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Monday, November 21, 2022

The Garden Taught Me How to Grow

 


I began by tending weeds, till a neighbour
taught me how to loosen the soil by weeding.
Then I learned to plant, seed by seed
and row by row: fruits and veggies,
and flowers for our delight.

Up and down the rows I crawled, pulling sprouts,
patting soil, my fat rabbit nibbling his way along
and napping near me in the rows.

Early mornings, I turned on the sprinkler:
swish-swish-swish, in a circle, thirsty plants
drinking deeply. It was a blue-sky summer.
In the evening, I would weed again, or
simply bask, gazing in gratitude
at the carrots and cucumbers, the squash
and watermelons, the huge green leaves,
marveling at so much spectacular bounty
from such small seeds.

The nature spirits smiled.
My plants grew like Findhorn cousins,
with not a weed in sight.

My garden taught me the pleasure
of sowing and its reward. My garden taught me
how much water it needed, how to help
small plants along until they grew tall,
much as my children taught me
how to mother.

It was the garden that taught me
that all of life - the interconnected cycle
of all things - is designed
with one clear mandate : to grow.




for Brendan's prompt at earthweal: Tending a Difficult Garden.

The garden we are globally tending now is difficult. Yet still, Mother Earth showers us with blessings and beauty, with growing things, with new generations of young beings. She grows in spite of us. How much better she will grow once we re-learn the ways of old and begin to live sustainably and simply, in harmony with the nature spirits. The same principles apply to gardens large and small: when we take, we must put back. Where there is damage, we must restore. During covid, we saw how the earth responded with relief and clearer skies to reduced human activity. The time is now to lower emissions to not surpass that 1.5 C target. 


7 comments:

  1. Beautifully put Sherry. One of my daughters said something the other day that made me stop and think. The Australian Aboriginals (and other indigenous people) lived through the last ice age. People can survive climate change. It's about adapting. Suzanne - Mapping Uncertainty

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  2. A garden centric view of the world...you put us in our proper place here Sherry and plant a seed that might just help a few more to join you in that place. Viva La Garden!!!

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  3. And yet it seems that we are not tending to the earth-garden quite the way we should be...1.5 deg C seems like an impossible dream. That's when we violate that mandate to grow and things begin to perish. Scary to even think about....

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  4. Looks like you were planted well, minded by "Findhorn cousins" and grew accordingly! Love the pics.

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  5. So lovely Sherry - I could feel all the abundance and beauty of your garden. And yes - gardens are wonderful and willing teachers for anyone with heart enough to listen.

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  6. You know I can relate to this, Sherry. I will never forget all the joy (and a bit of harsh reality) my first garden brought me after I fled the big city. And it has never stopped amazing and delighting me, as does this poem, which is more than can be said for most things in life. Your end note is spot on.

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