love in the garden

I just spent almost 8 hours pulling brambles, plucking grass, trimming shrubs, uncovering succulents, and most of all enjoying having my parents visit my new home for the first time and appreciating the humongous contribution of their pulling, plucking, trimming, planting, moving, uncovering, repairing and building. I wish we'd taken before and after photos - the effects are amazing - there's an entire rock wall that we didn't even know existed this morning!

Mom never met a composter she couldn't tame

Hardworking Dad working hard

It could be considered a parent thing, the giving of time and effort like that. Or it could be reduced to a protestant work ethic thing given that, you know, we're protestants with a work ethic. But I like to think of it as a love thing. It's a garden thing, but, really, it's a love thing. 

We are a gardening family - there was always a vegetable garden growing up, and flowers to remind us of life's beauty even in the cold north. Unfortunately, there were also those years on the farm when the veggie patch was bigger than usual, and in order to get it tended, mom would 'encourage' us girls to weed/thin/harvest a row when we were sniping at each other or silly enough to suggest we were bored or  generally disrespectful. Of course there were also times when we just needed to garden, but it was those punishment sessions that kept me from the vegetable garden for many years.

But then my BB's needed to learn. To see the magic of putting a seed in the dirt, tending it, and being rewarded with food. And in teaching them, I learned anew of that magic and experienced again dirty therapy. There are many cliches and quotes and inspirational messages about gardening, but none of it really encapsulates what really happens in the garden. It's as mundane and as profound as it gets. Dirty fingernails; clear mind.

Click to see STG's lovely flower photos

So it's a thrill for me to be back in a home with flower beds and a vegetable patch and herb garden and almost endless botanical possibilities. It's been fun for STG and I to spend time and effort on it. BB1 has a veggie patch here. Each of STG's kids have flower/veggie patches here. It truly is a family endeavour.

But today was really special - I don't often get to just be with my parents alone, and to not have any agenda or event or a crowd. They came knowing I hoped for garden help, but I never thought we'd spend the whole day out there. Perfect weather. Perfect company. Amazing results.

Once we couldn't stand to eradicate even one more weed, my dad and I pulled out two chair kits and built these beauties while mom cleaned the kitchen and made tea. There are books and websites and seminars on the five love languages, but I think there are many more. And one of them is 'garden.' 

Come on by, but bring your trowel