Oh happy days – the garden is waking up! With the lengthening days and emergence of the early bulbs, my spirits are high. This is my most favorite time of year. Expectations are limitless and the anticipation is almost too exciting to bear. At this moment, all dreams and plans are entirely possible. There is every reason to believe that this year, the perfect garden is going to be realized. And I am going to be the perfect gardener. Yes indeed. ing palette of colors.
This fresh start is a gift to savor. Slowly and deliberately. No mindless dive into a list of chores and frenzied activity. Rather, it’s a time to immerse oneself in the garden with all our senses. Feel the sunlight and fresh air caress the skin. Soak in the atmosphere – we’ve waited all winter long for this.
Smell the petrichor as the damp, newly thawed earth stirs itself into activity and the delicate perfume of early bulbs and emerging grass rise gently with the sun. Breathe deep.
Spend some time looking around at the landscape. What at first seems mostly brown and bare starts morphs into a canvas of a myriad colors. Young, bright green shoots, periwinkle blue flowers of Vinca minor, smokey blue grape hyacinths, sulfur yellow forsythia, royal purple crocus, pristine white snowdrops, dusty rose hellebores – nature teases out her ever-expand palette of colors.
Sitting quietly, one becomes aware of the myriad sounds in play. All sorts of birds are busy finding mates, building nests, foraging for food and guarding their territories. Not to be outdone, the bees shake off their winter stupor and step up their pace. They buzz and hum in chorus. Butterflies flit and descend so gracefully that it takes my breath away. They’re quiet but attention grabbing.
Nature serves up delicious treats from the get go. Tender young leaves of dandelion, a few of the early pansies can transform a green salad from simple to sublime.
This is a very special time of the year in the garden. Yes, there is plenty to do but never at the expense of communing with nature. This is what an abundant life looks like.
Note: My painting ‘Labor Pains” is in an International art show online. The show titled Femina 2022 honors women – this is Womens History month. Please do take a look at the show. Like and leave comments. Online shows need the feedback to keep doing such impactful shows. My sincere thanks in advance.
Some glimpses of the garden as of last weekend:
Looks blah and brown
Wait! There’s green too!
And slowly more growth and colors are discerned
(c) 2022 Shobha Vanchiswar
[do_widget “Blog Subscriptions (Jetpack)”]
