On Friday, I dragged myself home from my first week at Catholic University. Let me just say they don’t mess around there. Doctoral studies are hard, much more than I anticipated.
That being said, it’s also a joy to be back in a great learning environment. There’s a lot to do, and a lot to learn. Somehow, I have to put it all together, but I think I’ll pull it off.
When I got home last night, I was too tired to work in my garden. But this morning, I was out there bright an early.
Before I did anything else, I just sat for a few minutes, coffee in hand, on a lounge chair right off my kitchen. Things were really quiet and peaceful. Finally, I could relax a bit after a long week.
With that, my nose caught the scent of several different plants that were in bloom. My dutch iris have a very lemony scent, just beautiful. My mock orange is also in full bloom, smelling, like the name implies, orange blossoms. Then, there is my late-blooming lilac, just covered with flowers. I don’t know if I was smelling one in particular, or all of them together. My little piece of paradise.
My mom walks through her garden every day. She told me a long time ago that gardening is the cheapest therapy there is. Just work out your problems digging weeds. When I bought my house about ten years ago now, it was mostly a blank slate. The previous owners were big into trees, and when I moved in, the place was quite dark. I ended up taking out about twenty mature trees, which left me lots of sunny places to develop a garden.
The reason I’m posting this blog is because most of us are really busy and figure we don’t have time to plant a nice garden. That would be a mistake. With just a fair amount of effort and expense, you can have a little slice of Eden, right in your own backyard. It’s still pretty early in the planting season, so get at it. Go to your local library and check out some gardening books/magazines. You’re sure to find a lot of them.
As the sun was setting, I finished up in my yard. I got a lot accomplished, mainly in the weeding department. I also got the pots that go along my retaining wall filled with a great combination of flowers. I tried several new things this year and I’ll let you know how they turned out.
Like my mom, when I’m tired after a long day, I love to sit and relax in my garden. It puts me in a good mood, and I can end in a peaceful mood, thanking God for another day. Then I can go to bed a little less burdened, and a bit more content.
