A little update from the garden. I stepped into the world of flower gardening this summer rather tentatively. I’m so thankful to have rid my body of inflammation, thereby becoming pain-free for the first time in years! I was a little afraid that I would re-injure something in my back and cause more of the same pain – but I really didn’t want the front of the house to look like a landscape from a Mad Max movie. This year, it was time to plant!
Between annuals, perennials and tomatoes, I’ve planted 135 plants this year. Sheesh, that’s a lot! I’ve learned a lot along the way – impatiens really like about 5 minutes of sun per day, and I’ve got an entire flower bed of unhappy impatiens at the moment. Next year I’ll have to find something else to put there. The purple alyssum that I found at Costco is thriving, and I’m hoping it will self-seed and come back next year.
This was also the year of transplanting, something I’ve never done before. When we moved here, there was a little rhododendron clinging to life in a front flower bed, but not really looking all that healthy or happy. I finally remembered that it would probably like some shade, so this year it got moved up by the front of the house, in a very shady spot. It is doing well, and I have every hope that it will give us some flowers next year. I do miss the large old rhododendron plants that surrounded our home in Albany – this little one is a sweet reminder of those beautiful plants. I also moved a cone flower plant and some mums, and everyone seems pretty happy at the moment.
One of my goals here is to build a pretty collection of perennials both at the front and back of the house. We won’t live here forever, and I am hoping to leave something lovely for the next family that comes to live in this beautiful parsonage, whenever that day comes. At the moment, this collection includes two varieties of hydrangea, a clematis, some unknown varieties of roses that were already here, and a few others. I’m hoping to grow it by several more plants next spring and summer.
Next year, I am hoping to plant a bigger vegetable garden, and to do so in a raised bed garden. I’ve got the perfect spot for it, and can’t wait to put in more veggies and some grapes, which Josh has been asking to grow. Deer of Rochester, you’re on notice – don’t mess with our grapes!
The most pleasant surprise of my work in the garden this year has been the joy and satisfaction that comes from tending creation. Paying attention to what is happening with the soil and plants has taught me a lot, and there is definitely a meditative side to gardening that I am growing to love. I believe God wants us to enjoy creation, and this is certainly one way of doing it. Time spent alone working on the flower beds is time to pray and hear from God. Nursing this little transplanted rhododendron back to life is my project this year, and the parallel between that little plant and my own life is not lost on me. Thank goodness we’re both in the right place now so that we can grow as intended!
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