I’m prepping for dinner and Jason lets me know he is heading outside to work in the yard with the tractor. “I got everything I need from the garden” I shout back. I’m trying to tell him that I already pulled up my dahlia bulbs from the big garden. That the kids and I carried baskets outside and clipped every purple-green leaf of kale left. The tomatoes dying on the vines from the frost are a loss I have accepted.
What I realized after the words left my mouth: I got everything I need from the garden this year.
I shoved seeds into the dirt in March and April when my faith and body were weak. Can anything beautiful actually come from dirt and dead things?
With little faith, I got up early and watered the earth for all of April, May, June. Rain was scarce. I watched sprouts press through the dirt and my faith followed. Keep showing up and the momentum will come.
As buds formed, I cringed and clipped them. You get longer stems and multiplied blooms if you don’t harvest the first blooms. Trust the process.
My blooms are abundant. I awake each day with excitement step outside and shower my garden with admiration. Amazing grey poppies, Love in a Mist, zinnias, roses, hydrangeas, strawflower, and cosmos - I cannot get enough of their abundance. I fill every vase I own with eclectic arrangements. I bring bouquets to neighbors and friends. There is no shortage of beauty and no reason to hoard. Clipping blooms begets blooms. The garden is a master of generosity.
In August, record-breaking hail dumps as I am driving my daughter to ballet. I anxiously await arriving at home to check on my flowers. I cry when I see the pummeled garden I tended to every day of this summer. Inches of hail remain and shovel as much off my flowers as I can. Sometimes mother nature shows off with her magical beauty. Sometimes, mother nature is just plain cruel.
In September, I adore how delightful the garden has been. Most of my flowers recovered from the hail, even though they show some scars. The blooms only continue to multiply. Rain is more consistent and it takes little effort of my own to reap great reward. I am harvesting seeds and have half a dozen vases of flowers in my house on any given day. Sometimes, there are abundant seasons. Enjoy them.
October started us with a few ninety-degree days and ended with snow on the ground. Hundreds of blooms to flowers dead from frost and the weight of snow all in a few days. I knew this was coming. I dug up the tubers and harvested hundreds of seeds. I will spend the winter inspecting my dried out seeds, separating the chaff, and dreaming of next year’s garden. Even when you know it is coming, the shock and sadness of death comes too quickly. The promise of goodness ahead - that’s something I hope I can hold onto through the long winter.
Favorite Reads Lately - you guys. I have no affiliate links to my name. If you really need help finding these on Amazon or Good Reads, I recommend you get your caboose over to your local library where they can help you find the books you want. Bless it.
Fairy Tale // Stephen King - this was my first Stephen King novel and I will be the last person on earth to realize how incredible of an author Stephen King is.
How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told // Harrison Scott Key - This is one of the best books I have EVER read. I listened (it is read by the author) and I’ve already started re-listening to it. I laughed, I cried, and my jaw hit the floor at this honest memoir on his marriage. It is told with grace, humor, and heart.
Habits of the Household // Justin Whitmel Earley - an honest and practical parenting book on building small habits of faith into your family culture. I’ve pulled it off the shelf multiple times to reference.
Save me The Plums // Ruth Reichl - this was my first food memoir and it was completely delightful.
Culture Care // Makoto Fujimura - This book helped shape my understanding of my work as an artist and also a believer, and the important work of the artist within culture.
Do you want to challenge yourself with photography but you aren’t sure where to start? I’m running a Rooted Photography Workshop that starts November 8 and I’d love for you to join!
“You bring a sling and I’ll bring an army” - Jon Guerra’s music has been the soundtrack to my year and I can’t stop sharing it with people. He describes his music as: “a singer-songwriter who writes devotional music - less Sunday morning worship music and more Monday morning prayer music. Devotional music is a collaboration with quiet. It’s music for attending to the soul, for listening to God.”
Here’s my current favorite.
That’s all friends. Let’s hold onto each other.
“Master of generosity” JUMPED off the page at me. Love this all so much! 🫶🏼
Loved all of this 💕 Gardening sometimes feels like magic, doesn’t it? Can’t wait hear about all you grow next year ✨