Make Fun Of Life!

Pussy Willows

10/15/2022

Picture of a pussy willow plant, a small tree or shrub with branches bearing soft, furry catkins, growths named for their bringing to mind cats, animals sometimes referred to as pussycats because of their soft fur.

Pussy Willows

They call them pussy willows,
     But there’s not a cat to see
Except the furry little toes
     That stick out on the tree.

I think that very long ago,
     When I was just brand new,
There must have been whole pussy cats
     These small toes belonged to.

And every year what worries me -
     I cannot ever find
Those willow cats who ran away
     And left their toes behind.

by David Richardson, written at 10 years of age: as published in “Sunshine Magazine” (March 1971), Volume XLVIII, Number 3, page 23

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Red Geraniums

7/16/2022

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Picture of geraniums flowering plants with red blossoms, growing in a wooden planter box on a bright, sunny day.

Red Geraniums

Life did not bring me silken gowns,
     Nor jewels for my hair,
Nor signs of gabled foreign towns
     In distant countries fair,
But I can glimpse, beyond my pane, a green and friendly hill,
     And red geraniums aflame upon my window sill.

The brambled cares of everyday,
     The tiny humdrum things,
May bind my feet when they would stray,
     But still my heart has wings
While red geraniums are bloomed against my window glass,
     And low above my green-sweet hill the gypsy wind-clouds pass.

And if my dreamings ne’er come true,
     The brightest and the best,
But leave me lone my journey through,
     I’ll set my heart at rest,
And thank God for home-sweet things, a green and friendly hill,
     And red geraniums aflame upon my window sill.

by Martha Haskell Clark: “The Home Road” (1924), page 31

Martha Haskell Clark was born as Marth Gay Haskell on 18 October 1885 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States of America. She became a poet. Her poetry appeared in “Scribner’s,” “Good Housekeeping,” and “Ladies’ Home Journal.” Her poems were collected and published in the book, “The Home Road” (1924). She was married to Eugene Clark in 1906. Martha Haskell Clark passed on at 36 years of age on 24 March 1922 in Hanover, Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States of America.

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Dandelion Wishes

4/23/2022

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Picture of a child holding what was once a yellow dandelion flower, which has gone to seed and turned to white tufts, and blowing on it while making a wish.

Dandelion Wishes

First, I make a wish,
     Then I blow real hard,
And the little dandelions
     Blow all over the yard,
And I wait and I hope,
     For my wishes to come true,
Guess there’s only so much,
     A dandelion can do.

by Author Unknown

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I See Violets

1/28/2022

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Picture of a flowering plant called the Common Blue Violet, known scientifically as Viola sororia, growing naturally in the wild.

I See Violets

One early Spring morning, my husband and I decided to build a rock garden. Driving to a nearby woods, we found the rocks we needed and took them home.

I watched as my husband set them in place and then sifted fine black soil around them. When he had finished he looked up and asked, “Now, what shall we plant?”

“Violets would be pretty in that front row,” I suggested. “Were there any violets back there in the woods?”

My husband looked blank. “I don’t really know,” he said, “I don’t remember seeing any.”

We decided to go back and look. And when we reached the spot where we had found the rocks, we saw lovely blue violets everywhere - clustered around the base of a large tree, peeking from beneath fallen leaves . . .

“Strange we didn’t see them before,” I remarked.

My husband smiled. “Maybe it was because we weren’t looking for violets - only rocks.”

His remark set me thinking. Wasn’t it true that people generally do find what they are looking for? If we go around pessimistically looking for trouble, we shall surely find it. If we look for the worst in other people we find it - selfishness, rudeness, and so on. On the other hand, I’ve noticed that if, by trusting in God’s love and care, I look for good to happen in my life, things have a way of turning out right for me. And if I look for the best in my fellow-man, I bring out the best in him.

Yes, if we look for the hard things in life, for the rocks, we find rocks. I prefer to look for violets.

by Freda K. Routh

Image shown: Flowering plant known as the Common Blue Violet, scientific name Viola sororia; also known as common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet, hooded violet, and wood violet.

Image credit: Photograph by Bernt Fransson.

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Flowering Plants and Flowers

9/1/2021

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Picture of a field of flowering plants in an assortment of bright colors and the words ‘Flowering Plants and Flowers, By David Hugh Beaumont, Visit www.MakeFunOfLife.net’

“Earth laughs in flowers.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882): “Hamatreya” (1846)

“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever.” -Alfred Tennyson (1809 - 1892)

Jeremy: How do you make a flower grow faster?
Jerome: Just push the ‘accelerator petal.’

