Flower power

Flower power van

Back in the day, "flower power" was what you painted on the side of a VW bus that you drove to California (picking up hitchhikers on the way, of course.)

I subscribe to the "bouquet of the week" from the German magazine "Living at Home.de" to see what my tribe's doing in Europe. This autumn, the flower power in my yard makes me smile, too.

In September, I browsed Home Depot's clearance racks for summer-end bargains.

Wasabi Coleus

The lime greens of wasabi coleus, drooping and leggy, caught my eye first. Then I spotted the vibrant reds of spiky draceanas, periwinkle zinneas, and drooping white vines (don't know their names).

Dracaena

Zinneas

Plainly perfect: yellow pansies

For a blend of complementary flowers, I bought some pansies and mums, standard fare in fall.

Jonathan (youngest son, paying his rent in labor) took his machete to the rims of the ingrown pots to wedge old growth away from the clay. I could never have lifted the solid root balls! Cheers for young muscle! He mixed peat moss, soil, and compost in a wheelbarrow and refilled the empty pots with fresh medium.

The courtyard in autumn

 By the time we were done, the courtyard, entry steps, and back deck were in fall bloom. Each time I drive home, I am refreshed by the colors and shapes of flowers. They've thrived in the sunny weeks since planting.

Flowers galore

The mums have been glorious bloomers until drizzle started this morning. If the weatherman is correct in his gloomy predictions of rain and more rain splashing on us, those flowers will be mush by week's end. No worries. The rest will be happy until the cold hits us.

This morning, I thank God for the bright spectacles of plants. He allows our hands to work the soil and our eyes to appreciate the beauty that grows there. I'm grateful for the bonus of color ... not only that God lavished color on us, but that he generously created our eyes and hearts with the capacity to enjoy an abundance of reds, yellows, blues, and every shade between.