gardening, spiritual life

3 truths learned in the 2020 garden

JOY journal

“It always amazes me to look at the little, wrinkled brown seeds and think of the rainbows in ’em,” said Captain Jim.” L.M. Montgomery, Anne’s House of Dreams

Dickon Sowerby and The Secret Garden. Hercule Poirot and his vegetable mallows. Have you ever noticed that literary gardeners are often just short of supernatural?

In scripture, Jesus — who actually is supernatural — was mistaken for a gardener the same day He rose from the dead. That vignette probably says more about the true nature of Christianity than it does the near wizardry of gardeners, but still…

Miraculous or not, here are two pictures of the grand bouquets the season’s end brought into our home this week along with three truths gleaned from this odd season.

  1. When plans fail, exciting things may happen. (Every flower you see — one of which is blooming entirely out of season — was somehow connected to fails brought about by deer, drought and COVID-related lack of access to bedding plants in the early summer.)

2. There is always tomorrow. (Either here or in heaven, spring will come round and there will again be time to plot and create. Hope is real.)

3. Life will tell you what it wants if you will listen. (Putting impatiens in the sun is as useless as fighting God. 2020. Wow! This truth is getting a grip on my soul. You, too?)

Published by JOY journal

After a long career writing for local newspapers — and, on rare occasions, for publications such as The Washington Post — Nora's word life is now focused on blogging and occasional writing projects of special interest. Also the author of several books, Nora lives in Appalachia with her husband and a goodish dog named Finn, who is delighted whenever the family's two adult daughters are home from college.

11 thoughts on “3 truths learned in the 2020 garden”

  4. Thank you for your positivity, Joy. Gardening helps me be a little more spiritual in my life. Even in the worst of droughts I try to remember that eventually, rain starts falling again. Beautiful photo of your bouquets, such bright colors!

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  6. Nora, I kid you not – amidst fallen autumn leaves I found two ripening tomatoes in a garden pot on our deck this morning. In November!! Unbelievable! Hope that you are doing well in these crazy times. Blessings!

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