Who bends a knee where violets grow
A hundred secret things shall know.
-Rachael Field (Rachael Lyman Field (1894 - 1942)): “The Pointed People” (1924), ‘A Charm for Spring Flowers’

Things to Do If You Are a Flower
- Be a wonderful color like purplish-pink or peach or yellow.
- Count every star in the night sky.
- Dance in the breeze.
- Be beautiful in your own way.
- Grow toward the Sun.
- Listen to the wind.
- Be tickled by raindrops.
- Smell good.
- Speak of love without saying a word.
What would you do if you were a flower?

In 1634 in the Netherlands, a collector traded 454 kilograms (1,000 pounds) of cheese, four oxen, eight pigs, twelve sheep, a bed, and a suit of clothes for a single bulb of the Viceroy tulip . . . He traded a farm for a flower.

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” -Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954)

Rose: Why could the flower not ride a bicycle?
Daisy: Because she could not reach the pedals with her petals.

“Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into.” -Henry Ward Beecher (1813 - 1887): “Life Thoughts” (1858)

“If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers.” -Doug Larson (1902 - 1981): as quoted in “Reader’s Digest” (1984)

Daisy: What did one rose say to the other?
Iris: “Hi, Bud!”

“When I walk with you, I feel as if I had a flower in my buttonhole.” -William M. Thackeray (William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 - 1863))

Molly: What kind of flowers grow on your face?
Darla: Tulips.

“Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell in written words. They are the hieroglyphics of angels loved by all men for the beauty of their character though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning.” -Lydia M. Child (Lydia Maria Francis Child (1802 - 1880))

The foxglove with its stately bells
Of purple shall adorn thy dells.
-D. M. Moir

“The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.” -Heda Béjar (1931 - 2014)

“Every flower blooms in its own sweet time.” -Author Unknown

Picture from above of a bouquet of brightly-colored flowers including large yellow sunflowers and smaller pink flowers, purple flowers, red flowers, and lavender flowers.

“Happiness is the art of making a bouquet of those flowers within reach.” -Bob Goddard

“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” - Iris Murdoch (Jean Iris ‘Iris’ Murdoch (1919 - 1999)): “A Fairly Honorable Defeat” (1970)

I will be the gladdest thing
     Under the Sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
     And not pick one.
by Edna Saint Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950): “Afternoon on a Hill”

“I hope that while so many people are out smelling the flowers, someone is taking the time to plant some.” -Herbert Rappaport (Gerbert Moritsevich Rappaport (1908 - 1983))

“It’s okay to send flowers, but don’t let the flowers do all the talking. Flowers have a limited vocabulary. About the best flowers can say is that you remembered. But your words tell the rest.” -Jim Rohn (Emanuel James ‘Jim’ Rohn (1930 - 2009))

Pluck not the wayside flower;
     It is the traveler’s dower.
A thousand passersby
     Its beauties may espy,
To win a touch of blessing
     From nature’s mild caressing.
by William Allingham (1824 - 1889): “Wayside Flowers”

“All flowers are not to be picked; some are meant to stay rooted so their beauty may continue to sing praises unto nature.” -Grace Terrell

“Take care of your peonies and the dahlias will take care of themselves.” -F. P. Adams (Franklin Pierce Adams (1881 - 1960))

Ezekiel: What do you get when you cross a flower with a monkey?
Daniel: Chimp-pansies.

“Whatever a man’s age, he can reduce it several years by putting a bright-colored flower in his buttonhole.” -Mark Twain (pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910))

“God gave us our memories so that we might have roses in December.” -James Matthew Barrie (1860 - 1937)

Plato: What kind of flowers do you give to a monster?
Socrates: Mari-ghouls and morning-gories.

“Lord, make us mindful of the little things that grow and blossom in these days to make the world beautiful for us.” -W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868 - 1963)

Broccoli and cauliflower are not only flowers, but are vegetables for your dinner plate as well.

“Many flowers are good fried or frittered. Blossoms of squash, pumpkin, honey locust, daylily, elderberry, and yucca are all tasty. Yucca flowers are also delicious stir-fried with green peppers and garlic.” -Homer Stillson (1930)

The largest flower in the world, Rafflesia arnoldii, grows in Indonesia and can be as much as 0.9 meters (3 feet wide) and weigh as much as 6.8 kilograms (15 pounds).

Wild Flowers

“Of what are you afraid, my child?” inquired the kindly teacher.
“Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild,” replied the timid creature.

by Peter Newell (1862 - 1924): “Pictures and Rhymes” (1899)

Picture of a group of pansy plants that have light blue flowers with color patterns in the centers that resemble comical faces with purple eyes, yellow noses, and purplish-maroon mustaches.

When you look at them, some orchids almost seem to be looking back at you . . . . but do not worry, they are benign . . . or perhaps some other number . . .

