Years ago, one of my neighbors would comment from time to time that his wife would love a garden like mine. But they were both busy professionals with little gardening experience, and I’m guessing they weren’t sure where to begin. So while I worked away in my flowerbeds from early spring through late fall, their yard sat empty, save for a patch of lawn and some evergreen foundation shrubs.
Then one year, they bit the bullet and had a new landscape installed. Everything looked better overnight.
But the best part about admiring their new garden wasn’t the plants or the design. It was being in my garden the following spring and seeing the husband standing in his yard. He was normally a pretty serious (if friendly) guy. But he sounded like a kid when he said that he couldn’t believe the plants had survived the winter and were beginning to sprout. Here I was, the more experienced gardener – and I’d been too busy with my cleanup to remember just how wonderful spring is.
I came to love peeping out my window and seeing my neighbor check on his garden early in the morning before he headed off to work, or sitting on his steps on the weekend surrounded by plants with a newspaper in his hand. It was a great reminder that I shouldn’t take my garden for granted.
As a kid, wonder is a daily experience. Starting to garden as an adult is a great way to bring back that giddy feeling of awe.
Photo by Ken Howard
