To Garden Honestly

From "Minnesota" 1980 by Joan Mitchell An ornamental garden is not always what it appears to be The call to action appeared in my inbox: “are we gardening while the world burns?” Yes, I got the easy reference to Nero, Rome and all that, which is, historically, a fairly complicated story in itself. And yes, ornamental—as distinguished from food—gardening, could be considered an oblivious, even oppressive activity, especially if conducted with plenty of staff in the pursuit of displaying wealth using plants and techniques that harm ecosystems. But rebelliousness rose in me. As a serious modern gardener, I wondered, does this person not understand where gardening is situated in the history of our species and how it can be used to make a fierce statement about possible futures? And I’m not talking about utopian ideas of getting back to the Garden of Eden, either. Nettled, I did look around the internet and found that the phrase seems to have come from an essay in which the write ...

Spring Firsts

I love the first occurrences that welcome in a new season. Here are some for this spring:
Saturday I saw my first bumblebee emerge from under some fallen leaves, totter about, and then fly off at speed. Bumblebee (Bombus ssp.) queens over winter in underground burrows and emerge at this time to search for a good place to lay eggs and rear young. Maybe it was a spring first for her too.

Yesterday, I planted some leaf lettuce in a big pot and then put wire mesh weighed down with half a brick on top to keep the hungry birdies out. It was one of those days on which you could look at a tree in the morning and when you looked again an hour later the leaves were visibly larger. In the afternoon several family members and I sat out on the front porch for the first time and watched the first real thunderstorm of the season blow in from the south. Good cracking thunder and netted lightning, and later on, steady rain, to which comfortable drumming I fell asleep.

Related Posts:
Sandhill Cranes and Spring Resolutions
Happy Spring!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dear Adrian, I feel quite inspired with the idea of growing lettuce in a container and intend to discuss the matter with J, my gardener/handyman, at the first possible opportunity. A brilliant idea, and a space saving one too.

I love the sound of heavy rain falling, always believing that it is doing good.
Hi Edith, I find that the bunnies then don't eat my lettuce--and it looks pretty, too. (After it germinates I take the wire mesh off.)
RURAL said…
Adrian, I must remember to get out there and plant my lettuce. I plant in containers also, and they definitely save space.

It's a magical day when the bumble bees first come out, and the leaves almost visibly change in front of us. Those are some of the great reasons we garden.

Jen