“Flowers are as common in the country as people are in London.” -Oscar Wilde (Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900))

Annabelle: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
Bernice: Blushing June brides! (Alternative answers would include ‘Pilgrims’ or ‘Allergies.’)

“The flower which is single, need not envy the thorns that are numerous.” - Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

The name of the flower ‘heliotrope’ is derived from the ancient Greek words ‘helios’ meaning ‘sun’ and ‘trepos’ meaning ‘turning to go into to,’ because its leaves and flowers turn toward the Sun. The daffodil flower’s name is from the Old English ‘affo dyle’ meaning ‘that which cometh early’ because it is one of the earliest in the year flowers to bloom. The iris flower is named after the Greek goddess Iris, who was believed to carry messages of love from Heaven to Earth using a rainbow as her bridge. Irises are named after her because they bloom in just about all the colors of the rainbow. Doctor Joel Poinsett, the first American ambassador to Mexico, brought the poinsettia to the United States in 1828. The plant, called ‘flower of the blessed night’ in Mexico, was renamed in Poinsett’s honor and is commonly used as a Christmas decoration.

“The flower that follows the Sun does so even in cloudy days.” -Robert Leighton (1611 - 1684)

“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.” -Alphonse Karr (Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (1808 - 1890))

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine to the mind.” -Luther Burbank (1849 - 1926)

Anthophobia is a persistent fear of flowers, or parts of flowers. It is not difficult to imagine someone having this fear, considering that flowers are associated with bees and commitment. Still, dating someone with anthophobia could save you a lot of money around Valentine’s Day, birthdays, and other holidays. ‘Anthophobia’ is derived from the Greek words ‘anthos’ meaning ‘flower’ and ‘phobos’ meaning ‘fear.’ My, what pretty - and scary - flowers!

“The grape Hyacinth is the favorite Spring flower of my garden - but no! I thought a minute ago the Scilla was! and what place has the Violet? the Flower de Luce? I cannot decide, but this I know - it is some blue flower.” -Alice Morse Earle (1851 - 1911)

“I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.” -Claude Monet (Oscar-Claude ‘Claude’ Monet (1840 - 1926))

Flowering plants that need to attract moths for pollination are generally white or pale yellow, to be better seen in dim light. Plants that depend on butterflies for pollination have brightly colored flowers.

“Every flower must push through the dirt in order to get to bath in the sunlight.” -Author Unknown

“Flowers are happy things.” -P. G. Wodehouse (Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (1881 - 1975))

Merlin: What flower is the happiest?
Mervin: The glad-iola.

Picture of a red fox smelling a large yellow flower.

“Always take time to stop and smell the flowers, and sooner or later, you will inhale a bee.” -Author Unknown

Wild Flower Alphabet

A for the Aconite, first of the year,
B for the Buttercup, able to hold Dewdrop
And rain in its chalice of gold.
C for the Cowslip, sweet joy of the Spring;
When cowslips are blooming the nightingales sing.
D for the Daisy, white star of the grass,
Lifting its bright eye to us as we pass.
E for the Eglantine, lovely wild rose,
Sheds fragrance of sweetbriar where - ever it grows.
F for the Foxglove, the sentinel tall,
Guarding the forest from Summer to Fall.
G for the Gorse of rich golden delight;
Linnaeus went down on his knees at the sight.
H for the Harebell, so fragile, yet strong,
The dear little Blue Bells of Scotland in song.
I for the Iris which grows by the stream,
The Flower of the Rainbow, how golden its gleam!
J for Saint John’s Wort, of medical fame,
Balm of the Warrior’s Wound was its name.
K for the Kingcup that loves marshy fields,
And glorious the harvest of gold that it yields!
L for the Ling, the dear flower of the heath,
How tender its color, how fragrant its breath!
M for the Meadowsweet, pleasant and rare
Is the perfume with which it enchanteth the air!
N for the Nightshade, or Bittersweet, flower,
With its berries and blossoms of poisonous power.
O for the Oxlip, a flower that you’ll find
When cowslips and orchids in posies you bind.
P for the Primrose, recalling to sight
Paths in the woodland a-shimmer with light.
Q for the Quaking grass, name that it takes
From the way it unceasingly shivers and shakes.
R for the Rest-harrow, staying the plough,
Food for the gentle-eyed, ruminant cow.
S for the Speedwell, tenderest blue;
From the skies it has taken its exquisite hue.
T for the traveler’s Joy that you’ll find
Where sweet sheltering hedgerows wander and wind.
U for the Upright Sea-lavender flower;
The sand-swallows claim it for sheltering bower.
V for the Violet, flower of the soul,
Heart’s-ease of Paradise, making us whole.
W for windflower, so fair to the sight,
That throws o’er the woodlands her mantle of light.
X forms a cross in the Passion-flower wild
In Southern America, balmy and mild.
Y for the Yarrow, all wayfarers know,
As it grows by the wayside where ever you go.
Z is the ribbon this posy to bind,
With the thoughts and the fragrance
It brings to your mind.

