More grows in the garden than the gardener sows. – Spanish proverb
I was in my garden today, working on removing the last two containers that had surviving plants. One cayenne pepper and one jalapeño pepper were the only surviving plants that were within my garden enclosure. All else was destroyed. I am still working on trying to revive some marigolds, and another cayenne, but other than that, no other food made it that I have been able to see. Oh, except, possibly all the pineapple plants–about 20. There are still parts of my fence that are covering okra and other things but I am all but certain that just the new weeds are all that is there.
I have been putting off moving those two plants because I knew how happy they were there. I also knew that they were so incredibly strong together to have weathered the storm. Additionally, they occupied the space where all my peppers have grown-“Pepper Lane” I called it. Moving them meant that Pepper Lane was no more. So, it made me a little sad at first. I had to remind myself, as I moved those two precious peppers, I am making a new garden. In order to make that new garden I have to completely change what was. It no longer served me in its present condition. As I moved them to their new “temporary” home, I vowed to make a new Pepper Lane for them, only now, I think I’ll call it “Pepper Place”.
Certainly, none of this would matter to anyone else, and perhaps they wouldn’t understand. However, it really brought me to tears. In a good way actually. After I moved them, I was reaching in to remove some leaves from the cayenne and noticed a bunch of peppers on a broken branch. At least I can continue to ripen them inside. Then, however, I was doing the same with the jalapeño and started finding all of these peppers that were grown! I was very excited by this. I have been so busy that I didn’t notice that it has been fruiting! Anyway, needless to say, I am very, very happy about this. This particular pepper was one that had just given me its first 2 very delicious peppers before Ian came for a visit.
While I have always known it on some level, it really hit me hard today. A garden is so much more than the seeds we plant, the plants that grow, and the food or flowers that those efforts yield. A garden is a special place. It is not here just for us. It is here for all the magnificent life force that chooses to enter it. It is there for the butterflies, the dragonflies, all the good bugs and all the bad bugs, and of course, all the bees. However, I believe, on some level that it is there as an energy stream. I feel that all of the good, loving energy that we pour into our gardens offers a space for “other” energy.
In 2020, I lost two very important people in my life. My father (stepdad but really my dad), and one of my very best friends. I had a spot in the garden for each of them. It wasn’t something I really talked about, it was just something that was private to me. I knew that these special places were places that I hoped–if it was possible, that their energy might come to visit somehow. I held that space for them. The storm destroyed those spaces. Or did it?
I have to remind myself that those spaces, too, like Pepper Lane, will be reborn. The energy, love, and dedication are all still there. When I went to the garden today to work on things, there was a dragonfly on part of the fencing that was left from Pepper Lane. I slowly reached towards it and it not only allowed me to touch its leg but climbed onto my finger. I was, as I often am in my garden, in awe. That dragonfly looked at me and I looked at it for a few moments and then he went on its merry way. Yes, the energy, whatever it is, is absolutely still there. Going forward that energy, joy, and space to welcome all the critters will not be confined to an 18’x27′ enclosure. Instead, it is growing to be the entire yard.
As gardeners, we invest so much in our gardens. Not just to feed ourselves, our families, our friends, and others but to feed our very souls. Our garden gives us soul food that feeds us so much more than anything that comes from it ever could. That was the reminder that I needed today. Thank you. Have a Bee-autiful Day!
Jennifer
