It is the moment I yearn for all year long. The month of May in all her glory. Everywhere one looks there are flowers in bloom and more getting ready to join the show. The varied shades of green serve as a complex backdrop to all the other colors filling the garden. I cannot get enough of these days. Yet, all too often, as the year moves along, I find myself feeling I did not get my fill of the flowers and the garden in general.
This year, I have taken deliberate measures to give myself the time to revel in the beauty around. First off, I limited all commitments to only the essential. Then I pared down my interaction with those beloved, time-sucking electronic tools. “ Wander Where The Wi-Fi Is Weak” has become my new mantra. ( I got that from the Swedish Institute)
Those two actions alone freed me up to the point where I spent time admiring, observing and painting the flowers at leisure like I’ve never permitted myself before. It is possibly the best self-care for this or any soul in much need of temporarily and periodically escaping the horrors in the world and gaining perspective, peace and a better path to maintain balance in life.
The restorative power of time spent in nature cannot be over-emphasized or underestimated. It is free, powerful, highly palatable, immediately effective and, one cannot overdose on it. So, step into the garden and let it work its magic on you. Again and again and again.
Note: Here are some images from what’s blooming in my garden. Enjoy.
(c) 2018 Shobha Vanchiswar
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Hi Shobha. I’m Dee Dunn’s sister-in-law, Posie. Dee linked me up to your Blog and I love it. I have flowers and more flowers and more flowers growing in spaces all around my house and I feel compelled to share a magic moment I had last evening on my farm in Northern Virginia. It was the end of the day, a bit of mist had rolled in and created that special light that makes colors seem so intense. In front of me, the rich dark reddish-green penstemons were about to burst into bloom. Across the emerald green lawn a half a dozen clumps of yellow lilies in full bloom were positively glowing in the special light. Snuggled at their feet, also in full bloom, were mounds of blueish-white perennial geraniums. Beyond the lilies, on the other side of the fence, the 4 horses that live here were quietly grazing, while the end of day birds sang their end of day songs. For me, to have experienced those few minutes of enchantment is what makes it worth all the time and dirty fingernails I put into gardening (I don’t call it work). I feel so incredibly lucky.
Hi Posie,
Your garden sounds lovely! I can relate to feeling how well worth it is to tend a garden.
So pleased to have connected with you. If you’ve signed up, you’ll ‘hear’ from me every week. Looking forward to a happy exchange of garden thoughts!
– Shobha