Almost every day this week we made significant progress somewhere in the garden.
Yesterday, it was finishing the flowerbed that defines the parking space in front of the house. It holds a variegated St. John’s Wort, a Japanese Maple (which appears to be dwarf), and a Witchhazel, along with a few flowers (glads and a geranium) in the ground and more in pots.
Now, the pots need some attention. And the driveway needs a lot of hot water poured over weeds.
I have brought the wicker rocking chair home from the storage locker, with the intent of spray-painting it with some pretty color, along the lines of this project at the Krylon webpage.
It rained last night — rather a lot, between the lightning and thunder — so I don’t have to water anything today (yay). But I will spend some time in the garden, trying to pick some of the dainty native blackberries that we uncovered the other day. And maybe the currants that I didn’t get to pick earlier in the week.
Yesterday, I actually spent most of my time indoors, canning. I bought two flats of strawberries and one of raspberries from our local growers, Spooner’s. I canned four batches of strawberry jam and one of raspberry jelly. I froze half a flat of whole raspberries and half a flat of whole strawberries. I made strawberry puree and froze that… and Tom came home and made a strawberry pie out of the quart I had set aside for him. Between measuring, stirring, and washing up, it was a lot of standing! Glad I bought a couple lovely gel mats for the kitchen.
And Grant helped me get the living room in better order. Not quite as nice as the dining room, but good enough that we can have people come visit and not have to spend ten minutes making space for sitting!
All week long, it has been a series of small steps, little progresses at a time. I am not a patient person, as those who know me in real life can attest! But I am becoming more patient with myself and with others. I am learning to look, not at how far I have yet to go, but at how far I have come.
So today, small things. A little bit here, and a little bit there. And tomorrow, more of the same.
I know that, when I need to, I can push to do a lot in a short time; and I know that I can do more over a longer period of time if I pace myself.
The garden, like the rest of life, needs constant upkeep and occasional large surges of energy. And Life, like the garden, blooms in its own time, and sometimes has moments of excruciating beauty in the middle of what seems to be an impossible tangle.
Next week… who knows?
Happy Gardening!