Gardening
Hetty Willeumier
©
Copyright 2022 by Hetty Willeumier
|
Photo by Nature Uninterrupted Photography at Unsplash.
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“Flowers
are the music of the ground from earth’s lips; spoken without
sound” (Edwin Curran)
Once
it came as a caregiver to a woman with cerebral palsy. Workers,
building
an apartment nearby, offered me the left-over lumber ”to
build
low-down flower window boxes”; accessible to her wheelchair.
The
fun of buying the soil, manure and plants at Walmart and garden
nurseries,
was all ”part of the joy and celebration”!
I
often “house-sat” in the Yukon and the owners would often
leave,
with
the invitation, ”Do what you like; with the garden!” I
certainly
took
them up on their offer; jumping at the opportunity to buy flowers
and
create something beautiful! It really “fed the soul”!
Sometimes
they were farms; sometimes well-manicured, well-
attended
flower gardens…
During
the hot spells of summer, I would have to hose, spray and
water
the flowers often (especially at night when it was cooler). How I
loved
the colors, the textures, smells and variety!
On
Salt Spring Island, where I house-sat one summer… there were
“bees
and butterflies-a-plenty”; certainly a Heavenly experience!
For
friends on Mayne Island BC... I built a “sanctuary” in
the woods…
while
they were away, vacationing... Clearing the bush, re-arranging
the
branches; it was sheer delight!
I
often went to visit my aging widowed mother on the weekends in
Gibsons,
BC (ferrying over from Vancouver). Weeding and re-planting
flowers
and shrubs, I’d come over “all organized with proper
footwear
and
clothes etc”... only to be surprised one day… with my
Mum
announcing,
”Today we’re going to the Opera instead; I have
Seasons’
tickets... I’ve left clothes for you on the bed!” THAT
incident
reminded
me that “flexibility” was always a great boon! I came to
appreciate
“how “surprises” could be factored in/welcomed in
with
light-hearted
good humor... “expecting the unexpected”... allowing
things
to grow and unfold at their own natural pace!
One
“surprise” came when I was offered a little cabin on Salt
Spring
Island,
BC. The rent was reduced if “I did the garden” and of
course I
jumped
at the opportunity!
Although
it had started as a mass of tangled brambles, long grass,
weeds,
stumps, moss and branches everywhere… I managed to clear
the
land; creating stacks of leaves and branches; later to be mulched!
I
bought and planted colorful flowers; revamped the raspberry,
strawberry,
blackberry patches and built up/leveled the garden... re-
seeding
it with grass ...after having enjoyed the rented lawn mower
and
weed-wacker! I wasn’t really THAT surprised when the
neighborhood
children came over to play! (There was a tree-house...
and
I encouraged them to use the wood under the cabin; to build
swings
and forts etc)... since I knew the parents and enjoyed their
excited/animated
voices outside my window. They were “into fairies”;
believing
that they were living amidst my “magical garden”;
planting
little
letters by the flower stems. For fun I created a conspiracy with
the
parents... where we answered the notes; thanking them for their
gifts
of ribbons, string, wool etc … leaving little things behind
too!
How
fun it was to watch the astonishment and awe; in the eyes of
these
Grade two-ers!
In
the Yukon, during the winter, I had a greenhouse where the
gladiolas
grew over seven feet tall! I gave them as Christmas presents
to
friends… they looked so radiant in pots, in their living
rooms!
I
worked once in a bedding “hydroponic farm” where all the
plants
grew
in sawdust. Due to the harsh Yukon cold (often minus 60)... this
was
much more viable and efficient... and HOT! During the
”transplanting
period” I’d often spot a sleepy little mouse; come
waddling
out of his hidey-hole... too sleepy to be afraid of me! He’d
sit,
where I worked; nibbling on the bits of cheese I tossed down to
him!
Another lovely “moment in time; among plants and gardening”!
I’ve
always enjoyed Antoine de Saint Exupery’s quote: ”Il faut
cultiver
son
propre jardin” (“One must cultivate one’s own
garden”) and
although
a “metaphor”… “gardens and flowers “DO
say alot to me”!
WE,
too ARE “budding flowers” … needing nourishment,
good
conditions
and cultivation!
We,
too; need to “bloom” and thrive to our fullest potential
in the
”art
of living”!
Like
Joan Miro said re: his art: (”I try to apply colors like words
that
shape
poems, like notes that shape music”)…”gardening”
IS
indeed…a
delectable art form! WONDER seems to be at the heart of
inspiration…
and I agree whole-heartedly with G.K Chesterton when
he
says “The dignity of the artist lies in his duty of keeping
awake the
sense
of wonder in the world”
With
flowers and gardening, one is constantly awe-struck by the
beauty
and sense of the Divine!
As
Francis of Assisi once said, “God is beauty” and we
experience it
within
and without... when surrounded by the splendor of gardens!
Here
in Vancouver, we have the Van Dussen and Queen Elizabeth
Gardens;
”wonders to behold!” In Victoria, BC there is the famous
Butchart
Gardens; the 118 year- old/ 55-acre land… receiving over a
million
visitors each year/designated a National Historic site of
Canada
(one of the world’s premier floral show gardens).
Flowers
represent alot of things to different people. Some see them
as
symbols of hope, while others think of them as representations of
love,
beauty, faith, eternity etc…. As Buddha once said, “If
we could
see
the miracle of a single flower, clearly our whole world would
change”!
The Chinese proverb, “Keep a green tree in your heart and
perhaps
a singing bird will come” reinforces the idea of possibility
and
delight! ”Earth laughs in flowers” sings Emerson while
Francis
Bacon
exclaims” God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed…
it
was the purest of human pleasures!”
“AMEN”!
I say to that! (The Garden of Eden is HERE; if we “bloom
where
we’re planted”!)
I am a creative writing enthusiast! I belong to a local library's
"Writers' Group"/attend Writers' Festivals and enjoy
exchanging ideas and information with fellow -writers and readers! I
attended a few years as a "mature student of creative writing"
at UBC ;which I thoroughly loved! Now at age, 70... i am "still
following my bliss"; "igniting & discovering (ever
more) that creative spark"!
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