Spring is coming...

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I took a small break from work today to sit on the front porch in the 86 degrees wonderfulness. Spring is coming to Texas. The fresh smell of mulch (perhaps cedar) propelled a sweetness into the air as I peered over the porch railing to check on the flower beds Steven and I have been busy preparing. Our new Blaze of Glory climbing rose has rooted in, and I can't wait to see its tangerine orange blooms twisting around the rails.

The buds on the Bradford pear are gray and fuzzy and preparing themselves to fully emerge into white blossoms, and the hyacinth peeks its head tentatively through the leaves.

It's going to be a beautiful spring, I can feel it.




Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

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Much to my own disbelief, I am developing a green thumb. I've also discovered that gardening is rather therapeutic. As I tend to the leaves, roots, and blooms, I seem to be to nourished as much as they are.

"Won't you come into my garden?
I would like my roses to see you."
~ Richard Sheridan

The role of helping plants grow was meant to be a metaphor for life, I believe. "The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:12). According to their kinds - I love that. There is so much variety. Hmmm.

As I dig into the soil with my rosy-pink gardening gloves, I reach for the root. I know the weeds will not be removed for good unless all of them is extracted. As my gloves become caked with soil, I realize this is going to be messy. But darn, it feels good.

Here in Texas, my flowers must be watered daily. No skipping the routine because I am too busy or distracted. They cannot survive without it, right? And growth. Why do some stems survive, and some do not? You know, if you prune hydrangeas too soon, you might cut off a branch that has already prepared itself to bloom next season. Although you can't see what is hiding inside that bright green stem, there is potential beauty there.

So here's a peek into my garden. First, the whimsical coneflowers (a.k.a echinacea). Two days ago, my red one looked like this...


Now it looks like this. Lovely.


Here's my purple coneflower a few days ago...


And today...


And now for the zinnias...





This is dainty lantana...


Blanket flower. I think her name should be Maria.


Here's my pink hydrangea, a housewarming gift from my dear friend, Jenni.



Here's my "yellow rose of Texas" from Stephanie. It has tons of buds! Right now it's hanging on for dear life to the front porch posts so it will grow straight and strong.




This is my autumn sage bush, and it smells heavenly.


I found this sprouting up next to the autumn sage, and I have no idea what it is! We shall see...


Wave petunias circling the tree...


My husband knows me well and realizes how gardening has become my new "therapy." Today, not only did he bring me a bouquet of pink peonies (my favorite flower), but he returned from the gardening store with a few other surprises: an azalea bush and a basil plant. I hope they quickly grow to be strong and beautiful. For myself, I hope the same.

New flowery things...

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Life is full of all kinds of flowery things lately...

Here's the Square Foot Garden we recently planted in the backyard, featuring some lovely poofy yellow Chrysanthemums to keep away pests! We're currently growing tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, and a lot more soon-to-be fresh veggies! Perhaps we'll start our own co-op - haha! Square Foot gardening is genius. For all you gardening novices like me, this is the answer to actually developing a green thumb with a small amount of space and time!



We went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday with our dear friend Michelle, and her sweet granny insisted on buying us some more tomato plants! So we'll hopefully have lots of juicy tomatoes ripe for the pickin' this summer. The plants are flowering now...


Then, I found these lovely white flowers growing wildly against the fence in the backyard and in our front flower beds! I have no idea what they are, so if someone recognizes them, please let me know! Too bad I pulled up a ton of them thinking they were weeds before they bloomed. That is just like me - to be too proactive and end up harming something in the process...


And finally, a handmade vase, paper magnolias, and card for my dear friend, Lori, who is moving away! I will miss her so. The writing on the vase is one of my favorite quotes: "Strangely, it is dangerous faith in our untamed Savior that leads us to the joy we crave."

Amen.



Faithful, like the trees.

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" Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are." ~Osho

The other evening, during my favorite time of day, I found these lovely wildflowers sprouting up on the grassy strand in front of our yard. It made me happy. As a golden glow was cast on our lawn, I watched my husband contentedly care for our small piece of land. It's not much, but it's ours. It's our one piece of nature to care for and maintain. There is something fulfilling about that...






Lately, all of this creation sprouting around me has whispered one thing: be faithful. I know "faithful" is what I want to be in my marriage or in my friendships, but what does it mean as an overwhelming purpose? "Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."

Here we go again with nature being the perfect parallel to life.

What I'm learning is that faithfulness is simply about being who I was created to be. A tree does not wake up with a to-do list. It is simply a tree, and that is its job...every day. It is deeply rooted in the soil, straight down to the nutrient it needs to survive. It is just faithful being a tree, flowering in season and existing for the reason it was created. It does not worry what each day will bring or whether it will be ready when a wintry season comes to strip its bark and its leaves. It is ready.

What if....I just concentrated today on being a women of God and nothing else? Would everything else not fall into place? Will I not see that there truly is "a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven"? (Ecclesiastes 3)

To this day, I've never heard someone say they were more stressed after spending time in nature. This is why people seek out retreats in the mountains, build dream homes by the sea, and nurture flower gardens on urban patios. There is something beautifully calming about standing in a forest, gazing up at redwoods with tops too high to see. Trees are simply doing what they are supposed to do - GROW. No...I don't know a single person who isn't quieted by standing among a forest of trees. And I think it will always be that way, because nature was created to quiet our soul, to show us our purpose, and to show us God.

"I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets. It has given me blessed release from care and worry and the troubled thinking of our modern day. It has been a return to the primitive and the peaceful. Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and benumbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me - I am happy."
~Hamlin Garland, McClure's, February 1899

Today, I will simply concentrate on being a faithful tree. And I will rest in knowing that my roots are reaching down just a little bit closer to their source of Life.