it's that time of year

it's that time of year

a middle tennessee garden blog


finding beauty in the natural things around us makes for one happy self and a lovely life. ~marmee

dash home farm, leiper's fork, tennessee

Friday, October 10, 2008

black is beautiful



this little guy made me pause a while this morning.
is he good or is he bad?
i'm not sure but he sure is striking.
taking a look around today i notice alot of black in my garden.
normally you don't really think of BLACK as a desirable colour for the garden.

i like it in my clothes (a little too much.)
how many little BLACK dresses and shirts should you have?
one of my favourite shops is BLACK and white.
i use it alot as accents in my home.
two of my sons eyes are so dark brown they look BLACK at times...
...deep wells into their souls.
most of us compost to get BLACK gold for planting.


i love having gold finches in and about my garden.
they love niger seed and spent
coneflowers. both are BLACK.

we have all been posting about the "bumbles" as sherry from
they have the most glorious BLACK bums...


...shining and glistening in the sunshine.

they and their BLACK bottoms are the carriers of our gardens
prized posession, golden pollen...

...taking it and distributing it around our gardens.

if we want to attrach birds to our gardens we put out BLACK sunflower seed.


recently i planted this dark coloured pansy.
this one looks almost BLACK .
it is my favourite one so far.


of course you all met "jade" .
who is as BLACK as night.
who doesn't like a BLACK kitten?


these spent BLACK-eyed susans are providing
new seed for next years crop, beautiful.
i just bought this beautiful old window, painted BLACK to
greet visitors at my front door.

i guess i love the colour BLACK even in my garden!



blessings of harvest to all of you, my friends.

30 comments:

Tumblewords: said...

I came from Q's Corner and am so happy to be here! Lovely site!

Susie said...

I love your tribute to "black". My favorite of your pics are the window painted black(that's adorable), your black kitty(almost as cute as your little one in the picture with her) and that black pansy. Have a great weekend Marmee! I have to work Sat. and Sun. Hopefully, we will be very busy.

marmee said...

so glad you came over, tumblewords!
love your name! thank you!

marmee said...

susie, thank you.i love my new window too. i found a great little place near my oldest daughter's house called "the back door".
i have driven by it so many times and never stopped, now i am going to be a regular.
we are so happy to have our new little kitty, she is sooo tiny. it's abbey new playmate. we have no close neighbors with children.
hope your workend is good.
our weekend is a busy one with games and practises.

Cheryl said...

hi marmee.....tku for the mention,,,, i love my bumbles.....

black is not my colour but i love this post......the pansy is stunning.......

i also feed the goldfinch on niger......i love the seeds......

love the door.....beautiful.....

Unknown said...

I have recently decided that black is a good color too and want to accent some in my home with it. Interesting post, I like it.

Q said...

Dear Marmee,
Black is beautiful. All caterpillars are good....this one is very pretty, nice picture.
I do all sorts of black in my decorating and gardens too. I love the window with the pumpkins painted on it. Great idea.
You found some lovely ways black shows up. I think one can never have enough black skirts and dresses.
Black is always in style and goes with everything...fun post.
Celebrating black and orange at my house.
Hugs,
Sherry

marmee said...

your welcome cheryl, i want everyone to see your wildlife santuary, it's gorgeous.
thank you for your compliments.
the pansy is so pretty. i am glad to have gotten one so dark.
have a great weekend!

marmee said...

i think sometimes we don't realize we have these foundational colours around us until we start looking a little closer.
hope you find just the right black things to put in your decor.
i have a decorating must.
there has to be at least a touch of white in each room to make them complete. it works for me.
happy weekending to you.

marmee said...

sherry, i agree black is always in style! i am glad you liked this post. i never realized how much black i had around me until i really started looking and the caterpillar made me do it.
enjoy your black and orange.
hope you have a great weekend.
marmee

Anonymous said...

it is interesting to think about black being beautiful in the garden...but it truly is. I have the same passion for brown...I see it everywhere and love it in everything. I love the new kitten. She is so cute..I hope she is ready for Grace to hold her? 5 days!

marmee said...

estee'
we are counting down the days!
you are one anticipated guest!
thank you for coming by, i know what you mean about brown too!
there are so many colours that are always just there. without them we would be lost.
i love you and can't wait for grace to be holding the kitty!

joey said...

