To Dream The Impossible Dream

Every February I dream a big dream. As I peruse garden books, magazines, seed and plant catalogs, I start envisioning new designs and projects for my garden. Never mind that many of them are impossibly large for my modestly sized Eden or prohibitively expensive or totally inappropriate for this climate. All is permissible in dreams. So let me be.

In my dream, the weather is invariably perfect. Days of sunshine and nights of steady drizzle. Temperatures are just this side of cool in spring and appropriately warm in summer. Humidity levels are most comfortable every day – where the sweat on the brow dries fast but not too fast.

There are no pests in my dream. None whatsoever. Birds, bees and butterflies thrive. Pollination is rampant and nests are happily built and occupied.

Healthy, happy plants abound. Following my exact designs, they grow to the right heights and shapes, in their assigned spaces. Chosen for color, texture, form and function, they perform precisely as envisioned.

And the flowers! They are blooming on cue and in right succession. The garden is awash in painterly hues all through the seasons. The combinations selected and arranged with care are mightily stunning.
Brilliant testimonials to the creative gardener.

This paradise is not without work. After all, getting my hands dirty and tending to chores will be highly rewarding in such a place. The weeds which are not too abundant come up with just a quick tug. The soil is rich and friable. Deadheading, staking, pruning and mowing keep me happily busy. Yet, I’m left with ample time to sit and enjoy my horticultural masterpiece.

What a dream! Please, let me indulge. It’ll get me through the winter.
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(c) 2013 Shobha Vanchiswar

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