The Geranium And The Salvia
By Jabo
@jaboUK (64354)
United Kingdom
May 29, 2017 7:58pm CST
The Geranium...
That woman is a fair weather friend
She loves us at our best,
But if we wilt, then that's the end,
Don't say you haven't guessed?
The Salvia...
Guessed what? Gladly she's cared for us
Since we were tiny seeds,
So tenderly she nurtures us,
And zaps those pests and weeds.
The Geranium....
Yes, in this garden we can reign
It's fine when we're in bloom,
But when our petals start to wane,
That surely spells our doom.
The Salvia...
Doom? Don't you know she loves us so?
She likes our colours bright,
She digs and hoes until we show
That we're a pretty sight.
The Geranium...
But after all this so-called love,
If we fade in our beds,
What do you think that woman does?
She just chops off our heads!
So just beware when she comes out
With that pesky cutter,
We are not safe, there is no doubt,
She wields it like a nutter.
Oops - here she comes, let's try to smile,
She might not see we're weak,
She may just leave us for a while,
Stand tall, don't droop, - ow ee-eee-eeeek.....
Photo is my garden last year. I've only just planted this year, so it will be a few weeks before it's blooming. Do you like gardening?
46 people like this
46 responses
I always thought people who talk to plants were nutty but your poem made me pause and smile.
@allknowing (138935)
• India
30 May 17
I quite agree with your flowers and that's the plight of seasonal flowers. I therefore prefer perennials.
3 people like this
@allknowing (138935)
• India
30 May 17
@jaboUK We do not need to throw them out and sow fresh seeds
2 people like this
@andriaperry (117575)
• Anniston, Alabama
30 May 17
Yes I do but mine has gown up with weeds.
5 people like this
@GreatMartin (23671)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
3 Jun 17
Odd but I have 3 potted geranium pots on my window sill and they bloom month after month year after year!
I love your garden!!
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
4 Jun 17
@GreatMartin I don't have any indoor plants, but don't yours ever take a rest from flowering? If they don't, I expect you treat them to a fertiliser now and then. I love the mauve coloured one in the centre.
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23671)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
6 Jun 17
@jaboUK No, my flowers are not allowed to rest--they know better!!! :O)
1 person likes this
@MarshaMusselman (38864)
• Midland, Michigan
31 May 17
That was very good and funny too, Janet. I'm pretty sure your salvia is the short section that resembles a hedge even though it's not and begins on the lower left and goes at an angle, hugging the area free of flowers. I know the flowers are a sort of orange. They are something I've seen but never planted.
I actually did a bit more weeding last night and planted seeds in a small section. Yesterday and tonight I turned on my soaker hose to water them a bit. I almost forgot it was on until just now and took a flashlight out with me to turn off the water as it's now ten pm.
What is that flowering tree standing alone in the separate area? It appears to have about four types of flowers on it but that can't be it really?
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
31 May 17
@MarshaMusselman . I went out and took this photo for you. It's taken from the back as the baskets didn't show up with the hedge as a background. But it shows you how it's constructed.
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38864)
• Midland, Michigan
31 May 17
@jaboUK Huh, it looks like I can see a tree base below it, is that part of the stand? Interesting way to showcase your flowers, I'd like to see how it's put together up close, but you're a bit far away, lol.
2 people like this
@dianadee (1778)
• South Africa
30 May 17
Love your poem and the photo of your garden, such colourful variety of flower! We rent out our house but when we are there, love gardening.
@HazySue (39268)
• Gouverneur, New York
30 May 17
Love the poem and the photo of the garden. If my garden would look that way I would spend all my time outside gazing at it. Unfortunately I was born with a brown thumb instead of a green one. My husband 5though, it a great gardener, so I get to enjoy his labors.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 May 17
@HazySue That's good that your husband has green fingers (English way of saying it). As for spending all the time gazing at it, if I did that it wouldn't look like it does! It takes quite a bit of my time to get it like that. I say 'time' rather than 'work' because it's not work to me.
