Spring is almost sprung!

A few flowers from last year’s garden

Day lilies, purple hostas, ferns, and grasses were abundant and a source of joy all last summer. We are excited for another colorful season!

Renewal. Growth. Rebirth. Finally the days are getting longer and warmer, and plant life is showing signs of waking from the long winter nap. This may seem like a slight departure from the subject of my book, and you’d be correct, but I find that nature is healing and inspiring, and soon enough I will be writing again with a little more fervor. Winter is a dreary time for me and I’ve struggled to dig deeper into my book’s ending. So with the change in the season’s, I’m hoping my energy will change too.

So today, I’m talking about plants! I’ve always craved the warmth, and loved plants and flowers, so this change of season is very welcome. Like most, I feel drawn to the natural world, but it wasn’t until I had a garden of my own that I began to really appreciate and witness the daily miracles of life. With just a few ingredients, this barren plot of mine becomes home to all these creatures. Every stem and leaf reaches for the sun’s energy like arms raised up in prayer. Every flower feeds a hungry hive of bees, and each fruit becomes food for the birds. In a few weeks, this little corner will be teaming with life when just a short time ago, it was a few patches of grass and brown stems from last season. 

It is a truly beautiful thing. It is art in the most primal, interactive sense. I’ll never understand people who seek to destroy beautiful, natural life whose gifts can’t be measured in dollars. And I’m gonna stop myself there, because I’ll just make myself upset if I think about the wanton destruction we see everyday. 

Anyway, as I was saying…So long as I’m here, I’m not just a witness, but also a steward, an active participant in this garden. I feel responsible for the health of it. All it needs is some guidance and seasonal maintenance and a miracle to keep the mosquitoes away, but beyond that, it’s in good shape. Already the daffodils are showing signs of blooming and a few hostas are poking their heads out of the dirt. 

This year, too, I’ve started some seeds in the hopes that I can naturally manage the mosquitoes with fragrant herbs like rosemary and lavender. And we plan on redoing some hardscape, and redefining the flower beds with rocks and mulch. In a few months, it will be even more of an Eden than it was. Last year, I moved in at the height of the garden’s blooming. All around there were lilies, hostas, peonies, irises, a couple sunflowers, and some azaleas. I could, without harming the plants, harvest dozens of flowers for bouquets in the house. Oh, how I look forward to that again!

I can’t help but think about how lucky I am to have this. Frankly, I’ve experienced a lot of loss and death for someone my age, and I cover a lot of that in the early chapters of my book. But to have this plot of Earth, so alive, I am eternally grateful and happy. It is healing and brings me so much joy because for every plant and flower that blooms, I’m reminded that we are the same. Like plants, we go through seasons of life and death and rebirth. We too need sun, water, and nourishment. And no matter how alone you may feel sometimes, there is life all around.

I look forward to updating you with more book stuff! I’ve been playing around with cover designs and fonts and researching book design (in addition to writing!) So, stay tuned :)

This plot of Earth reminds me what it means to be alive. 

And to simply be is more than enough. It’s beautiful.