Garden of Metaphors

So here I am looking out the window into my patio garden. Even in a light rain, it’s a delight...maybe more so.

The perennials are alive and well. They’ve rejuvenated from a their winter’s sleep. How dependable. And yet, it’s a kind of miracle when you think about it.

The Hostas are dressed in a pale spring green. They’ll get deeper and darker as the days grow longer and warmer.  The Gloriousa Daisies have reseeded and show great vigor. I’m looking forward to their blooms by the 4^th of July. 

The Royal Purple Clematis has been busy climbing all over the trellis. Already buds are shooting out from the vines and flowers are bursting forth. So early and so welcomed.

My coral bells, which never fully die in winter, are perky again. Their reddish maroon color compliments the predominant green and yellows of Spring. 
I started with 1 plant several years ago and now they are filling 6 large planters....with a little help from the Master Gardener, of course!!

Bee balm is spreading again. A friend gave me a single sprig. It’s an old fashioned flower that my mother had in her garden. Each Spring the Bee Balm expands and expands again. Enough is enough. Where’s my hoe to set limits to their wayward ways?

They’re just like those goose necks. In my great garden plan, they are meant to occupy a corner space under a large shrub.. They too started with a few roots from friends in Maine. They mentioned that they might be invasive, but I wasn’t worried. After all, they’re in a corner.

But this winter they conspired slowly sending out spies through underground tunnels. Now that it's Spring, they are showing themselves in unexpected places. 

 Invasive indeed! Where is my hoe?

I love my pot of Mint. I use the young leaves in tea and salads….yum. Last summer, it was looking shabby, but now it’s filling the pot with lots of young shoots. 

I’m reminded, “Never judge a Mint by last year’s pot.”

Along a half wall, Asiatic and Oriental Lilies poke their heads skyward. They compete to see who can grow tallest. Last year that one on the end was about 7 feet tall and covered with flowers. So proud she was of those blossoms.

But tall and big are not the only attributes to admire. Some lilies have a wonderful sweetness in their scent. Others are remarkable in the shading of their petals. Some are early bloomers while others wait around until back-to-school time. All are grand in one way or another.

I say, "Celebrate the Lilies in all their diversity."

Marigolds take root
It's going to be a marigold summer

Lining the back wall, clumps of Burning Bushes are spreading themselves into a billowing back drop. 

How deceiving they are. From shades of green now, they’ll burst into scarlet red by the first frost.  Growing older can sometimes be colorful.  

So many metaphors are in the garden. I like to sit here letting my mind wander.

Every year the garden says, “Look at me. Remember, from debris and decay, comes reincarnation, resurrection, nirvana or whatever you call the mystery. Yes, soak in the mystery of life.

It's especially welcomed since my friend, Ron Scott, died a few weeks ago. I like to recall that we met at Vacation Bible School at the Presbyterian Church when we were 5 years old.

My long time friend is gone but remains part of memory – mine, his wife and many friends. It’s like my mentor at Seminary, David Buttrick, said, “We all are side-stepping into mystery.” I’m reminded of the movie, Coco. Love you, Ron.

Surprisingly, from the corner of my eye I see red wings. Cardinals are visiting my feeder.

According to superstition, if you see a cardinal, one of your loved ones wants you to know that they're watching over you and that you're not alone.

My cardinals scatter the sparrows and take over a spot meant just for them. Always, I'm delighted by their visits...especially in the afternoons around wine time. 

They go for sunflower seeds while I sip Cabernet.  It's a good deal for all.

So here I am sitting by the window wandering through the garden.  And then serendipity...this poem comes into my email from Unitarian friends in Ajijic, Mexico.  I want to share it with you....

ThePatience of Ordinary Things

It is a kind of love, is it not?

How the cup holds the tea,

How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,

How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes

Or toes. How soles of feet know

Where they're supposed to be.

I've been thinking about the patience

Of ordinary things, how clothes

Wait respectfully in closets

And soap dries quietly in the dish,

And towels drink the wet

From the skin of the back.

And the lovely repetition of stairs.

And what is more generous than a window?

- Pat Schneider.

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