2 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
30 May 17
oh, my! oh, my! i just LOVE your beautiful and colorful garden my friend. your climate is just fine for growing those pretty flowers. if i am your neighbor, i would always sneak in and have a couple of selfies with your flowers at the background.
i just love the combination of colors. surely this picture is worth to be placed in a greeting card.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 May 17
@ridingbet Thanks Ingrid - people do actually take selfies with my garden, and I'm happy that they want to
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
31 May 17
@ridingbet They are both false cats made of metal - my husband bought them, he thinks they are fun. I thought they might deter the real cats but they don't.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
31 May 17
@jaboUK by the way, i see a grey cat sneaking and maybe wanting to have that another grey thing near the middle of the picture.
is the cat real? i thought it is an animation of sorts.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
30 May 17
Great poem...my type of post.
You know the answer to that:) I love being able to enjoy the gardens here.Yours is so beautiful.
I always have this mental picture of the seasonal flowers popping off to wherever the season is right for them when their season in the current place is over.And winter is the time for flowers here
Salvia:
We all have our own journey
Of that ,theres no doubt
But relax my friend
We ‘re here till summer’s out
Geranium:
Now we do adorn Jabo’s garden
And we are out in all our glory
But what ,I beg your pardon
Will be the end of our story
Salvia
Don’t you know its dust to dust
So we return to the earth
And make our voyage eastward
To India, where we’ll have our rebirth !
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 May 17
@responsiveme I'm getting a bit annoyed as my replies keep disappearing. I answered you hours ago, but it's disappeared.
Anyway, I love the idea that the flowers reappear in your part of the world when they bare finished here. Lovely poem Arundhati, thank you for taking the trouble to compose it.
. Lovely poem Arundhati, thank you for taking the trouble to compose it.1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
31 May 17
@responsiveme I beg to differ, you ARE a writer, and a poet too.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
31 May 17
@jaboUK glad you like the idea.ilove it too
My poem as you call it is a rhyme of sorts to fit that idea
Yours are fun , witty and have a easy flow.
I am not a writer so I don't know the precise words but am a good reader so can discern the difference
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16822)
• China
30 May 17
What a vivid limerick! in which Geranium and Salvia are like two lovely kids .In their hearts,love and hate for you are intertwined .
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16822)
• China
31 May 17
@jaboUK You meant it isn't a limerick in the strict sense.Maybe I thought that counting in The Geranium...and The Salvia...,there are 5 lines in the first several stanzas.To be honest,I don't know much about limerick.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 May 17
@changjiangzhibin89 Thanks Chang, but this isn't actually a limerick - they have 5 lines per stanza. Glad you like it
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
30 May 17
most delightful! i giggled throughout each verse :D i adore gardenin', though my attempts 't such aint so purty 's yers. ya know me, i'm more 'f a 'naturalist', lol. big hugs 'n love, sweet lady! thanks 'gain fer the grins.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
30 May 17
@crazyhorseladycx Hi Crazy. I'm pleased you found the poem amusing, and yes I know that you prefer the naturalist approach.
. I'm pleased you found the poem amusing, and yes I know that you prefer the naturalist approach.1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
30 May 17
@jaboUK howdy! 'tis jest less complicated that way, lol. yepperz, i adore yer poetic odes 'n the humour ya bestow 'pon what some might consider 'ordinary thingies'. big hugs!!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247184)
• United States
31 May 17
I love your poem and am sure this year's garden will be just as magnificent and magical as last year's garden. I have those pesky deer, but planted many flowers on my deck. For color and because deer don't like their smell or taste, I planted yellow marigolds in my front of the house planters and throughout my rock garden.
2 people like this
@DianneN (247184)
• United States
31 May 17
@jaboUK Oh no! I hope we don't have slugs where I planted them! I'm certain your garden will be just as lovely this year. I have beautiful flowering shrubs, peonies, and a few other perennials which will also bloom to give a bit of color.
1 person likes this
