Flowers and Paint

Giant oregano, hostas, sunflowers, and more!

Peppers, tomatoes, and flowers.

Summertime in the city. Every summer I tend to do two things--garden and paint. These jobs tend to be alone or quiet times for me, especially in the garden. I wish someone else in my family would willingly join me to "Play in the dirt!" I haven't spent as much time as I would like in the garden, but I'm hoping to change that trend this week. Painting, though, seems like it will consume many days this summer, the first of which was yesterday, and I have an enthusiastic partner in my daughter.

I had a rather rough winter into spring. I wasn't particularly sick or depressed, but I constantly felt ill-at-ease. I couldn't get moving, and things just felt wrong most days. Now that summer is here, my little world seems to be blooming and joyful again.

Tiny corn and cucumbers--and wild violets.

My vegetable garden is coming along slowly this year. I tried something new--planting in wood chips. Wood chips are supposed to be great for lots of things, including holding moisture and providing nutrients to plants while keeping weeds under control. After a very hot and dry spring, our early summer has been cool and sufficiently rainy. Therefore, my heat-loving plants haven't grown much yet.

Day lily and  coreopsis.

We are expecting a very hot week, though, so things may start to take off and grow quickly now. Although the corn isn't knee high and the 4th of July has come and gone, my flowers seem to be particularly happy this summer!

After the bunnies nibbled away at my beautiful red and white verbena last year (no flowers after I planted them, just lush, stubby green plants), I thought petunias would be a safer bet for some annual color. The petunias are filling in nicely and the perennials are blooming in turn. I hear the goldfinches singing outside my window, so I know they have returned to munch at my sunflowers.

 My teen-aged daughter's room is the current indoor project. She has spent the past couple weeks discarding things that take up space and bring no joy. She had a color in mind for the walls--she calls it "dove." It's a light tannish-grey. We recently purchased some furniture for her room, so I was hoping to keep additional redecorating costs low. I remembered that I had a couple gallons of off-white paint left from my garage project last summer, as well as a tan sample and some dark grey from another project. What did we have to lose? We mixed the paints, and we came up with a custom color with what we had on hand. The best part--it's exactly what she wanted and we spent $0! We had a great time yesterday, listening to 80s pop and painting her room together.

We have painted together before, but this time was the best. Maybe it was because it was her room or because we created the color together. We are both excited to see how everything turns out when the furniture and curtains are all in place. We are already discussing other projects we would like to do together in the house this summer.

Thank you, Lord, for this special time with my daughter and for the resources you've provided to add beauty to our lives. Making things beautiful brings peace and joy to the heart! 
Amen.