Submergent surprise

By some accounts, 75% of Americans garden to some extent.  With the recent economic recession, there has been greater emphasis on gardening for financial reasons.  Community gardens are developing rapidly, encouraging more people to learn about the almost-lost art of raising their own food, but also for reasons of socialization and outreach.  Here in League City, perhaps the most notable example is the community garden at St. Christopher Episcopal Church, which supplies food to our most prominent social assistance coalition, Interfaith Caring Ministries (ICM). 

But some of the gardening we do is just for the pure personal amazement of it.

First lily to open in my watergarden,
which we set up just a few days ago.

Sorry for the unsightly copyright stamp.  I used to think that bloggers who disfigured their photos with stamps were rather paranoid, but now I see from this blog's access statistics that surfers, particularly from foreign countries, do seem to be trolling for free stock photos. 

Our area rolls out the red carpet for gardeners, with almost eleven frost-free months supporting multiple growing cycles per year.  Even if gardening is not your primary interest, it becomes a life-hands-you-lemons scenario:  our summers are terribly hot, and our land is not scenic.  Might as well capitalize on the outdoor potential that IS furnished by this environment...

...because when you step out your door and are greeted by an unprecedented sight like this, you tend not to notice the flatness and humidity quite as much!!