For the Love of a Garden

"A Garden is a Lovesome Thing" February 26th, 2000

We are in the middle of a very sad time in our family and I am so grateful that I have the garden to give me solace. My beloved sister is in the last weeks of her life. I have just returned to the gardens of "Kibbenjelok" after hearing the sad news last night. We welcomed a good down pour of rain through the night and this morning. The roses are in their second flush of flowers, the leaves are just beginning to acknowledge that Autumn is on its way and there is a crispness in the air that we have not felt since the last Century. Of course the weeds are flourishing as they do all year round in our mild climate and now, at the end of Summer, the seed heads are reminding me that it is more than time to get "stuck" into them with angry vigour before they spread throughout all the gardens. The perennials are begging me to dead head them so they may have another flowering time. So, today, I tackled these jobs with energy and that has been very good therapy. I finished the day by walking around and finding peace in the beauty of the Autumn roses.

I pity folk that do not feel the joy of gardening. I have a lot of joy in my life, no greater than when I am playing with my grandchildren. And yet, there is the wonderful contentment that "my" plants also give to me. At times like this, times that we all must face during our journey through life, it is so wonderful to immerse yourself into a world of your own, a place where you may feel sorrow, a haven where you may relax and be your real self.

When the children were young and they had angered me immensely, I would go out to the garden and vent my anger on the plants. I would tell them why I was so angry and upset and yank out the weeds. The flowers never answered me back. After half an hour, I would return to the culprits and was able to tell them quietly and calmly why I was so hurt by their behaviour and once more, the garden would have helped me and the matter was ironed out in a reasonable manner

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