by Author Unknown

“If a flower blooms once, it goes on blooming somewhere forever. It blooms on for whoever has seen it blooming.” -William H. Armstrong (William Howard Armstrong (1911 - 1999)): “Sounder” (1969)

“Where flowers bloom so does hope.” -Claudia Alta ‘Lady Bird’ Taylor Johnson (1912 - 2007): remark (1 October 1965) at the Annual Convention of the Associated Press Managing Editors Association

This is MFOL! . . . now let us tiptoe through the tulips . . . on our way to more making fun of life . . .

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Discontent

7/4/2021

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Picture of a bright yellow buttercup flower among a few long green leaves of grass, with more buttercup flowers in the background.

Discontent

Down in a field, one day in June,
     The flowers all bloomed together,
Save one, who tried to hide herself,
     And drooped, that pleasant weather.

A robin who had soared too high,
     And felt a little lazy,
Was resting near a buttercup
     Who wished she were a daisy.

For daisies grow so trig* and tall;
     She always had a passion
For wearing frills about her neck
     In just the daisies’ fashion.

And buttercups must always be
     The same old tiresome color,
While daisies dress in gold and white,
     Although their gold is duller.

“Dear robin,” said this sad young flower,
     “Perhaps you’d not mind trying
To find a nice white frill for me,
     Some day, when you are flying?”

“You silly thing!” the robin said;
     “I think you must be crazy!
I’d rather be my honest self
     Than any made-up daisy.

You’re nicer in your own bright gown,
     The little children love you;
Be the best buttercup you can,
     And think no flower above you.

Though swallows leave me out of sight,
     We’d better keep our places;
Perhaps the world would all go wrong
     With one too many daisies.

Look bravely up into the sky,
     And be content with knowing
That God wished for a buttercup
     Just here, where you are growing.”

by Sarah Orne Jewett: as published in “St. Nicholas Magazine” (February 1876), page 247

* trig: stylish

Sarah Orne Jewett was born on 3 September 1849 in South Berwick, Maine, United States of America. She became a novelist, a short story writer, and a poet. Sarah Orne Jewett passed on at 59 years of age on 24 June 1909 in South Berwick, Maine, United States of America.

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He Who Owns a Garden

7/3/2021

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Picture of a vegetable garden and flower garden with a small thatch-roofed dwelling in the background

He Who Owns a Garden

He who owns a garden,
     However small it be,
Whose hands have planted in it
     Flower or bush or tree;
He who watches patiently
     The growth from nurtured,
Who thrills a newly opened bloom
     Is very close to God.

by Katherine Edelman

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Buttercups

4/20/2021

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Buttercups

The buttercups with shining face
     Smile brightly as I pass;
They seem to lighten all the place
     Like sunshine in the grass.

And though not glad nor gay* was I
     When first they came in view,
I find when I have passed them by,
     That I am smiling, too.

by Sarah J. Day: “Mayflowers to Mistletoe: A Year with the Flower Folk” (1900)

* ‘gay’ meaning ‘joyful’ or ‘blissful’ and not any slang corruption of the word.

Sarah Jane Day was born on 5 November 1860 in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America. She became a poet and a biographer. Sarah Jane Day passed on at 79 years of age on 11 May 1940 in Englewood, New Jersey, United States of America.

Image shown: Buttercup flowers.

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We Have a Little Garden

2/13/2020

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We Have a Little Garden

We have a little garden,
     A garden of our own,
And every day we water there
     The seeds that we have sown.

We love our little garden,
     And tend it with such care,
You will not find a faded leaf
     Or blighted blossom there.

by Beatrix Potter

Helen Beatrix Potter was born on 28 July 1866 in Kensington, London, England. She became a writer, an illustrator, a naturalist, a farmer, and a conservationist. She is known for her 30 books, including 23 children’s storybooks that feature animals, such as “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” which celebrates country life. Helen Beatrix Potter passed on at 77 years of age on 22 December 1943 in Near Sawrey, Lancashire, England.

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Gardens and Gardening

2/12/2020

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“Gardening and laughing are two of the best things in life you can do to promote good health and a sense of well-being.” -David Hobson (David M. Hobson): “Diary of a Mad Gardener” (2000)

“Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years.” -Author Unknown

“Growing your own food is like printing your own money.” -Ron Finley (2013)

I’m a Gardener

I’m a gardener and I’m okay;
     I sleep all night and I plant all day!
I dress in grubby clothing,
     And hang around with slugs.
Oh, I’m happy in the garden,
     With dirt and plants and bugs!

by Author Unknown: sung to the same tune as that of Monty Python’s “I’m a Lumberjack” (14 December 1969)

“Our vegetable garden is coming along well, with radishes and beans up, and we are less worried about revolution than we used to be.” -E. B. White (Elwyn Brooks White (1899 - 1985))

Rosemary: Do you know about the woman who planted an herb garden?
Cinnamon: Yes, I heard she is having the thyme of her life!

