Gardening: Gratitude in gardening and nature abound

So here we are at Thanksgiving. If last week’s weather forecast held, there is probably some snow on the ground, a little later than normal but it’s here. The weather forecast for the next three months calls for wetter and colder weather, typical of a La Nina year.

I’m looking forward to the snow this year because I can hibernate with the cat in my lap and enjoy the pleasant memories of the past gardening season. It was one of the best I’ve had in years. Not because my vegetable garden did well – it had its failures – but because somehow the season brought a lot of peace and gratitude for having the gift of the earth to play in. We didn’t have the brutal hot weather we endured during the last few summers.

I was able to get out in the garden most days and chip away at the to-do lists my husband and I developed for the summer. My part was to finish projects that had been put off too long. The other part involved dejunking the garage and shop of projects that never got off the ground and things we might have a use for “someday.” When you live on the same property for close to 50 years, that tends to happen. We don’t want our kids to have to clear it out after we’re gone.

As I chipped projects off my list, the sense of built-up frustration began to fade, and I finally started feeling the deep pleasure of being in nature. I got back to why I am so passionate about gardening. Gardening to me is the pure joy of being out in the sun, the wind, the going-ons of the critters and of course the plants. We had three fawns to watch as well as a few turkeys along with usual chickadees and squirrels.

I garden because I can be creative. I love to recycle stuff most people would call junk and give them a second life in the garden. I have my 7-foot-tall Iron Maiden made of scrap steel from our shop. Her arms are raised in either celebration or to scare off the deer – the latter doesn’t work. Her hair is steel spirals from lathe turnings while her head is the timing gear out of my old car that I paid $1,400 to repair.

This summer I finished converting a lawn area that was difficult to mow with the riding mower into a series of drought tolerant beds and graveled paths. The new beds tie together the view of our field below the house while the walk gives easy access to other parts of the garden and provides a fire break. Again, I recycled brick and pavers to edge the walks and recycled crushed concrete to cover the paths. The crushed concrete was $20 a yard cheaper than real gravel.

As you gather today for the holiday, I hope your memories of this year’s gardening season are beautiful, inspiring and bring you joy.