So what a better place to spend a lazy afternoon than in a garden?
This site celebrates gardening and nature, and also my love of a few other things, like photography, the environment, native plants, and my family. I’ve added a touch of fantasy, a feeling of peace, and an appreciation for the beauty of nature. After all, nature can give us an order that the rest of life sometimes denies us.
And I’m Paul. Welcome!
Thy journey be auspicious;
from Sanskrit play, c.400 A.D.
may the breeze,
Gentle and soothing, fan thy
cheek; may lakes
All bright with lily cups delight
thine eyes,
The sunbeam’s heat be cooled
by shady trees,
The dust beneath thy feet
the pollen be
of lotuses.
This morning I decided that I would use the inspiration of the sunshine coming through my curtains to start the day on a positive note and do something that I have been putting off for about a year…
Over the last couple of months, I’ve been wondering if a gardening blog is something of a burden or a joy. I’ve had a few eras when my energy has been low, and my thoughts have joined in. It is one thing to write a blog when one is feeling happy, but quite a different thing when one is a bit flat.
I live in the beautiful county of Yorkshire, and I decided to start a new chapter in my life and start blogging.
Someone asked do I like gardening? For a little while, I couldn’t answer, but as I drifted on, it came to me: I love gardening because gardens are such amazing and powerful places.
So what do I want from my garden?
- Relax,
- play with our kids,
- have quality time with friends,
- enjoy in the color, scent, and shapes of perennials,
- to seed the tomatoes for our salad,
- enjoy the butterflies, birds, bees, and many critters.
Amazing stuff, yes?
Where you tend a rose, my lad,
from “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A thistle cannot grow.
Garden helps us connect with nature, but for me, more compelling is that I can express creativity in myself. When we spend so much time in our desks at work, acting in roles where we have to overcome our essential needs, gardening is our own space. Just being in our area, re-connects us with whom we are, and re-wires our brain.
I’ve just started gardening, but gardens have always been a meaningful part of my life; ever since I was a small child who dragged his mom around the yard asking the names of all the flowers. Those flowers are in bloom in my garden soon, I hope.
I’m picturing my mom now, and I’m transported back to childhood and those summer days in the garden.
So, you see, gardens are places where we can connect (or re-connect), with what is relevant and meaningful to us.
We also help reverse the damage that our lifestyles and economic systems are inflicting on the earth. We can create valuable habitats for butterflies and bees by choosing the right plants.
Our gardens are places of healing, connection, and nourishment.
Until next time, enjoy and love your garden.