Garden Therapy

2/10/2022

I needed a quiet, restful day. Last week, my father-in-law, the only father I’ve had for forty years, passed away. May his sweet, gardener’s soul rest in peace. My husband and his siblings left for his funeral in Lebanon, a sad, rushed, necessary trip. The rest of us stayed home.

The weather was glorious, the sort of winter day that harkens of early spring. Encouraged, I perused a seed catalog with my morning coffee, considered our plan to enlarge the raised beds, already underway, and ordered a few packets. Of course. My favorite source: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

I went for a bike ride under a bright, blue sky. When I returned home, I changed into my overalls and got ready to work in the garden. Mich, my sister-in-heart, stopped by for a while. We chatted, and she made me very happy by accepting some homegrown beets. I planted a few varieties this year and they all came up – Candy Cane, Golden, and Detroit Dark.

I then set to work/play. I cleared some perimeter weeds, worked in the welcoming garden, and found a home for some summer snowflakes we had to move when we extended the raised beds along the fence. I think I’ve decided that I really don’t want the lawn guys to come anymore. They’ve been careless lately -- things have been broken -- and they haven’t been keeping up with the few tasks they have in winter. We don’t have much lawn to mow, and they tend to neglect both the shrubs and the edging.

Anyway, I watered a few things and filled the bird bath. At first, I simply enjoyed the sounds of the outdoors. I can't say I hear only nature at that time of day. I heard children playing outside and golfers talking and laughing as well as birds twittering in the trees and shrubs. But after a little while, I began listening to podcasts. A favorite when gardening or, really, at any time, is The Daily Gardener with Jennifer Ebeling. Another is Margaret Roach’s A Way to Garden. I had plenty of time to enjoy both.

I think my favorite part of this afternoon was transplanting the summer snowflakes, Leucojum Aestevum, "Gravetye Giant". It felt like a small victory. They are among my favorite flowers and were almost lost, crushed under the new beds because I almost forgot to move them. I retrieved them in the eleventh hour.

By the time I’d cleaned up my scattered messes and put my garden tools away, I felt restored.

Be it large or small or smaller still, may your garden be a sanctuary for you.