The very first secret to having a great garden is the soil, not the plants. Mix into the soil large amounts of organic materials, such as leaves, grass clippings, broken up or chopped up twigs, and kitchen waste to nourish the plants.

“Gardening takes a plot of land a hoe and willing muscles. Scratching the soil, harvesting garden fruits are peaceful results. With a garden there is hope.” -Grace Firth

“True gardeners never cease to garden, not even in their sleep, because gardening is not just something they do. It is how they live.” -Vigen Guroian (born 1948)

“God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done.” -Author Unknown

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
   How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle-shells,
   And pretty maids all of a row.

by Author Unknown

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

Garden Types
- Backyard garden
- Community garden
- English garden
- Flower garden
- Herb garden
- Rose garden
- Salad garden
- Tea garden
- Vegetable garden
- Wildflower garden
What type of garden would you like to have?

“In the Spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” -Margaret Atwood (born 1939)

Signs of Gardening
- Watch Out For Snap Dragons!
- Cultivate Lasting Friendships In A Garden
- Do Not Let The Little Things Bug You!
- Free Weeds - Pick Your Own
- Gardeners Have The Best Dirt
- Grow Happy In A Garden
- How’s It Growing?
- So Many Weeds . . . So Little Thyme
- Sow Seeds Of Kindness

“I have never had so many good ideas day after day as when I work in the garden.” -John Erskine

“A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself.” -May Sarton (pseudonym of Eleanore Marie Sarton (1912 - 1995))

“There’s little risk in becoming overly proud of one’s garden, because by its very nature, it is humbling. It has a way of keeping you on your knees.” -JoAnn Barwick

“There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments.” -Janet Kilburn Phillips

“When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.” -Author Unknown

Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Lettuce.
Lettuce, who?
Lettuce in, it’s freezing out here!

“Hoeing: A manual method of severing roots from stems of newly planted flowers and vegetables.” -Henry Beard (Henry Nichols Beard (born 1945))

“Every garden may have some weeds.” -Author Unknown: English proverb

Fern: What do you call an avid gardener?
Rose: Herb.

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” -Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)

Lou: How do you get a dog to stop digging in the garden?
Lulu: Take away his shovel!

And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
     You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
-Rudyard Kipling (Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)): “The Glory of the Garden” (1923)

Whether you need wild flower bulbs to grow flowers around your front door, tomato seeds for your container vegetable garden, Gala apple tree seedlings for your side yard or orchard, ladybugs for natural pest control, or any of many different varieties of plants and gardening supplies, visit www.Gurneys.com. Have you ever considered giving someone seeds or a tree or other plant as a gift?

“He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.” -Basil (C.E. 330 - C.E. 379)

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Garden of Love
(A Gardener’s Valentine)

Cabbage always has a heart;
     Green beans string along.
You’re such a Tomato,
     Will you Peas to me belong?

You’ve been the Apple of my eye,
     You know how much I care;
So Lettuce get together,
     We’d make a perfect Pear.

Now, something’s sure to Turnip,
     To prove you can’t be Beet;
So, if you Carrot all for me
     Let’s let our Tulips meet.

Don’t Squash my hopes and dreams now,
     Bee my Honey, dear;
Or tears will fill Potato’s eyes,
     While Sweet Corn lends an ear.

I’ll Cauliflower shop and say
     Your dreams are Parsley mine.
I’ll work and share my Celery,
     So be my Valentine.

by Author Unknown

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“Plant the garden of your life with friendship’s lovely flowers.” -Author Unknown

“When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent new ones.” -Author Unknown

Gardener’s Palindrome: Mr. Owl ate my metal worm. (A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same both forward and backward.)

What are weeds good for? Pull them up with their roots, before they have grown flowers or seeds, let them dry in the sun, chop them up, and mix them with soil to provide nutrients for the non-weed plants.

“What a man needs in gardening is a cast-iron back, with a hinge in it.” -Charles Dudley Warner (1829 - 1900): “My Summer in a Garden” (1870), ‘Third Week’

“A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.” -Doug Larson (1902 - 1981)

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary quite contrary,
     How has your garden thrived?
With fertilizers and chemicals?
     Or is it genetically modified?

by Paul Curtis

Formula for a garden: Dirt + Seeds + Water + Sun = Weeds.

