Dreaming in the Yard

"A GARDEN IS A GRAND TEACHER.  IT TEACHES PATIENCE AND CAREFUL WATCHFULNESS;  IT TEACHES INDUSTRY AND THRIFT;  ABOVE ALL IT TEACHES ENTIRE TRUST"----Gertrude Jekyll

 

 

 

 

You could probably call me a homebody.  An even better description may be that I am a yardbody. There are few places that I would rather be than in my yard.  I am pretty sure my neighbors and others wonder what I am doing out there, often gazing into the treetops.  It's not that I am always working on something, not physically anyway.  There is a lot of mind work that goes into gardening.   I realize I come by this naturally from my dad and have passed it onto at least one son.  We spend a great deal of time thinking about the possibilities before we ever put hand to spade.  What would a tree look like there?  How do I camouflage that eyesore?  What color, shape, size or variety would be best in the sun or shade?  What limbs are in need of pruning?  We are garden dreamers and though there is never time or energy to do all of it, I sure do like to sit outside and think about it.  The possibilities are great but right now I will just sit and enjoy what is already here.  I will listen to the breeze through the leaves, I will lean in to hear the rustle of critters tiny and small who have taken up residence and I will take in the colors, aromas and play of light that only my garden gives me.  Go where you will, but for me, today, I will sit and I will ponder.  I will think of my dad, I will think of my son, and I will think about his little baby girl and wonder if she will inherit the love of it all like her daddy, like I did from mine.  I hope they will be able to sit outside in their yard, listen to the trees and birds and feel that unspoken connection to all that is growing and living there.  Will she follow him around as he talks about and touches the leaves of what he has planted?  Are there things about outside she will learn to love because he takes the time to show her?  I think she will, she will be my "Little Dove" and her daddy's "Little Sprout"!  She will make daydreaming in the garden even better when she is there with us!