July 4

PATIENCE MONTH: DAY 4: “Don’t rush anything. When the time is right, it’ll happen.” – Buddha

Every year, I use the example of being a gardener in writing about patience. I have to practice this with waiting for flowers to open. Some of them only bloom once a year, and for only a few days, so I must be very patient; because I want to enjoy the bloom.

It is important to wait, because they are not ready to unfold until they arrange their petals, just so. I love the anticipation and the moment when they open and I get to see them for the first time. When I had a cactus garden, I would stay awake until the wee hours of the morning to see the cactus that bloomed at night. They had such a small window, a few hours, once a year. And cactus have spectacular flowers! So, I have learned to practice patience with flowers.

There is also a great deal of patience to exhibit in growing other types of plants. Food, for instance, may take several months to go from seed to production. I tell first-time gardeners to grow radishes in their first months, because they produce quickly and give some results before other plants are fully formed. Of course, we all know what happens with a single zucchini seed…prodigious results!

What makes the food more delicious when I grow it is the work that is entailed in each item. First, of all, there are the beds to prepare. Then I have to put down wire over everything, because I have feral cats that I feed and they love the fresh soil.

I also prepare the soil by putting all of my green waste into a hole where it decomposes and creates very fertile soil. I add this to the beds that have already produced to give them some additional nutritional punch.

Then I plant the seeds. Many things can happen to a seed. Some are not going to produce for whatever reason the seed is sterile. Or a bird can come and eat the seed, as can an insect. Or, the soil may burn the seeds if the Ph balance is off. Or cats may dig through the wire and dig up the seed or do what cats do in soil and kill the seed.

If the seed comes up, it is a miracle! I love the miracles of life! And seeing a seedling sprout is one of my favorites. It takes my breath away. Now, I may be practicing patience, but I am likely to look for seedlings every single day after I plant.

Then it grows into a smaller plant. This whole process, to me, is amazing and never ceases to take my breath away. I am fully mindful of checking all the plants in my gardens each day for new miracles. I love growing things and having a hand in the process of miraculous life.

Each little bud or flower or fruit or new leaf is miraculous. I feel like a new mommy with each and every one. When there is something particularly special, I dance and jump around my garden like a crazy person. But I love it that much.

Now the wait is on for the production of whatever it is the plant is going to make. Sometimes it takes weeks for things to ripen and grow. So many things can happen. This week, I lost all of my squash plants to mold. We have had very little sunshine during May and June here. Not unusual, but that probably surprises my friends in other climates. So, I had to destroy all the plants…sigh! And about 40 small little sad squash. I planted another crop, but the timing is not the best.

Oh well! The tragedy of growing things. Some won’t make it, no matter how much I try to work with the existing conditions. I got quite a few zucchini, and will get more on another crop. But I had so many other types of squash that I love to grow and eat. Such is life.

What I do have in abundance are greens, kale and several varieties of chard and spinach. YAY! And a whole lot of tomatoes! And the green beans are going crazy. They too, produce well, even though I am not a great lover of green beans. I grow them for fun. And my beets grow here year-round, as do all the greens. I will not go hungry this year, of course, I never do.

But patience and acceptance are the tools I must use most often, along with some back-breaking work to create my raised beds. I love the work, because it is outside. And it is a discipline. I must tend my gardens every single day to keep them growing. Not unlike friendships and raising children. There is a commitment to be adhered to and nurtured. Life is good like that.