334. There is a place in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

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In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there.
To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe.
I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels.
~Dodinsky

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A fellow blogger recently wrote about the garden of her childhood and at the end her post she asked her readers if they, too, remembered a garden from their childhood. And though I do, mine wasn’t just a single garden, it was garden after garden after garden because I grew up in Southern California which is a garden in and of itself. Simply put I remember flowers at every turn, colors at every turn, and fragrances everywhere; so amazing were they that more than half a century later, they are as vivid and fragrant as ever. Also my grandmother and my mother’s sister who lived in Texas where we visited almost every summer loved flowers and had lovely gardens of their own. So for me the answer to Annette’s question is a resounding yes, yes, yes.

Today while I was at the nursery buying fertilizer for the lawn, the first plant I saw (the bougainvillea below) was one that grows all over Southern California and sometimes so wild and unrestrained that it covers rooftops. So I decided to make photos from the nursery along with some of my favorite garden quotes as an answer to her question and an offering to you.

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The garden is a long son, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature.
~Jeff Cox

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To this day, I cannot see a bright daffodil,
a proud gladiola, or a smooth egglant
without thinking of Papa.
Like his plants and trees,
I grew up as a part of his garden.
~Leo Buscaglia

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As a gardener, I’m among those who believe
that much of the evidence of God’s existence has been planted.
~Robert Brault

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A garden really lives  only insofar as it is an
expression of faith, the embodiment of hope, and a song of praise.
~Russell Page

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Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 ✝

Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you save, you heal, you restore, and you reveal Your Father’s heart to us! You have captured me with grace and I’m caught in Your infinite embrace!

18 thoughts on “334. There is a place in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. ~Elizabeth Lawrence”

  1. Pingback: 334. There is a place in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again. ~Elizabeth Lawrence | Sacred Touches

  2. Your garden must be beautiful. I love looking at the photo’s. I unfortunately have a black thumb. The only thing I can keep alive are artificial flowers, and I hate them. No matter how I try I can not seem to get a green thumb, and so I visit your garden. :o) Thank you.

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  3. Your yard / garden must be a sight to behold of joyous color, vibrant textures and shapes and oozing with such a wonderful love which pours itself all over those who are fortunate to visit.
    Many blessings my friend –Julie

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  5. Lovely Natalie, I absolutely adore flowers, especially roses. My father is totally absorbed with plants, knows just about all the Latin names etc etc … sadly I have not inherited his ‘green thumb’ as I remember our childhood day outs … ten minutes at beach, one hour in garden nurseries … one tends to ‘tune’ out xxx

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  6. Another spectacle !!! Gorgeous flower portraits,they look live on my screen, I can almost smell the sweet fragrances and hear their whispers … An explosion of colours,each flower a wise ‘quote’ teller … Sorry I made up the word to serve certain purposes … Yes,each flower a great narrator,dear Natalie !
    Thank you for one more feast … Hugs and kind thoughts to you, Doda xxx 🙂

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  8. This post touched me in a number of ways. This made me smile:

    “In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there.
    To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe.
    I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels.”
    ~Dodinsky

    The prayer is so beautiful, too. What you shared about your childhood brought back a memory for me, too. I live in Arkansas. It is a very green and lush state. I do love my own flowers, but my earliest memories of flowers and gardens are from California. I was born in the bay area, and lived there until I was 10 years old. My mother had an aunt and uncle who lived in Redwood City. They lived in the sweetest little house. The front yard was small, and the backyard was all covered with concrete patio, and it had this one area that was like a long narrow path or corridor that you followed to another area that opened up. She had so many potted plants. There were geraniums and Fuschias. I used to like to sneak and pop the the fuschias open. The whole place had this mediterranean feel to it, and it was magical and wonderful.

    Your description of the bougainvillea covering the roof tops brought it all back to me. What I would give to be able to go back just for one day…

    Blessings,
    Theresa

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    • Thank you, Theresa, I’m so glad you enjoyed my post, and I loved the snippet you shared from your childhood too. Your last line about wishing you could go back for just one day first brought tears to my eyes because I too would love to do that for so many reasons. Then I decided to write another post about that time in my life. Of course I cried most of the way through it because I would love to go back to any of those days just one more time. So many magical places and moments and extraordinary people and events! Hugs, Natalie 🙂

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