Lessons from the Garden

I love planting a summer garden. It reminds me of my granddaddies, who each planted way more than my grandmothers could put up. They shared their bounty with the neighbors and us.

My cousins and I were not allowed in our grandfathers’ gardens for fear we suburban kids would trample the butter beans and pull down the tomato vines. I learned about gardening after moving to the country.

We had a summer of abundance this year from the first real garden Keith and I have had in a long time (thanks to Bill Baker for plowing us up a few rows). At every meal we feasted on fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, along with yellow squash, green beans and okra. If I saw you this summer, I probably handed you a bag of cucumbers. Our crop overflowed.

But sadly, after being gone several days to visit my cousin Garner last month, I came home to dead and shriveled up vines. I tried to revive them with water, but the damage was done. Except for a few green peppers who are bravely hanging on, I had to say goodbye to this year’s garden.

An old poem goes:

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,

One is nearer God’s Heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

Dorothy Frances Gurney

I do feel close to God in my garden. Pulling weeds and picking vegetables is peaceful work and gives me time to think.

Here are a few lessons my garden taught me:

1. Gardening teaches me patience.

This year I planted a row of blue lake green bean seeds. I waited 6 weeks for the tiny seedlings to spring up and make flowers. Then it was more waiting as the little white flowers produced baby green beans. Then they had to grow big enough to pick. Gardening is not for those who want immediate results!

Most of us could use more patience as we tap our fingers for the microwave to finish or the google search to come up with its 10,000 results. Gardening teaches me to sit back and wait with anticipation, to relish the time it takes for something as unique as a green bean to be formed, and to appreciate the wait.

2. Gardening teaches me to ‘Seize the Day.’

When the vegetables finally start to come in, the time to pick is then. And as soon as possible, those beans, squash, okra, peas and tomatoes need to be eaten, frozen or put in jars. You can’t save fresh vegetables for long.   

This teaches me to appreciate today. I have the bad habit of wasting today by worrying about tomorrow. Anyone else? Summer vegetables remind me that I need to enjoy what I have today and look forward to the good things tomorrow will bring. All I have is today.

3. Finally, gardening teaches me to expect the unexpected.

Gardens are finicky. This year we had a plethora of cucumbers, next year it may be squash. Too much rain or too little, too hot, or not hot enough, or, according to the old timers, the phase of the moon when the garden is planted — all of these contribute to its success or failure.

But then the garden will surprise me. This year a cherry tomato plant came up in my flower garden. Where the seed came from, I cannot say, but it was a pleasant surprise to see it sprout up next to my coneflowers and lavender.

The same is true of my day-to-day life. I can go through what seems like a humdrum day until I run into an old friend at the store or get an email asking me to speak for a group. Suddenly the day is a little brighter. Taking a moment to watch the butterflies drinking in the nectar from my lantana or a hummingbird buzzing around the zinnias lifts my spirits. Unexpected surprises are all around if we open our eyes to them.

For now, I’m pulling up the dead plants and settling in for shorter days and less outside chores. But I may have to try my luck at growing a pumpkin this fall – who knows what may come up!