - Emma Goldman

"When bright flowers bloom
Parchment crumbles, my words fade
The pen has dropped ..."
- Morpheus