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God’s Garden

The Lord God planted a garden
   In the first white days of the world
And He set there an angel warden
     In a garment of light enfurled.

The kiss of the Sun for pardon
     The song of the bird for mirth
One is nearer God’s heart in a garden
     Than anywhere else on Earth.

by Dorothy Frances Gurney (Dorothy Frances Blomfield Gurney (1858 - 1932)): “Poems” (1913)

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Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Gruesome.
Gruesome, who?
Gruesome tomatoes in my garden - would you care for some?

“The philosopher who said that work well done never needs doing over never weeded a garden.” -Ray D. Everson (Raymond D. ‘Ray’ Everson (1884 - 1960))

Barney: What kind of jokes do gardeners tell?
Bernard: Corny ones!

“All the flowers and fruit of tomorrow are in the seeds of today.” -Author Unknown

I have a little garden, I scratch it with a hoe
I happily plant the seeds and happily watch them grow.
-Author Unknown

Kelly: Why do melons have fancy weddings?
Nellie: Because they ‘cantaloupe.’

“No Garden is without its Weeds.” -Thomas Fuller (1654 - 1734): “Gnomologia: Adages and Proverbs” (1732), number 3576

“Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination.” -Alice Morse Earle (1851 - 1911)

“All gardeners live in beautiful places because they make them so.” -Joseph Joubert (1754 - 1824), as quoted in Paul Auster, translator: “The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert” (1883)

“Give weeds an inch, and they’ll soon take a yard.” -Author Unknown

Holly: Who says, “Hoe, hoe, hoe!”
Ivy: A gardener laughing at your jokes.

“Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor’s motorized garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.” -Dave Barry (born 1947)

“Gardening: A leisure activity that is much activity and little leisure.” -Author Unknown

“If you need five tools to solve a problem in the garden, four of them will be easy to find.” -Mike Garofalo (Michael Peter Garofalo (born 1946)): “Pulling Onions” (May 2007)

“Though an old man, I am but a young gardener.” -Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” -Audrey Hepburn (1929 -1993)

Inch by inch and row by row,
     I’m gonna make this garden grow.
-Author Unknown

“Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds.” -Gordon B. Hinckley (Gordon Bitner Hinckley (1910 - 2008))

“A garden always gives back more than it receives.” -Mara Beamish

“Maybe a person’s time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food.” -Frank A. Clark (Frank Atherton Clark (1911 - 1991))

“My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant’s point of view.” -H. Fred Dale (H. Frederick Dale (1924 - 1994))

“You must have a garden. Wherever you are.” -Patricia MacLachlan (Patricia ‘Patty’ MacLachlan (born 1938)): “Sarah, Plain and Tall” (1985)

This is MFOL! . . . the most down-to-earth people we know grow their food for thought in a vegetable garden . . .

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Dandelions

6/9/2019

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“Sunny yellow dandelions in fields of green grass in the daytime is perhaps the Earth answering back to nighttime skies filled with twinkling stars.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

The word ‘dandelion’ is derived from the French phrase ‘dent de lion’ meaning ‘lion’s tooth.’

“When you look at a field of dandelions, you can choose to see thousands of weeds or thousands of wishes. Pluck by the stem a dandelion flower that has turned from yellow to white. Make a secret wish from your heart’s desires. When you blow on them, the fluffy white tufts attached to each of the individual seeds will drift away, sometimes even to be borne aloft by breezes. If you are lucky, one of them may land in the hidden realm of the fairies, and a fairy may find the wish attached to it and make the wish real in some way. May all of your secret dandelion wishes come true.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)

Dandelion flowers start out as tight bundles of long thin green leaves, which open to reveal bright yellow flowers, that eventually form the fluffy white matter consisting of tiny seeds connected to little tufts of fluff called ‘clocks,’ which are easily captured by the wind and taken aloft, spreading the seeds far and wide to begin new dandelion plants.

A Dandelion Ditty

Roses are red,
     Violets are blue -
But they don’t get around
     Like the dandelions do!

by Author Unknown

When plants reach the stage of development in which they produce seeds, they are often referred to as having ‘gone to seed.’ Dandelions visibly go to seed when their yellow flowers turn into spherical constellations of white tufts.

Dandelion

A dandelion doesn’t roar
     Which is a lucky thing
With all the millions that there are
     That would be frightening.

When I went out to play today
     I found dandelions yellow and gay
And then when I came in tonight
     The dandelions had turned to white.

by Author Unknown

Dandelions are hardy plants with strong roots that reach far down into the soil to obtain water and nutrients. The roots can be 3 to 4.5 meters (10 to 15 feet) in length, but often are only 15 to 45 centimeters (6 to 18 inches) in length.

