My fellow gardeners this is what we wait for. We wait with barely contained patience for the time to grab our tools and go out to the garden and…DIG! That first fresh smell of soil being dug and raked and readied makes our hearts race. In the early spring nothing seemed more important than the seedlings and seeds we so lovingly nurtured. But the soil in our hands has replaced the importance of those seedlings to a mere passing thought. We plunge our hands into the sun warmed soil and take as many deep breaths as we can. We know this creates a sense of well being that even science has proven to be true. And we begin our garden…
The preparation of the garden space, amending the soil and raking it smooth become a practice in engineering. Making sure it is free of weeds becomes an all consuming obsession as we create the perfect bed for our tiny plants. We begin to set the perfect rows with string and stakes with a mathematical zealousness that rivals Einstein in his quest for the theory of relativity. Its the preparation that makes the garden so dear to us I think.
Part of the joy is learning as much as we can by reading, talking with other gardeners, taking classes and trial and error. The biggest joy of gardening beyond all of that is the sense that we are completely connected. It’s planting when the planets, stars and moon are where they belong and we click into our place in the universe. It’s knowing we, like all insects, animals, plants, trees, the air, sun and rain work as one organism to grow and make our lives the joy we know it can be.
The amazing sense of being self sufficient always leaps high and makes the heart feel full. There is no way to explain to someone who isn’t a gardener, but the feeling is so life enhancing. I think we gardeners need to do our best to help everyone embrace this opportunity of gardening to feel life growing from their very own hands. To this I say, hooray its planting time!
