Changing seasons

A friend of mine has got a tattoo on her arm , it's a verse from a poem by Dorothy Frances Gurney (1858 - 1932), it means a lot to her because it reminds her of her mum. We can all understand that, I'm sure we all know what it means to be reminded of your mum, especially if she is no longer here. It's a poem about a garden,

the kiss of the sun for pardon
the song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.


It is nice isn't it? You can feel the warmth of forgiveness and the sounds of a happy heart and love.

I haven't got a garden I've got a balcony and as I was snipping and pruning my plants to prepare them for Autumn I was thinking about this poem. I love the changing seasons, and I have rituals that I really enjoy and cherish for moving from one season to the next. My summer plants, the geraniums, plumbago and bourgainville are still beautiful but they are now sitting alongside a few pots of purple heather and cyclamens that I know will pass the test of the winter months and flourish through to spring.
Even though the sun is still warm the signs of Autumn are around us all day long, from the colour of the falling leaves, the sunset moving slowly across the sky, the fading flowers, the shortening days, the flock of birds getting ready to move south, the feel that all is preparing to face the colder weather.

Gardens, parks, woods and forests and yes even balconies are changing. Just like us, they need to adapt and prepare. We need to boost our immune system to ward off colds and flu, we need to cut and prune and discard all the excess, we're like plants, we need constant care and attention, every day all year round if we want to be able to give our best.

Here is a song to accompany this mood of changing seasons and the passing of time by Joni Mitchell.

A vase of heather says Autumn is here

Summer flowers are still bright and cheerful