Wonderful, Anna! It is indeed that time! Someone wrote, “There’s nothing natural about gardening!”
Hysterically funny, but also rather true. We try to corral nature into our fantasy version of what it wants to do, which is not at all what we want it to do. Exactly.
Still, talk about ancient urges, this is definitely one. Create food and beauty! Sounds pretty practical to me! And also, you don’t need to leave home to do it! Another huge advantage. Well, there are those trips to the nursery. Repeated trips!
I used to be a fanatical gardener. Now, almost eighty, I find myself weighing the benefits and dangers of getting down and up, down and up. Pulling weeds. Wielding my secateurs. Hauling heavy bags of compost. I’m trying to make my joints last. It’s like that joke about making your money last. “If things go as planned, I’ll die after lunch tomorrow.”
Well, it’s a glorious obsession, and this is the moment to revel in the miracle of it all!
I’m so excited to a get a spring reset. For years I’ve had Oklahoma spring, then come home to WA in time for PNW spring, cherry blooming into magnolia and then into apple… back when I was really clever I’d fly to Iceland in June and do spring a third time, getting there in time for the lupine!! I want it all!
I’m feeling the urge to tidy up my mother’s yard and plant new things. The yard has become unkempt and wild with my parents’ aging. I want to add color to the deck and to the yard where she can see it. I also know that probably everything will die if no one cares for it when I’m not there.
Thank you, Anna, for this wise counsel. I'm not a gardener (too many years of feeding wild critters with not much left for me), but I can appreciate the metaphor.
Wonderful, Anna! It is indeed that time! Someone wrote, “There’s nothing natural about gardening!”
Hysterically funny, but also rather true. We try to corral nature into our fantasy version of what it wants to do, which is not at all what we want it to do. Exactly.
Still, talk about ancient urges, this is definitely one. Create food and beauty! Sounds pretty practical to me! And also, you don’t need to leave home to do it! Another huge advantage. Well, there are those trips to the nursery. Repeated trips!
I used to be a fanatical gardener. Now, almost eighty, I find myself weighing the benefits and dangers of getting down and up, down and up. Pulling weeds. Wielding my secateurs. Hauling heavy bags of compost. I’m trying to make my joints last. It’s like that joke about making your money last. “If things go as planned, I’ll die after lunch tomorrow.”
Well, it’s a glorious obsession, and this is the moment to revel in the miracle of it all!
Truly a glorious obsession!
I’m so excited to a get a spring reset. For years I’ve had Oklahoma spring, then come home to WA in time for PNW spring, cherry blooming into magnolia and then into apple… back when I was really clever I’d fly to Iceland in June and do spring a third time, getting there in time for the lupine!! I want it all!
I’m feeling the urge to tidy up my mother’s yard and plant new things. The yard has become unkempt and wild with my parents’ aging. I want to add color to the deck and to the yard where she can see it. I also know that probably everything will die if no one cares for it when I’m not there.
Happy Spring!
Thank you, Anna, for this wise counsel. I'm not a gardener (too many years of feeding wild critters with not much left for me), but I can appreciate the metaphor.