Tuesday, May 19, 2009

A Stroll in the Garden

The cold and bleak landscape of winter seems so far behind us now. Grey skies have given way to a pale blue speckled with white cotton clouds. The trees, which were dark skeletal figures only a few months ago, have filled out with leaves, and are tall and green. Everything is some shade of green. In the fields, the grass is more than knee high, speckled with tall yellow dandelions. When the wind blows across it, the grass rolls in waves across the field; and in the setting sunlight, the color is a brilliant chartreuse.

Walking in the yard this evening, I could not ignore the gentle scent of honeysuckle that fluttered by on the breeze like a butterfly, and the warm sun, leaning low toward the west, taking a last long look through the boughs of the trees; and the leaves, rustling above me, were like a complex symphony that played so purely in harmony, it seemed effortless.

I was watching the dogs play in the grass, chasing each other and the now-and-then scent of some unseen little creature. They always follow me when I walk, mildly distracted by their surroundings, but acutely aware of my movements. They followed me as I moved to the front yard to check on the container garden on the deck.

Many of the young plants in my spring container garden have been repotted or transplanted to the kitchen garden. I rearranged everything that was left a couple of weeks ago, moving all the herbs to a table near the small deck. This is my first herb garden, as I've only grown one or two herbs at a time in the past. This year I am growing a new rosemary, lemon thyme, oregano, sweet basil, dill, sage, coriander, curly parsley, Italian parsley, and lavender. I do not have a place in the kitchen garden for an herb garden this year, so this potted garden will have to do. Perhaps next year I will have a dedicated space to plant these and other herbs.

I moved all the brassicas to another table near the deck. They were getting large and leafy, but were not producing any broccoli or cauliflower. I contributed the problem to a quick warming spell we had that I believed stopped them from fruiting. What I did was break the first rule of gardening, which is "be patient". I assumed the plants were not going to produce anything, but their growth had only been slowed. This week, at least a half-dozen of the broccoli are showing small heads. Five tomato plants are doing well, as are three banana pepper plants; and there are many heads of lettuce to harvest before they bolt to seed.

This year I have also been growing flowers. I've never done that before. I haven't had the gift for it. But I thought I'd try. I've got zinnias, dahlias, impatience, marigolds, and others. So far they are doing well. I started all of them from transplants. I wasn't ready to start with seed.

I meandered around to the back yard. The dogs had begun barking at a neighbor who was riding up and down on his mower, but after a while, they grew bored and moved toward the garden to be with me. I stood for a while, admiring the garden, now full of young plants. It has taken so much and so long to get this far. The tomatoes are showing green fruit, the melon plants are spreading, the squash are flowering, and tiny pepper plants have huge fruit on them. I closed my eyes for a moment and offered God a simple prayer of thanks. He is the one who has provided this blessing.

Ready to get back to the house now, I walked across the grass, listening to the chickens clucking and cackling in their new kite nearby. I stopped at the patio to check the three upside down tomato plants I'm growing as an experiment. They are all growing well, large and lush. I counted 28 green tomatoes of various sizes on just one plant, eight on another, and six on the third. I'm very pleased with those numbers. As I examined the plants, I gently touched several of the small green orbs, admiring their size and development.

As I reached the back door I raised my hand to brush a bit of hair from my face and noticed the strong smell of the tomatoes on my fingers. More wonderful than the scent of the honeysuckle, I breathed this strong earthy scent deeply into my lungs and smiled broadly. I will enjoy this smell time and time again as this season progresses, but this first experience, this first rich sensual experience will remain the best. I was still smiling as I entered the house and closed the door behind me.

1 comment:

Radient Ruby said...

Hi again Michelle, I discovered you again At Garden's End. As I read your posting, I thought this sounds very familiar. Then when I saw you name at the end, I realized that we had communicated often on Kitchen Gardens. I hope your and John's health has improved a lot. It looks like you had a very good garden going in 2009. It will be my birthday in less than one hour, so I don't have time for a lengthy updade now. However, my husband, Johnnie, and I are feeling better healthwise, and, yes, we have a big garden started, and half of another one. I've had lovely flowers progressively blooming since February. The photo I posted is one taken when I was a career girl before our marriage. We have now been married 52 years. My husband is a very good photographer and I would like to learn. We have so many hobbies besides gardening and I have so many more dream careers to explore that 10 lifetimes would not fit them all in--"else, what is heaven for?" GOD is so good. I have books I hope to write, and places on earth I wish to explore, before old age catches up with us--not that we arn't already getting close. Blessings to you and John and I look forward to a note when you have time, now that I've discovered you again.
Ruby Brown, Manchester, TN