Progression

The brown-eyed susans are in bud in my perennial garden and it seems that the progession of flowers has been rather swift this year or perhaps, it only seems swift in the whirlwind of life and ministry.
All winter long, I yearned and anticipated the first blooms of spring. The purple crocuses are the first to bloom - that is, when the bunnies don't chomp them down first. Then come the daffodifs and anemones. The tulips show their colors followed by the Siberian Iris and Forget-Me-Nots.
The Larkspur become showy with their purple blooms and the Oriental Poppies display their huge tissuepaper looking blooms. The Dr. Suess flowers (Bee Balm) pop up and the Hummingbirds are thrilled. The red geraniums are in the planter boxes on the porch rail. The snapdragons reappear from seeds sown from the previous year. The Yarrow and ethereal Baby's Breath are a vision in pink and white. Meanwhile the Potentilla bushes are putting forth their bright yellow flowers from spring til fall. The lavendar/periwinkle Carpathian Harebells open and the burgandy Pin Cushion flowers sproing all over to the delight of bumblebees and goldfinches (who like the seeds from spent flowers). The coneflowers are blooming nicely. The Chinese Lanterns are nice and green and hanging from their branches. Slowly they will turn orange in time for fall.
But now the Brown-eyed Susans are in bud and soon they will be blooming. It will the last of my perennials to bloom and appear. I feel a bit of melancholy since it all progressed so quickly but with each new plant growing, buds appearing and blooming, I am filled with joy and wonder. The profusion of color and blooms is a feast for the eyes and even the soul. I wonder if the neighbors see the rhythm of my garden or merely dismiss the messy appearance of various texture and color so at odds with their neatly manicured barberry bushes, junipers, and masses of mulch all the same color. Do their spirits never yearn for bursts of color, and flowers? I will enjoy those brown-eyed susans and all that is still flowering. I will miss greeting each new appearing and the anticipation of their cheery blooms and fireworks of color. Now is the time to live with the flowers, to say good-bye to those as they are spent until next year, and to thank them for the great joy they have brought to my spirit and soul.
The summer progresses and so do I through this church year.