"The garden is a love song, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature."
– Jeff Cox
2/9/17:
Ah, how the weekends go by so quickly, while the workdays seem so long. If I were a plant that could thrive in fluorescent light, I'd be tall and strong from all these hours of cubicle-life. Brief moments of daylight are sometimes left when I arrive home to my garden; I seize the opportunity to capture the lives of my plants on camera. I bask in these times, and the pinkish-dawn mornings as I slowly amble outside, when only birds seem fully awake.
Clicking on the small images below will bring up the full version.
Six new oyster mushrooms.
Morning glory seedlings.
Winter rose.
The surprise of once bare ground now covered in tiny sprouts, of seeing a bud on a branch one day and a fully open bloom the next, is much of the joy of gardening for me. To watch nature create new things, and to participate in it myself, is so fulfilling. I ruminate on this as I follow directions for growing mushrooms indoors, remembering last year's success... yet am still amazed to find tiny mushrooms on Tuesday and see them become three times larger by Thursday!
The potential of a simple seed is a source of wonder. I study the hard, dark brown husks of morning glory seeds as I soak them in warm water. The husks open slightly, revealing a bit of palest yellow. I nestle the seeds in rich soil, filling pots along my kitchen windowsill, waiting for a hint of green to push through. Caught up in the chores and projects of my days, I forget about these small plantings at times, until I glance up from washing dishes one evening and see morning glory leaves on 4-inch stalks.
Roses in winter, fresh herbs year-round: the possibilities of things to find and enjoy in every venture out into the yard can keep my adventurous self delighted and occupied, even when it's dark and chilly so often these days. And the trimming, cleaning and weeding that a garden requires will never be too arduous, because it is merely one stage in the cycle of bringing glorious things to life in my little outdoor world.