I simply loved this post, Marmee, and your lovely daugher and kitty! Born with pitch-black hair, I adore black and always have. I love distressed black furniture, deep black pansies and tulips, and as far as clothes and shoes go, I am often teased. My favorite ... black sweaters!

marmee said...

well joey you and i have a lot in common with the love of black clothes, flowers, hair, anything distressed(reminds me of me i suppose.) lol.enjoy your weekend and your traveling has been fun to be a part of.

tina said...

Black is very good and you showcased it perfectly!

Wendy said...

Sweet little black kitten - and the little girl holding him/her! Your bees are so cute. Lovely post.

marmee said...

thank you tina, i am happy to have it in plain sight in my garden.

marmee said...

hello wendy,
that sweet little girl is our youngest abbey on her way to ballet practise. jade is a girl kitty.
i am so happy to have had this little burst of cosmos because my bumbles are enjoying them so much and i, like you, enjoy seeing them.
hope all is well!

Meems said...

Very sweet caterpillar, Marmee. And oh so much to comment on... so true, can't have enough black in the wardrobe- every style of black shoes especially. As you know my bedroom is highlighted with black toile.

I like the way though, you've found so many interesting things in the garden of the color black. I DO love, love my rich black humus soil and love even more my compost pile turned to reveal the steamy black gold waiting to be re-used in some important garden bed.

My favorites of yours: that window painted black you've acquired... too cute. That deeply hued pansy is rich and whimsical all at the same time. Spent coneflowers are particularly interesting to me this year.

Do you remember when two black kitties showed up in the backyard of our rental house way back when - 27 years ago? We kept them both-- much to my dismay. They turned out to be great cats and great company for the kids. Anyway, I'm sure Abbey is having loads of fun with your new little one.

Very fun post!
Meems

Anonymous said...

Hi Marmee, it is the perfect season for admiring black and you have done a masterful job in highlighting it in your varied forms. I love everything you showed us, but little girls and kitties snag at my heartstrings! I love black too and have a black garden, sort of new still, but it has been fun finding things to plant in it with black in the name, black foliage or black flowers. Queen of the Night tulips are a must! ;->
Frances
http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/

Unknown said...

Hi Marmee, lovely tribute to 'black'! Caterpillars, the hairier they are, look spectacular in photos, and yours were really cute! Pretty window that. Loved everything about your post, including Abbey.

marmee said...

meems , abbey is having fun with her new companion. she and jade are playing right now in my sunroom as i write this. i do remember those kitties of yours you had them in carollwood, right?

i was trying to decide on the window when i thought of putting it on my porch. it just seemed to be the right choice.

it dawned on me when i saw the caterpiller that there is alot of black in the garden you really don't think about it. it is sorta a foundational colour...like green.

that pansy is unique, none of the rest are like that, too bad.

i know about the rich black steaming stuff, we all love it. it is such a garden essential.

i really like black in decorating. your toile is so subtle and
perfect in the bedroom. i actually painted the boys closets black and put in brown shelving. i really like it i wasn't sure i would, but i like taking risks. sometimes it pays off and sometimes you have to redo.

as far as shoes, clothes, and purses. i have more than my fair share of black. but i also love grey, brown, and white.

hope you have had a good weekend i have had a busy one. i was hoping to hear from you about your possible visit.

Rose said...

You've made me look at black in a whole new way, Marmee! Of course, I've always been fond of black kittens:)

Meems said...

marmee: check you e-mail. plans are brewing :-)

marmee said...

frances,
have you ever posted your black garden? i would like to see it. i think that it would be a really cool idea to have a black garden area hmmmm! that gives me an idea!
thanks frances i am going to have to do some investigating on those
tulips and other foliage.

marmee said...

kh,i am glad you enjoyed my black is beautiful post. it was fun to make and i love to include abbey.

marmee said...

rose,
i had a black cat when i was growing up named smokey. so i really like them to. this one was so little and helpless i couldn't help myself even though i have said no more. i really had never thought about black in the garden until i started looking around with new eyes.

Roses and Lilacs said...

I love black too. Maybe because pure black is uncommon in nature. I was wondering as I looked at the black caterpillar what kind of winter it foretells.
Marnie

marmee said...

marnie i don't know about the caterpillar predicting the winter but i have heard farmers talking about some fuzzy creature that means it is going to be a cold one.
it would be interesting to find out.

TC said...

Black IS beautiful! And I think a solid black wooly worm signifies a really harsh winter. :~O