07.10.2023 | Ordinary Monday

It is an absolutely stunning morning here in South Saint Louis.  What a beautiful day.  It is cool enough to open the windows for a bit to get some of that fresh air into the house.  A perfect mid-summer's morning here in the Carondelet Garden.

The Hollyhocks are doing so well this year!  Last year we suffered a terrible case of Rust with our Hollyhocks.  I truly believed they were goners.  While we were watching one of our favorite television shows:  Beechgrove on BritBox, Dr. B came up with the idea to send them a viewer's question.  As you can imagine, I was skeptical.  This is a Scottish television series.  I'm pretty sure they won't care too much about some crazy garden problem in Saint Louis.  Boy, was I WRONG!  They immediately responded with a detailed email with great suggestions.  I followed them scrupulously and this is the result in the second year!  They are so kind and generous with their time and knowledge.  We watch the show every week and always say it is the fastest 30 minutes ever!

The one thing about gardening is it does keep you humble.  You can truly do everything "right" and still experience disappointment and disaster.  Yet, you keep trying and when you do hit the jackpot... WOW!  Such a rush of joy and excitement.  Not that much different than life, really.  We don't always get what we think we want, but somehow it usually works out pretty well.  Like gardening, it takes time, faith, hope and a lot of love to get through it but those moments when it works out!  

Here's to a new week of gardening.  A new week of faith, and hoping and a lot of love to get through it.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.