Beauty in the Garden 1 - removing the weeds

I have gardened eight straight days and 16 of the last 18. Much of that time was spent removing weeds. Mostly from the backyard and from the dreaded brick patio and path leading to the garage. I am not done, but I enjoy weeding. Being on my hands and knees removing what I don't desire. The truth is, I will never be done. Gardening is about perseverance. Any of the world's great gardens, would not be so great without perseverance.

In the spring of 2008, I was coming off my best year of gardening. 2007 was a year of persevering. What happened? This and that. A new hobby turning into a new business turning into a true passion for glass.

But I like to weed. To be close to the garden. To watch bees being fed. To sit on the porch and take a break. To say hello to my two closest neighbors an to many more who walk past my house.

There are times I have wondered why I removed all the grass. The answer is beauty. This week my commute to work has started by being greeted by goldfinches feasting upon coneflower seeds in my front yard.

 

choices

on the last day of school, do you clean up a cluttered classroom, or cover the garden with floating row covers to protect plants from critters... large and small?

The half eaten potato plant makes that one easy.

When a storm rips though your area the night before a vacation you wonder how those row covers are doing. Did that sweat go for nothing? Sunday morning as you clean the cooler to fill with water bottles you imagine coming back to a garden that has filled a heard of deer. Do you go to the school?

As you drive into the school it appears that the row covers are intact, do you swear and speed out of the school or take a closer look?

You tack the row covers that have partially blown off back down and reinforce the others.

I once read that what makes a garden is perseverance, and I do believe that. Give up and nature reclaims the space soon enough. But why persevere?

I see it the same as a spiritual journey. It is the sticking with it when faced with daily doubts that leads to fruit.

Than there are other choices...

that is where I will be for a few nights as Mosaic Woman and I celebrate our 16th, possibly choosing the wrong concert, but if I persevere this may just be an amazing experience.