After The Storm

"The earth laughs in flowers."

Ralph Waldo Emerson''

We had quite the rain storm blow through here last night after a day that was the hottest of the summer so far. The temperatures were in the low 90's while the heat indexes were right up there as well. This morning the sky is once again blue and the colors of all the flowers and foliage are bright and bold as they sway in the morning breeze. It's as if they are laughing with the joy of a sweet sunny morning after a much needed deep drink overnight. Across the street I see a huge planting of Black-Eyed Susans in a neighbor's front garden with yellow's all bright and beautiful, and hydrangeas lifting their huge, round heads towards the sun to dry them off. All around me the grass is greener, the trees seem happier, and, as Emerson says, the earth laughs.

That is one of the things I think I love most about Mother Nature. No matter how dark and stormy  the world gets, nature goes on and can still find ways to make us smile. Even after the long, dark days of winter, sooner or later, we see tiny green shoots poking up out of the ground and the first green buds begin to sprout on the branches of trees and shrubs. After the storm comes the sun, always. An old Native American saying that Wayne Dyer loved to quote was this one: "Even in nature, no storm lasts forever." The storms that are pummeling the world we knew right now seem like they are going to last forever and there are some days when it really feels as if the storm is getting worse. Yet even in the face of all of it, no storm lasts forever. If we do a good job of preparing the soil and planting the seeds now, they will grow strong, healthy roots that will one day produce healthy, happy plants that will nourish our bodies and our souls. That works for people as well as it works for nature. It's what we do now that will determine what will grow later. I don't know about you, but I want to plant things that will not only make me smile, but will make me laugh out loud in joy. So what are you willing to plant?

And so it is. 

Hand to Hand, Heart to Heart

"Gardening is an active participation in the deepest mysteries of the Universe." 

Thomas Berry

My favorite poem of all time is "Renascence" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. It was written when she was just a teenager and yet its epic journey takes us from life, to death, and back to life again. The line that touched me the most comes at the end when she speaks of what she has learned:

"I know the path that tells Thy way

Through the cool eve of every day;

God, I can push the grass apart

and lay my fingers on They heart.!"

That line often came back to me in the days when I would be on my knees in my garden, digging a hole and putting a new plant in. Letting the dirt sift through my hands was like feeling Mother Nature's very energy feeding my soul. When I back-filled the hole and patted the plant down to help it establish well, I could feel exactly what the poet meant ... I could feel God's heartbeat in the earth. Sitting back on my heels and looking around me at the trees, the grass, the plants, and the sky, while birds sang to one another and squirrels scampered up and down branches, I knew I was in touch with the powers that be, with Mother Nature, God, The Universe, and all life, hand to hand and heart to heart.

So many years have passed since those days and I am just now finding my way back to that touch, that feeling. Even though my garden in inside rather than out, tiny rather than yard-size, and the dirt comes out of a bag rather than from the earth itself, when I let it run through my fingers I can once again feel the earth's energy. Bag or not, it started out in the ground feeding itself with the lifeblood of nature. As I place the plant in its new pot and pat it down, touching the stem and the roots connects me once again to the heartbeat of God. You can't feel it through the concrete jungle we call civilization. You can't taste it in the processed foods from the supermarket or hear it through ear buds. You have to go out into nature, part the grass, and feel the heartbeat for yourself. 

And so it is. 

There Is Always The Garden

"When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden."

Minnie Aumonier

I added a bit of color to my tiny garden this week with the purchase of some New Guinea Impatiens. After giving it a day to acclimate itself to its new surroundings, I potted it in my very favorite pot and within a day she gifted me with her first flower. 

Another new addition to the garden - my water feature complete with frog:

Since every garden needs a bit of whimsy, allow me to introduce you to Mrs. Pots-a-lot and Rosealie (pardon the thumb):

Of course, every garden needs insects and wildlife to help it to thrive, so I brought in a bumble bee and a lady bug:

And of course, every garden needs a little zen-like atmosphere, so a Buddha and a bamboo are essential:

I haven't had this much fun making a garden in many years and there is no end in sight as far as I'm concerned. I still have two window sills that are begging for plants now that my sweet cat, Charlotte, who was the climber and jumper, is in kitty heaven, and her sister, Laura, has old legs that don't like to climb that high any more. She prefers spending whatever time she isn't sleeping enjoying videos of aquariums:

So my indoor gardening adventure continues. I'm thinking maybe some begonias, and maybe some petunias, and, and ....

And so it is!

Rain Is A Good Thing

We finally got a good dose of rain this past weekend after over a week of warm, sunny, beautiful weather with just a passing sprinkle in the late afternoons here and there. We certainly needed it, and the crops and gardens in the area really needed it. So after days and days of beautiful weather with only two of rain, why were some people complaining? I know we've all gotten beyond crazy being inside so much and hate to miss an opportunity to be outside, but it's not just about us, it's about "the big picture."

Growing up in the city we looked at rain as just one more thing to stress us out as we ran around like crazed rats in a maze. Since becoming a country girl, I always think of rain as part of Mother Nature's plan to cleanse and nourish the world. Everything gets a good drink, the dirt and dust get washed away, and the air after a good rain smells fresh and clean. How good do you feel when you step out of the shower after a work-out or at the tub at the end of a long day? Renewed, refreshed, and healthy, I'd guess. So why not extend that good feeling to the natural world? 

Let's face it - the folks that complained about the rain are the same ones that complain about the snow, the heat, and everything else. However, I'll bet when they sink their teeth into that yummy ear of corn dripping with butter, or bite into a fresh tomato, they won't be thinking that without the rain they complained about, those delights wouldn't be sitting on their plates. Rain is a good thing. Like Luke Bryan says in the song by the same name:

"Start washin' all our worries down the drain,

Rain is a good thing!"

