Springing to Life: Season of the Gardener

After a cold, wet winter planted in front of my laptop growing my writing business, I can’t wait to get my hands on some dirt. No, not the TMZ kind. Rich, brown, crumbly, earth.

Truth is, almost every worthwhile thing I’ve ever learned about life, I learned from gardening. And this time of year, when plants start showing their unbridled passion for life, those lessons spring to mind.

Magic exists. But it’s not what you expect

Move over, Jack and the Beanstalk. Anyone who has ever planted a tiny seed and watched it grow into a 20-foot long squash vine climbing up the fence and into a neighbor’s tree, has to believe in magic. And all it took was sun, soil and water. Anything more is unnecessary, anything less won’t do. Finding that kind of balance in life is a constant dynamic but when you do, it’s magic. And then you can harvest butternut squash from a pine tree.

Never give up on life. It has its own rhythm

Even when it looks like nothing’s happening, it is. I gave up on some baby’s breath seeds planted to fill a difficult spot. It was too wet, too shady, too something. For two years nothing came up. Pretty sure the seeds had rotted away, I dug up the soil and planted some sweet peas. That summer the corner was filled with a breathtaking bouquet of multi-colored sweet peas twining through an explosion of delicate pink baby’s breath. I still don’t know what happened that finally got the seeds to sprout.

When in doubt, dig deep. And spread wide

It’s all about roots. Roots are what nourish and support a plant. In some plants they go deep, in others they spread wide. Whatever supports and nourishes you in life – family, friends, faith – give it room to develop. It will keep you grounded and help you grow.

Stormy weather stimulates growth. But have an umbrella

Even when it’s perfect, the weather is already changing. But variable weather is exactly what a garden needs. Constant sun, while it might be appreciated by the gardener, exhausts most plants. There’s nothing that sparkles like a garden freshly washed by a good downpour. Everything seems brighter, more alive. What you might see as bad weather when it’s happening in your life can also make you strong. And it won’t last forever.

Smell the roses. Then pick a big bunch and give them away

The last summer my mother was alive was also a spectacular garden summer. I had started the garden when I bought the house but it was poor soil full of rocks. After four years of digging, hauling rocks, composting, planting, weeding, pulling out the failures and nursing the successes, it suddenly all came together like a double page spread in a gardening magazine.

For years, Mom and I didn’t get along but that year she moved into a retirement residence and, from early spring into fall, I brought her an armful of flowers every week. Bunches of pale pink tulips and bleeding heart. Masses of peonies and foxgloves. Huge cosmos that came up everywhere. I picked them early in the morning so they’d last all week. She invited all her neighbors to come see them. We talked about the garden and connected in a way we never had. Sharing the garden changed our relationship. It was worth every minute of hard work just for that. The garden and my mom are both gone but the memories are still vivid because they’re full of shared color and life.

Now where’s that trowel and those seeds i saved from last year?