The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:12 (ESV)
This weekend, I did something I haven’t done in a long time. I went crazy at the garden center. I used to be a gardener. At one time, I had rose garden with fifty bushes, two beds at the front of the house of butterfly plants and a bed by the back door with a waterfall, a honeysuckle vine and a mix of more butterfly plants. I spent almost all weekend weeding, pruning and watering my flowers and enjoyed picking bouquets to give away. I liked being a gardener. Then, I got a horse and though I tried, it became impossible to invest that much time and money into my flowers. Eventually, all of my flower beds were plowed up except a small one at the back door. Last year, needing the arch that supported the honeysuckle for the wedding, even that one was taken apart. This week has been a hard one what with everything that went on in first Boston and then, West, Texas. As much as the puppies and the book release have been distractions, it was impossible to turn on the computer or television and ignore what was happening in the world. Yesterday, we were supposed to drive to Orlando to see adopted daughter who was participating in a 150 mile bicycle ride, but that trip was cancelled. Then, I planned to visit with youngest son and his wife who are home for a visit, but they went to see her family. Husband went off to see his friends, leaving me at home alone with no plans. I decided to go to Wal Mart and buy some potting soil to make a container garden with some gerbera daisies I had left over from decorating tables at a church picnic last weekend. That was really all I had planned to buy when I walked into the garden center. The whole unsettling week disappeared amongst those beautiful flowers. On impulse, I filled four carts full of plants in a wild, abandoned buying spree. I had no idea what I was buying, what soil. light or water that they needed. I only knew that they were bright blues, purples and yellows and they made me feel happy. Gone are the days when I mapped everything out, focused on drought tolerant native plants and coordinated plant needs in zones. All I wanted was color and more color. I bought delphiniums, digitalis, bulbine and butterfly bushes. I have never used any of those plants and do not know if they will last longer than a month in hot, sunny Florida. But, as I planted, I thought how satisfying it was to be creating a beautiful scene, however temporary, in the midst of a world where horror and death can happen in a moment and every day with the ones you love is to be treasured. I now have an explosion of color at my front door in shades far from the blood red and smoke black of this week.
What a wonderful way to push all that awfulness into the background. Spending time with nature is curative!