Rain, God and People, a Poem

Rain drop
Originally uploaded by play4smee

Dear Friends Around the World, I have been thinking about Hurricane Irene and all the flooding going on now in areas including Vermont, and hoping all of you are well.
Here is a poem about the gentler side of rain that makes my soul sing; we gardeners know how precious rain is, in the right amounts and time, and I love the last stanza.
Terra 
I Saw God Wash the World

I saw God wash the world last night
With his sweet showers on high,
And then, when morning came, I saw
Him hang it up to dry.

He washed each tiny blade of grass
And every trembling tree;
He flung his showers against the hill,
And swept the billowing sea.

The white rose is a cleaner white,
The red rose is more red,
Since God washed every fragrant face
And put them all to bed.

There’s not a bird; there’s not a bee
That wings along the way
But is a cleaner bird and bee
Than it was yesterday.

I saw God wash the world last night,
Ah, would He had washed me
As clean of all my dust and dirt
As that old white birch tree.

By William L. Stidger

Ah, my second harvest of the potatoes produced by one small seed potato.

There are eleven little beauties here, from one seed potato that I planted in the ground. The seed potatoes I bought are Yellow Finn heirloom organic. The first meal I fixed with them I sliced them thickly, chopped one clove of garlic, and sauteed them in olive oil. Delicioso, I must say.
I still have the 3 plants to harvest that I planted in the five gallon pail.
Here is a nice quote:
For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I am so jazzed about growing potatoes that I will soon plant a fall crop, which we can do here in zone 8.

Vibrant Orange and Red Cannas

A neighbor offered my husband and I some cannas that he was digging up and dividing and we said yes please. This is the first time we have grown cannas, and it is their third year here at our house.

The only sunny spot we could find was along our alley, next to the neighbor's ice plant. The cannas he gave us have flowers on four foot spikes, with some plants' flowers brilliant orange and other's bright red. Cannas are not frost hardy but do fine in my zone 8 garden. If you live in zones 1 to 3 you need to lift and store the roots over winter. Cannas prefer moist soil but never waterlogged, and always well drained. They do well in a container and are to be enjoyed in the garden as they are not great cut flowers.

 These plants have a tropic flair to them, and a few months ago for variety I bought two Lucifer rhizomes with flowers that are red edged with yellow, so I look to see them bloom in future. Lucifer is a small canna that grows to 30 inches tall.  Most cannas, and all the rest of ours, grow 3 to 6 feet tall. Our cannas bloom all of June, July and August.