Gardening is an act of faith. Somehow, each year when we put small seeds in little pots it seems like they will never grow – much less produce a harvest. We plant in faith. We nurture with hope and we try different things. This year, I started seeds indoors in March. It was a difficult time and I couldn’t even envision where I was going to put all the plants and how it would all work out.
Now that it’s August, my imperfect gardening efforts worked in spite of me! Like all of us, plants have this drive to live and to produce. They WANT to make it, even when we plant them too close together, forget to water regularly, don’t weed when we should and leave little creatures on them that want to eat them.
My raised gardens have been such a joy in the middle of a difficult year! It has not so much been about planning and learning how to garden as just going out there each day and doing whatever seems like a good idea at the time. It was about being present. Looking carefully. Finding the hidden gems under leaves and tangles of growth. Marveling at how quickly the vines ran out of their boxes and across my yard. Tasting new foods.
My favorite part of having raised garden beds has been sharing them with my friends. For us, 2020 is the year of the great outdoors. We are slowly reconnecting with friends and neighbors in person, and most of our conversations have started in the garden. It’s a delight to show them what we’re growing, let them search for treasures among the leaves, and send them home with a bag of goodies. I’ve learned that a garden is a wonderful place to reignite relationships!
Comments