Wednesday, July 1, 2009

SECRETS OF THE GARDEN



Recent intermittent but relentless downpours are wreaking havoc with the garden maintenance scheduling. For clients, and in our yard.

I enjoy working in a mist of refreshing rain, preferring it over oppressive heat and humidity . But slogging through sheets of it, soaked through gloves and leaves and drooping stems and hair can wilt any song in the rain.

I ventured outside after dinner to take a few pictures between dark cloud coverings , and the night, colours and blooms blinking at me through drips and shivers.

Once again the uploaded evidence that I need to wear my glasses more often surprised me on the computer screen.

Little critters living out their destiny right under my nose and lens, as though the petals and leaves were just the setting and they the characters in mysterious stories.
A slimy slug like go getter. Was he looking back at the trail of evidence behind him. Or second guessing the height of extreme chomping. Was he leery of someone lighting a fuse and sending him rocket launched on a veronica purple flight.

A winged sojourner on still curled echinacea, trying on the pink for awhile , translucent flutter of subtle trespass.

How much of this ecosystem carries on out of our sight and mind until we see damaged evidence. Sanctimoniously in denial when confronted with a diseased, foraged, mildew covered, fungus laden and aphid haven plant. Sometimes there doesn't seem to be any evidence of the enemy, a root bound instability, a pool of water cutting off everything else.

The coddled nine bark, the babied coral bell, the watched over dogwood, much loved iris, meeting a doom and death in spite of our efforts or without a warning it seems.

Growing a gardening for pleasure , landscaping to beautify your property, planting trees for shade and a good feeling, seeding and sodding and sowing some hope, is a gamble .
It can be an investment of time and money and pride and frustration with no guarantee of dividend .
There is much to Mother Nature's ways that we can't control , not with pesticides, fungicides, guards, fertilizers, Not with the best soil, hours of grooming, evenings of research.
Something can be stirring and creeping and invading and we can be powerless to halt the inevitable.

We fret and grumble and rush to prevent epidemic , huff and puff and mourn and move on.
Plant again. Start over. Dig in and get growing.
Something inside of us that we can't always see or name or assure will be there soon enough.

But it is the beauty of our nature.

Tossing seeds of faith into the breeze , wishing on weeds and fireflies and stars.
And waiting again for the miracle.




4 comments:

  1. Deb,
    It's nice to see one another on our "green" blogs too! Love your photos. By the way, I am an "accidental gardener" even though I try and try. At least my farm co-op guy knows what's he's doing and we get tons of organic, fresh produce every week. ;-)

    May God bless you this weekend, especially when walking in His garden!

    Blessings,
    Simple Raw Food Mamma
    aka Simple Country Girl

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  2. Hello Deb!

    First of all, thank you for commenting on my blog! I'm glad you liked my 'avatar'. My husband took that photo and I cropped it to it's current image. I appreciate your kind words.

    I love this post! At the present, I do not have a garden of my own, but I help my mother in hers as often as I can. I love getting dirty and being out in the rain. Reading this post put me outside, in the mist, with dirt under my nails and the smell of an approachind thunderstorm on the breeze. Thank you for the beautiful imagery!
    Happy weekend!
    ~Jennifer

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  3. Oh, Deb. I don't know you, but I do. And I wish I could weed and mulch with you for a few days and learn your trade well. I'm mostly on my own caring for the grounds of a beautiful retreat place, not knowing an iota of what I'm doing. But doing it prayerfully, lovingly. Hope the plants know my intentions and flourish in spite of ignorance....

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  4. Lovely and true. It takes hope to garden.

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