And so it is.

The Most Important Thing

I've added a few decorative touches to my tiny garden. I wouldn't be known as Flower Bear to my friends and fans if I didn't invite my little furry friends into the garden, now would I? And, of course, a garden fairy is mandatory as far as I'm concerned. Still holding out hope for the lavender although I may be ready to accept defeat here and bring in something else. Still, being able to pick my own basil and mint to use this past week made me all kinds of happy. After all, isn't that what it's all about?

Last week as I was watching an episode of Gardener's World with Monty Don on BritBox, I heard him say something that he's said before only this time it really sunk in:

"The most important thing in the garden is the gardener. If your garden makes you happy, then it's exactly how it should be."

In thinking about that for a while I realized that the same would hold true for anything we do in life: if what we do makes us happy, then it's exactly how it should be. If you love to paint, then paint. Don't judge your work by the standards or styles of others. Does it make you happy? Then it's a masterpiece. Love to write? Do you lose track of time when you're writing because you love what you're doing? If it makes you happy, it doesn't have to be a best seller or an award winning piece. The same holds true for the work that you do, the cake that you bake, the fact that you actually sit down and meditate for 10 minutes even though you're not sure you're "doing it right." Are you happy when you do it? Then it - and you - are the most important things in the room. 

I gave up trying to be a House and Garden award winning gardener, or even a trendy small space garden expert. I just water my plants, talk to them, give them some tiny teddy bear friends to watch over them, and pull up a chair in the afternoon with my cup of tea in my hand to bask in the glow and happiness it all brings me. I am surrounded by green (my favorite color), and wonderful smells, and happy sights, and, the gardener in me is, truly happy. And that, my friends, is the way it's supposed to be.

And so it is. 

The Color of Happiness

I threw open my curtains this morning and was greeted with this beautiful sight. All the rain we had a few weeks ago, followed by cool nights and warm, sun-filled days had produced a lush pallet of greens for as far as the eye can see. The hues ranged from crisp green lawns, to the grey-blue spikes of a pine tree, to the variegated leaves on the various trees and shrubs in front of the houses up and down the block. I knew that I had to get out there and take it all in up-close and personal!

If someone were to ask me what color I associated with the word happy I would have to say green. Green reminds me of spring, and summer, and gardening, and all the things in nature that I love. It reminds me of picking fresh herbs from the pots on my windowsill when I'm cooking and how good that smells. It reminds me of walking barefoot in the grass. It reminds me of happy times digging in my garden and watching the bunny family out for a stroll and searching for breakfast. It just makes me smile.

Walking down the block there were people out cutting their lawns or doing other yard work. One young couple were actually chopping wood in the side yard for their fire pit. Another older couple were admiring the new fronts steps that were going in and wondering if they were going to like the railings they picked out. Stopping to chat with them for a minute (safe distance, of course), we came to the conclusion that change wasn't always a bad thing. Look at what it has done to the neighborhood, the lady said. Most of the neighbors were always friendly, but lately we're all outside sprucing up our homes and yards and calling to each other as if we were long lost friends that hadn't seen each other in ages. Maybe we are. All I can say is that all that green is making us all a lot happier these days.

As for my own little garden:

My herbs are doing very nicely and my Cabbage Patch garden fairy (her name is Rose) assures me that all is ready for picking! How happy can a girl get?

And so it is. 

Mother Knows Best

The other day I was day dreaming out of the window over my desk. It was a rainy and very damp day and I was sipping a hot cup of my favorite turmeric and ginger tea. The dampness was aggravating my arthritis and sciatica and this herbal blend always helped to ease the inflammation in my joints. As I felt the warmth start to work it's magic, I was struck by this thought: Not only is Mother Nature our #1 food provider, she is also the very first doctor - Mother Nature, MD!"

Everyone I know has an old, homemade remedy for what ails us, be it a cold, sore joints, a sore throat, or a banged-up knee. It's the one that's been passed down from grandmother, to mother, to child back to the beginning of time. Growing up the one I remember most is a concoction of honey, lemon, and a teaspoon of whisky for a cough. I've often wondered how these remedies originated. My research told me that every country around the world had indigenous people who passed their natural healing knowledge to those that came after. In our own country, the Europeans who migrated here got much of this knowledge that made use of local, native plants from the First Nations people they met. Years ago when I asked a Native American woman I met at a pow wow about where their people learned how to use herbs for healing, she said, "we watched the animals." For some reason, most animals in the wild knew which plants were beneficial and which weren't. I guess survival of the fittest included learning what not to eat which we humans could certainly do a better job of!

These days I've been giving more of my attention to herbal and natural choices when it comes to healing. Especially after my hip surgery and the long and sometimes painful recovery process, I've come to realize that I let myself fall into that "pop a pill" mindset whenever I'm in pain or discomfort. So I've decided to try and wean myself off the man-made stuff and increase the naturally made alternatives. I truly believe that our overuse of antibiotics for every little thing has made this pandemic and other illnesses possible to thrive. Did indigenous people have cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and the flu? Not until Europeans brought it to them. So if our tolerance for pharmaceuticals is so high that they no longer work, might it not be time to give natural remedies a chance? I'm willing to bet that we'd be surprised at the positive outcomes we'd get.

So I'll keep drinking my herbal teas, and eating organic, and get more exercise, and if I pop anything in my mouth it will be some nice, dark blueberries which I'm told have all kinds of healing properties. What's the worst that could happen? I might just get healthy!

And so it is.