NW Democrat-Gazette

Who’s tending whom?

“It’s six of one and a half-dozen of the other,” my grandmother would have said, referring to the gardener and his or her garden. This gardening season we’ve witnessed the bipolar behavior of Mother Nature. Even if you don’t tend a garden, you know what I mean.

Tending a garden is more than just weeding and watering and crossing your fingers for success. It’s getting nose to nose with your plants and watching for signs that your “garden children” are happy and healthy and playing well with others. No bullies allowed. Each one having an equal chance to thrive and have its share of soil, sun and water to refresh. Some even say that a word of encouragement or admonishment never hurts. I myself am often overheard whispering sweet nothings to a rose or shaking my finger at encroaching ivy.

It often seems as though the gardener does all the work, but it’s not all give (by the gardener) and take (by the garden). Gardens and all their family of plants give so much back to the gardener. They offer a burst of color and movement or a place to breathe in the cleansed air after a shower. The sun comes back out after the shower and whispers, “Now aren’t you glad for another day in your garden?”

The garden also offers a treat for the senses. The fleeting scent of spring honeysuckle that teases your nose. The soft plush of lamb’s ear leaves. The sight of a moon flower unfurling its white purity to light the night. All the components of a garden are a gentle reminder to think about all you have been gifted through the miracles you witness daily through your garden journey. You watch growth, even death, and the chance of resurrection the next season. So really, I think, in the end the garden tends the gardener.

BEVERLY FLORIDA

Cammack Village

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2021-06-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.nwaonline.com/article/282218013750495

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