How The Garden Grows

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I’m sending along a few photos of my garden.  We’ve had ample rain in the past few weeks and little of the typical, hazy, hot and humid weather we’re famous for. The plants are happy and so am I.  The rain barrel is installed and I’m still using water from my daily showers and dish washing to water those things that need water on a daily basis.

Next week, watch out!  What has been sitting over the middle of the country overheating the land is heading our way.  It’s during heat waves that Virginia gardens often just give up and wither away.  August can be a very sorry month, with lots of yellowing and leaf drop.  But in late September and October, things snap to again with lovely fall foliage and flowers that like warm days and cool nights better than what mid-summer has to offer.

Crepe Myrtle

As I always do in mid-July, I’m looking forward to the fall.  Heat and humidity make me lethargic and lazy.  Working in the garden becomes difficult.  But since I don’t want to wish my life away, I try to be mindful of each and every moment, good and not-so-good.  A pair of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds keep me on track as they sip nectar from the Bee Balm. I ‘ve not installed a feeder for them. They simply enjoy feeding from the plants I put in just for them.

Purple Coneflower

“I have said on occasion that I think gardening is nearer to godliness than theology. … True gardeners are both iconographers and theologians insofar as these activities are the fruit of prayer “without ceasing.” Likewise, true gardeners never cease to garden, not even in their sleep, because gardening is not just something they do. It is how they live.”

Vigen Guroian,  On Leaving the Garden