GARDEN BLOGGERS' MUSE DAY

Indoor Gardener

A February wind blows dismally,

The sky is full of dark clouds hanging low,

The garden lies in numbed frigidity

And waits the falling of another snow.

Today, I planted seeds despite the cold,

For my tomato plants will mind it not­

Their tiny leaves will presently unfold

At my south window; in a flower pot!

-HELEN BATH SWANSON

From Backyardgardener.com

GARDEN BLOGGERS' MUSE DAY

The Gardener by Moi

New feet within my garden go

New fingers stir the soil

A troubadour upon the elm betrays the solitude

New children play upon the green

New weary sleep below and still the pensive Spring returns

And still the punctual snow

-Emily Dickinson

The " Belle of Amherst " was better known as a gardener than a poet when she died at the young age of 55. A poet that used flowers as metaphors -love, death,rebirth, life, Dickinson studied Botany from the age of 9 . She tended the garden at Homestead, which was well known and admired locally. Unfortunately, the garden did not survive. Close relatives recall " carpets of lily-of-the-valley and pansies, sweetpeas, hyacinths, daffodils, and peonies " .

Emily would often send her friends flowers with verses attached but found that " they valued the posy more then the poem. "

Today the family home and garden is a museum and visitors can sit in the restored garden and hear the poetry of one of America's most beloved poets.

For more info on Emily's garden visit The Emily Dickinson Museum .

Written by Carolyngail at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago
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