Sowing Glory

I planted morning glory seeds in the pots on my front porch yesterday. The day before, I had to pull out all the little maple tree seedlings that were growing in the pots and remove any of the winged seeds that were lying on top so that they don't sprout later. That bit of green in the pot below is a sprouted maple seed that still has the brown "wing" attached to it.

Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.
- E. B. White

After cleaning out the debris and maple seeds, I added fresh potting soil to the top of the planters.

Now seeds are just dimes to the man in the store
And the dimes are the things that he needs,
And I've been to buy them in seasons before
But have thought of them merely as seeds;
But it flashed through my mind as I took them this time,
"You purchased a miracle here for a dime."
- Edgar A. Guest, A Package of Seeds

I bought several different colors and types of morning glory seeds hoping a variety of them will grow.

One of the healthiest ways to gamble is with a spade and a package of garden seeds.
- Dan Bennett

The directions on the seed packets recommend soaking the seeds in water overnight to get them to sprout sooner.

Think small. Planting tiny seeds in the small space given you can change the whole world or, at the very least, your view of it. - Linus Mundy

The next morning I drained the water off the seeds.

If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey toward the stars?
- G.K. Chesterton

They had plumped up, swollen with the water. A few like the one you see below, had already burst open and begun to sprout. I planted more than was recommended because not all of them will grow. It seems every year the squirrels and birds are sitting in the trees watching me plant. As soon as I am out of sight, they swoop and scurry over to see how many of the seeds they can dig up and dine on. I'm hoping they will leave enough behind that I will still have plenty of morning glories.

One for the rock, one for the crow,
One to die, and one to grow.
- English saying

Next I add water.....
He who plants a seed, Beneath the sod; And waits to see - Believes in God.
- Author Unknown

and make potting soil soup.
This very act of planting a seed in the earth
has in it to me something beautiful. I always do it
with a joy that is largely mixed with awe.

-Celia Thaxter

Soon, I hope these seeds will be seedlings and growing strong, flourishing the way this plant is. It is a volunteer plant that came up on its own from a seed that dropped from last year's plants.

The seed is hope; the flower is joy.
- Author Unknown

And in a few weeks, I am hoping this is the sight that will greet me in the morning when I open my front door.

Of all the wonderful things in the wonderful universe of God,

nothing seems to me more surprising that the planting of a seed
in the blank earth and the result thereof. Take that Poppy seed,
for instance: it lies in your palm, the merest atom of matter, hardly
visible, a speck, a pin's point in bulk, but within it is imprisoned a
spirit of beauty ineffable, which will break its bonds and emerge
from the dark ground and blossom in a splendor so dazzling
as to baffle all powers of description.
- Celia Thaxter