131/365 - Glory and grit

This beautiful iris is one of the perennials from my grandmother's garden that now have a home in my own.  They first traveled to my mom's garden and then to my old house, where I felt Grandma Jo's presence so clearly when I first began digging in the dirt.  They followed me to my new home several years ago, and I think of Grandma Jo every time these unique flowers bloom in my garden each spring.

This is the pile of thistles I cleared from the back garden near the fence today.  I have visions of growing a children's garden around the little playhouse that's on the left.  In the distance, the thistles left standing mock my progress.  On the other side of the playhouse next to the garage, you can't see there's a thousand more thistles laughing at my futile attempts to eradicate their presence from my children's future garden.

From this point forward, I may need to arm myself with a weed wacker, lifetime supply of Round-Up, and Grandma Jo's no-nonsense when it comes to growing Glory.