What My Garden Taught Me This Week + a Giveaway

Of all the seasons that get rushed out the door before they've even had a chance to be lived in, I think summer gets the worst of it. Because even if you aren’t in school or don’t have children in school, our seasonal calendars seem to run on the academic calendar. Summer feels like it’s almost over when in reality there are still almost 2 months until the Autumnal Equinox. Lowe's started putting out Halloween decor right after the Fourth of July. Before we've even settled into one season, we're already being told to think about the next one. It quietly trains us to always be looking ahead instead of appreciating where we are.

What is the most frustrating is being in a particular season and needing a seasonal item and not being able to find it because they’ve switched over to the next seasons’ things. I have tried to buy a space heater in person while it was still winter, and they had already switched over to spring/summer items so there were none available. (And vice versa with fans in the summer/fall transition.) And even though we have almost 80 days until our first frost, finding annual flowers is nearly impossible. That’s probably because you’d be nearly insane to try to plant in this hot weather. But I am, in fact, insane.

I would normally be a little more chill about the lack of annuals available and perhaps even wait until the mums are out. However, as previously mentioned, my Master Gardener group is coming to our house on Friday, and I can’t have tired looking planters. When I was at a local nursery looking for aforementioned annuals, I was telling one of the employees about my upcoming visitors. She joked that I had drawn the short straw because this was not a good time of year to have people look at your garden. I couldn’t bear to tell her that I was the ding-dong that made this plan and invited avid gardeners over when the summer garden is not at it’s best.

In preparation, I walked through the garden and all I saw were weeds and diseased plants. Panic set in and I was talking to Savannah about my concerns and she had a much healthier perspective on the garden. She tends to be more grounded about such matters. As we talked, I wondered why this particular event seemed so important. I love growing food and flowers and I see creating gardens as a living art form. We loved hosting people regularly at our previous home, but we haven’t had that pleasure nearly as often since moving. This is one of the few times we will have new people come to our property, so naturally I want to show everything in its best light. And we have really focused on the garden this year and it seems like all of our hard work is paying off. So in away, this small group of Master Gardeners coming to see our gardens is sort of like our little Chelsea Flower Show. In reality, it’s 5 fellow gardeners coming to lunch.

I do know that if I calm down and put things into perspective, none of it is serious at all. Our gardens aren’t perfect and they never will be. You can also miss the beauty of your garden if you only notice the imperfections. And I think this is what rushing through the seasons and not being present can do too. You’re already onto this next thing instead of appreciating the beauty that the season is offering you right now. So let us not get caught up in the negative or the next season, and join me in focusing on the beauty of the present. Because there is always beauty to be found.

If you haven’t watched this week’s Youtube video (you can watch here), you will have missed that we are doing a giveaway with Greenstalk. The winner will get one original planter in the color and texture of their choice. There are two things you must do to enter.

1. Fill out this form by August 2nd at 12:00 am.

2. Be a subscriber to our newsletter. If somehow you are reading this and aren’t subscribed, you can do so below!

We will announce the winner of the giveaway on August 3rd!

I hope you are staying cool, wherever you are, and finding some joy in this extremely humid and hot time of year. Talk next week…