I picked my last bouquet from my garden for the season today.
The end of my gardening season is bittersweet. Okay, more bitter than sweet. There’s not a whole lot that’s enjoyable to me about closing my garden.
But this year, I’m actually looking forward to its completion, and the peace that comes with finishing something.
I adore my garden.
It’s a place of respite. A place of care. A place of wonder.
I’ve layered it with pollinating plants, cut flowers, and vegetables, each contributing to the overall look, feel, and ecosystem.
I once spotted a waxy yellow, almost lightning-buggish insect. What caught my attention was that it was more yellow and less black than anything I recognized. I Googled it.
It was a soldier bug, a sign of a healthy ecosystem.
I felt elated.
I don’t care if my garden is perfect. In fact, I kind of enjoy its unruliness. And I don’t mind one bit the time it takes to care for it. I quite enjoy that, too.
What I do care about is all the life it supports.
There was a day this summer when there had to be twenty painted lady butterflies in my garden. I’ve watched hummingbirds chase one another. A monarch landed on my hand.
And don’t get me started on the tomato hornworms. My daughter Kate loves them.
So much satisfaction and delight come from this space.
And then the season ends.
No more vegetables to pick. No more flowers to arrange. Nothing in need of care at the moment.
What now?
Ordinarily, on a good year, I empty my clay pots, stack them, and store them for next year’s garden. The fiber pots get pitched, and the garden slowly becomes an arrangement of empty spaces.
After we close our garden center for fall, I’ll begin breaking my garden down.
But this year, there’s something I’m particularly delighted about.
My ceramic pots won’t simply be stacked and stored, waiting for next year’s seeds.
I’ve decided to plant bulbs in them. I can already look forward to the delight of tulips & narcissus breaking through the dirt, before I have even had a moment to plant a seed.
This Stopped Me
This Stirred Me
This Was my Favorite Image
Have a wonderful Week!!!