Is this a solution to your dandelion problem? Are dandelion flowers taking over your yard, annoying you with their bright yellow optimism, and confusing your eyes by making you think you are looking directly at the Sun whenever you see a dandelion in the sea of green grass surrounding your home or business? Call Rent-a-Turtle Professional Landscaping Services today at 555 - 5555. Hungry turtles are standing by to take your call, so act now! [Disclaimer: Not an actual service.]

“If dandelions were hard to grow they would be most welcome on any lawn.” -Andrew V. Mason

What are the nutritional benefits of dandelions? Dandelion flowers contain antioxidants. Dandelion leaves are high in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, and the minerals calcium, copper, iron, manganese, and potassium. Dandelion roots are rich in iron, boron, beta-carotene, and potassium.

It is against the law in Pueblo, Colorado, United States of America, to raise a dandelion or permit a dandelion to grow within city limits. Some people do not know what else to do with themselves, so they spend a part of their lives making unnecessary laws.

“If dandelions were rare and fragile, people would knock themselves out to pay $14.95 a plant, raise them by hand in greenhouses, and form dandelion societies and all that. But, they are everywhere and don’t need us and kind of do what they please. So we call them weeds and murder them at every opportunity. Well, I say they are flowers.” -Robert Fulgham

Dandelions can be washed in water and eaten raw, or cooked. Dandelion flowers and leaves add color and flavor to salads. Dandelion leaves can also be juiced. Dandelion roots can be roasted or used to make tea.

A cannery in Wilton, Maine, United States of America, imports and cans dandelion greens. You might consider getting into this business yourself!

Dandelions have been used as a food source and as a medicine for more than 1,000 years. European immigrants purposely brought dandelion seeds to America, to use the greens, or leaves of the plant, for making salads and teas. Dandelion roots can be served as a vegetable course, or dried and used as a coffee substitute. The flowers can used be to make a yellow dye for wool. There are periodic revivals of using dandelions in these ways, as generation after generation rediscovers dandelions.

Luscious edible dandelions grow wild, and the freshly picked greens can be eaten raw in salads, or cooked in ways similar to how other greens, such as spinach, are cooked. Health-conscious people, frugal people, and people with little or no money can include dandelions in their diets. We can still, to some extent, ‘live off the land.’

Dandelions: Small bursts of sunshine in your lawn.

We are MFOL! . . . a website for the two kinds of humans . . . the serious ones and the silly ones . . .

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My Spring Garden

12/4/2018

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My Spring Garden

Here is my little garden,
     Some seeds I’m going to sow.
Here is my rake to rake the ground,
     Here is my handy hoe.

Here is the big, round yellow sun;
     The sun warms everything.
Here are the rain clouds in the sky;
     The birds will start to sing.

Little plants will wake up soon,
     And lift their sleepy heads;
Little plants will grow and grow
     In their little, warm earth beds.

by Author Unknown

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A Little Yellow Cup

11/7/2018

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A Little Yellow Cup

A little yellow cup
A little yellow star
A little yellow frill
And that’s a daffodil.

by Kay Gaines

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Plants and People

11/3/2018

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Plants and People

Plants grow best when we pay attention to them. That means watering, touching them, putting them in places where they will receive good light. They need people around them to notice if they are drooping at the edges or looking particularly happy in the sunlight. The more attention a plant receives, the better it will grow.

We need to be noticed in the same way. If we notice a family member or friend is drooping, perhaps we can pay some special attention to him or her. All of us need someone to care about how we are and to truly listen to us.

We can share and double someone’s happiness by noticing and talking about it also. We help the people around us to grow by listening to their droopy edges as well as their bright days.

People need this as much as plants need light and water.

by Author Unknown

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The Daffodils

11/1/2018

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The Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
     That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
     A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
     Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
     And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
     Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
     Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
     Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
     In such a jocund company:
I gazed - gazed - but little thought
     What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
     In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
     Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
     And dances with the daffodils.

by William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770. He became an English poet. He is known for “Lyrical Ballads” (1798) which he and Samuel Taylor Coleridge jointly published. He was poet laureate from 1843 until he passed on. William Wordsworth passed on at 80 years of age on 23 April 1850.

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Neighbor Chicory

10/25/2018

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Neighbor Chicory

Where the stamping horses pass
     And the dust is in the grass,
By the roadside bare and hot
     Gracing each unlovely spot
Lo! before our weary eyes
     Shines the blue of summer skies

Gleaming like an azure star
     Where the fiercest sunbeams are,
Neighbor Chicory bestows
     Such a sense of cool repose,
In the noon-tide’s hottest glare
     It is always evening there.

