Gardening For the End of the World

For me, gardening is tending to the land. It’s nurturing the soil. Watching over the water. Cultivating the green and the microscopic and the treetops that reach the sky. It is a deeply spiritual act, to connect to the land and the history and the future.

And it’s also honoring ancestors – both family lineage, the family/ancestors we’ve chosen, and the land that we occupy. My grandmother, who everyone called GG later in life when she achieved great-grandmother status, brought from her native England a love of cottage gardens and a field of lupine seed. Even though her house was sold more than a few years ago now and that cottage garden she tended to for 30 years isn’t there, the field of lupines still exists, swaying in a breeze off the Atlantic Ocean.

That image makes me smile.

I find that everyone that steps into my backyard finds a flower they spy right away and fall in love with. The striking yellow dinnerplate dahlias. The neverending petals on top of petals of the magenta zinnias. The bright pink bee balm that mimics the fireworks. The climbing moonflower vine, that if you time it right you can watch unfurl as the sun starts to set. 

Each of us can appreciate the beauty in a field of wildflowers. The rows and rows of spring daffodils and tulips. The random sunflower that grows from the cracks of the sidewalk, using a chain-link fence as support. 

But there is also smell; the delicate fragrance of hyacinth that you must bend down to their level to enjoy; lilies and lilacs that perfume the entire yard. 

There’s the sound of that world within the world – pollinators happily buzzing from bloom to bloom, a hummingbird’s almost low-purring wings swooping in and out before you can spot them. 

Touch the velvet leaves of Lamb’s Ears, the rough woodiness of a thick sunflower stalk. And of course, all the herbs and edible plants you can grow, eat, and share with others. 

We need to reconnect to all our senses. We can do that in our own backyards or containers or window boxes.

And that brings us around to the creative aspect of a garden. The planting design. The color choices. Just the act of growing a plant itself – that is creation. That is art. That is life.

If any of this resonates with you, I hope you stay awhile. Read the blog posts. Check out my books. See the progress on my outdoor fabric art project. I would also love to work with you. Help you tend a garden. Bring out the beauty in a spot where you have currently landed. Help guide you in the exploration of knowledge that nature has for us.

The process is simple:

• Choose a day/time for the real-time portion of our session.
• I’ll send you a link to a survey asking you some preliminary questions about the area you want to garden in and your background and comfort level with gardening (and you don’t need any previous experience to start!).
• We have our live meeting, whether it’s in person or online. We can get to know one another and talk about your garden goals and dreams.
• Within five days, I send you a PDF containing a recap of what we talked about, what your goals are and a timeline to make them happen, recommended plants and supplies, and a plot or container design if it’s brand new.

Sounds like something you need to help you get started, or get through a tricky growing season? Email me at rmaslen @ proton.me to talk all things plants.