Saturday, February 2, 2008

My Garden: Pulling up weeds and planting seeds and loving vibrant blooms

I've been thinking about my garden (ahem!) ...

OK so it's not really a garden, it's a site of ongoing horticultural battle. But at least Winter has put paid to full on war for the moment.

I can't really 'garden' this year. Having hurt my back digging vegetable patches last Spring, Doctor's orders are NO DIGGING! Well, actually she said: 'You can't garden anymore, Dianne.' Surely she only means digging? And there's a cunning way round that, called No-Dig Gardening. No kidding! Will learn about it, try it out, and write a post about it for anyone else with back problems.

This is my favourite time of year in the garden (for the moment), one of the things I most love to do is rake up the leaves that have collected in the flower bed along the fence. It's like unwrapping a present, finding little shoots of green below.

And it has inspired me to write this, having read the comment about the universal flower bed, quoted in my 'Fresh Starts' post: Pagans find this time of year one of quiet introspection and an opportunity to look at our intentions and possibly also problems we might have, like weeds in the universal flower bed ...


The weeds in my garden

The hardest work, and the least pleasure, are perhaps to be found in the chore that is weeding.

Yes, there's always the satisfaction of pulling weeds out and seeing the space you've cleared. But for less work, no stings or prickles, and more sheer bliss, I'd rather spend an hour in the herb patch.

Some weeds though, are positively beautiful or helpful. So I just get rid of any that might harm the garden and I leave the rest alone ...

Weeds I'm going to pull out

Rampant, destructive, invasive weeds (like Japanese knotweed) ...

Self-doubt
Procrastination (see self-doubt)
Forgetting I'm a goddess ...

Weeds I'm going to nurture

Weeds with a beneficial influence (like nettles) ...

My garden. My real, outside-the-door, messy and thoroughly neglected garden.

It's good for wildlife though.

And it's good for me, as long as I remember that digging veggie patches is not good for my back!

The growing seeds in my garden

I have one type of seedling at the moment: Writing. But I have a few of them growing.

I love them all, but the first to grow, to catch my attention, to engross me (this blog), will always be my baby.

Visitors say hello and make encouraging comments. This is always a good thing for seedlings. (It makes them grow).

And it's a very good thing for cultivators too. (It makes them feel all warm and fuzzy).

The full-on, gorgeous, vibrant, all-year-round scrumptiousness in my garden

My girls.

All they need is sunshine and love, and they fill my days with laughter, warmth, and inspiration.

OK and the occasional frustration (they suffer from parasites now and then; they have a tendency to exhibit diva-like behaviour; sometimes they clash.)

Evergreens and trees

They give support and structure to everything in my garden.

They fill me with a sense of belonging.

They inspire me to write.

My friends.
My family.
The wonderful blogging community.


"Favourite Flowers"


2 comments:

HelenMWalters said...

What a lovely post! And if you can find out anything about 'non-gardening' gardening, I'd love to know!

Moondreamer said...

Thank you Helen, I had fun writing this!

I'll definitely let you know, just have to find an article I read recently, probably now hiding in one of the towering piles ...

:o)