This spring has been one of the coldest and rainiest in recent memory. My gardening time is limited and has certainly been thwarted by the weather for myself and other gardeners. Each weekend brings cold temperatures and rain. As we are on the brink of June, I wonder if this cooling trend will continue or if we will leap into the fires of a sweltering summer? My gardening time has been squashed into fifteen to twenty minutes before leaving for work and sometimes an hour after work. I sigh and am overwhelmed by the sheer ocean of weeds that need pulling and areas that need mulching.
Even though my complaints about the weather and lack of time, the few minutes I have stolen from the day’s activities for gardening efforts are moments of unbridled joy. Is it Einstein who states that time is a fabric that slows down or speeds up depending on where we are nestled in its folds? The crystalline few moments spent gardening are slowed to moments filled with a peacefulness seldom felt anywhere else. The osprey chatters high above, and the eagle soars nearby. Songbirds chatter delightedly and swoop from limb to limb adding percussion to their song with their feathers. Deep breaths are taken. Small moments of wonder emerge, like finding a small garden snail as I rake leaves from a flower bed or the clean, sharp scent when I weed an overabundance of mint.
On this holiday weekend, I’m hoping to sequester a few more minutes than usual to spend time in the garden. I will battle the wild strawberry, chickweed, and mum weed that overruns the yard. I hope to move forward to mulching, tucking in my beloved plants, and once again, experience great joy.