Oh, to learn the conquering grace
     Of that blossom’s tender face!
Thus victoriously may I
     Where the choking dust-clouds fly
And life’s clamors never cease
     Bring the cooling sense of peace.

by Author Unknown

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The Parable of the Rose

10/15/2018

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The Parable of the Rose

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully.
Before it blossomed, he examined it.
He saw a bud that would soon blossom.
He also saw the thorns, and he thought,
“How can any beautiful flower come from a plant,
burdened with so many sharp thorns?”
Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was ready to bloom, it died.
So it is with many people.
Within every soul, there is a rose.
The good qualities planted in us at birth,
growing amidst the thorns of our faults.
Many of us look at ourselves and see only
the thorns, the defects.
We despair, thinking nothing good can possibly come from us.
We neglect to water the good within us,
and eventually it dies.
We never realize our potential.
Some don’t see the rose within themselves.
It takes someone else to show it to them.
One of the greatest gifts a person can possess
is to be able to reach past the thorns and find the rose within others.
This is the truest, most innocent, and gracious
characteristic of love - to know another person, including their faults,
recognize the nobility in their soul, and yet, still help another to realize they can overcome their faults.
If we show them the rose, they will conquer the thorns.
Only then will they blossom many times over,
Our duty in this world is to help others, by showing them their roses and not their thorns.
It is then that we achieve the love we should feel for each other.
Only then can we bloom in our own garden.

by Author Unknown

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Buttercups and Daisies

9/12/2018

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Buttercups and Daisies

Buttercups and daisies -
     Oh the pretty flowers,
Coming ere the springtime
     To tell of sunny hours.
While the trees are leafless,
     While the fields are bare,
Buttercups and daisies
     Spring up here and there.

Ere the snowdrop peepeth,
     Ere the croscus bold,
Ere the early primrose
     Opes its paly gold,
Somewhere on a sunny bank
     Buttercups are bright;
Somewhere ’mong the frozen grass
     Peeps the daisy white.

Little hardy flowers
     Like to children poor,
Playing in their sturdy health
     By their mother’s door:
Purple with the north wind,
     Yet alert and bold;
Fearing not and caring not,
     Though they be a-cold.

What to them is weather!
     What are stormy showers!
Buttercups and daisies
     Are these human flowers!
He who gave them hardship
     And a life of care,
Gave them likewise hardy strength,
     And patient hearts, to bear.

Welcome yellow buttercups,
     Welcome daisies white,
Ye are in my spirit
     Visioned, a delight!
Coming ere the springtime
     Of sunny hours to tell -
Speaking to our hearts of Him
     Who doeth all things well.

by Mary Howitt

Mary Howitt was born as Mary Botham on 12 March 1799 in Coleford, Gloucestershire, England. She was a member of the Quaker denomination of Christianity. She was married to William Howitt on 16 April 1821. Mary Howitt became a writer and a poet, and translated works by Hans Christian Andersen and Frederika Bremer into English. She is known as the author of the poem, “The Spider and the Fly” (1829). Mary Howitt passed on at 88 years of age on 30 January 1888 in Rome, Italy.

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The Seed

9/11/2018

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The Seed

In the heart of a seed
     Buried deed, so deep,
A dear little plant
     Lay fast asleep.

“Wake!” said the sunshine,
     “And creep to the light!”
“Wake!” said the voice
     Of the raindrop bright.

The little plant heard
     And it rose to see
What the wonderful
     Outside world might be.

by Author Unknown

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The Seedling

8/12/2018

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The Seedling

As a quiet little seedling
     Lay within its darksome bed,
To itself it fell a-talking,
     And this is what it said:

“I am not so very robust,
     But I’ll do the best I can”;
And the seedling from that moment
     Its work of life began.

So it pushed a little leaflet
     Up into the light of day,
To examine the surroundings
     And show the rest the way.

The leaflet liked the prospect,
     So it called its brother, Stem;
Then two other leaflets heard it,
     And quickly followed them.

To be sure, the haste and hurry
     Made the seedling sweat and pant;
But almost before it knew it
     It found itself a plant.

The sunshine poured upon it,
     And the clouds they gave a shower;
And the little plant kept growing
     Till it found itself a flower.

Little folks, be like the seedling,
     Always do the best you can;
Every child must share life’s labor
     Just as well as every man.

And the sun and showers will help you
     Through the lonesome, struggling hours,
Till you raise to light and beauty
     Virtue’s fair, unfading flowers.

by Laurence Dunbar

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This Is Not The End!

8/10/2018

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You may have reached the end of the Plants Page on www.MakeFunOfLife.net, but you have just begun to explore and experience all of the excellence that can be found on the website. To find more, go to the drop-down menu near the top of this page and click on any of the pages shown there, such as the Inspiration Pages and the Library Pages.

We are MFOL! . . . bringing together the best of that which is worth knowing . . . in humor, inspiration, and learning . . .

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