Work & Rest ~True Gifts

 Sun dial in our Blue Bottle Garden. We bought it many years ago especially for this garden and placed it in the bed of thyme. It is surprisingly accurate if you situate it according to the compass direction of north to south and it is a sunny day.

 The garden really does look sparse after severe weeding and culling of plants, but the bare bones of the garden are pleasing to me. The white-framed window to the middle right of the photo was once our living room picture window. It was cracked from side to side after a very big earthquake we had in this area a few years ago.  After removing and replacing it into our herb garden I am still happy with it there and have my plans for it later.

 Bright green plant in the bottom center is a lilac bush.

 Blue bottle tree , blue bottle markers, blue bottles. ( I see a theme here .)

 Sage

 Lovage

 Oregano

 Bronze fennel

 Chives

 I ran out of scalloped bricks to line the herb bed, but the herbs in this bed ( shown above ) were all transplanted from the old beds. I did not buy any new pots of herbs because the herbs I have are doing very well, they just needed a good weeding and placing into different spots of the garden that will benefit them.

 This shows where the herb garden ( Blue Bottle Garden) is in proximity to our house. I can look out of our bedroom window and see my herb garden , a delight for me every morning.

On the other side of the hedges out of view of Blue Bottle Garden,but in full view from our living room, is the fountain with the two doves my husband & I bought to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. How appropriate for us to watch hummingbirds court and bathe in this fountain, and swallows and  sparrows check out the birdhouse above the fountain as a possible new home for them and their young. Our Blue Bottle Garden brings us much joy. We sit together in the garden and watch the parakeets in the aviary, the hummingbirds at the feeders there, enjoy the herbs in our cooking, and from our living room watch the drama of bird life . We truly believe if everyone had a small patch of land to garden and a small window to observe the everyday blessings of their endeavors, this world would be a better place. A little bit of work that satisfies the soul and also gives a weary body the need for rest and a true deep and restful sleep . Blessed and peaceful sleep , a true gift from God.