We planted our garden this weekend, since the late, possible frost warnings have now passed and the forecast is looking warm and promising. It wasn’t exactly a matter of simply putting plants in the ground, but rather removing the old, rotting garden box left here from long before our time, digging out a bigger plot, re-working the irrigation setup, building the garden box for our new raised bed, filling in layers of cardboard, compost and soil, and then doing the gratifying work of planting the actual plants, labeling and admiring a weekend’s good work. I’d love to take credit for all of the above, and E and I sure did help, but Jason wins the Green Thumb award for this go-around, especially since removing the old garden box involved pulling out two foot ribar posts and digging out old remnants of wood buried deep from long ago. (I really could only provide moral support for that part). I’ll add that there was a heap of a lot of compost/dirt/mulch hauling that I also had no part in. Rake it? Sure! Move it in giant wheelbarrows full down the hill? Not so much these days. As C would say, “Teamwork makes the dream work! High five!”

While J was busy with garden things I couldn’t do, I repainted the front door and windows because the turquoise-y blue they’ve been since we moved here was just feeling a bit tired. Their new color feels warmer and much more “us,” and will look especially warm once I get to painting the other blue-ish items on the front of the house. We’re in search of the right house numbers to swap out for the current set (recommendations, welcome), and light fixtures will be changed out soon. I can’t say how great it feels to be making this place more our own all of the time!

Back to gardening…once we had the box in and filled with all the necessary layers, planting was so life-giving. There’s something to it when activities in my external world correspond with things happening mentally/emotionally/spiritually for me, so naturally, planting things to grow feels right on par for this season. E and I both love getting our hands in dirt and turning something blah into something beautiful, which makes the speed of planting pots and containers so gratifying. In addition to the veggies and flowers in the garden (peas, a few tomato varieties, red and yellow peppers, pickling and burpless cucumbers, carrots, marigolds and yarrow), we planted a few pots of herbs, romaine and chives for the deck (hopefully we’ll be spared of bunnies eating our lettuce this way). E had a flower garden last year and wanted to keep it up for this year, so we planted straw flowers, zinnias, celosia, bee and butterfly mix, and a few gomphrena in pots to grow near the garden bed. We thought we’d also try out blueberries this year after wanting to grow them for awhile, so there are two sweet little bushes coloring up the east side of the garden, too. It’s not a giant plot, but it feels so promising and hopeful as we turn the page on June tomorrow. Living things just bring so much joy!

Now that things are in the ground and/or potted, we’ll hope we can keep them all alive and thriving through the warmer months. I’m so thankful for the soaker hose hookup in the raised bed, and for a seven year old who loves taking care of plants as much as I do. It was even possible to involve the eldest and youngest in the effort with things that interested them the most. For H, spreading mulch and planting carrots were his jam, and for C, “building” the garden bed and digging were the biggest draws. As much as we’ll all enjoy the “fruits” of our labor, it was really the best when everyone was outside working/playing together.

I can’t say I’m moving around with as much agility as I would normally, but mostly, the bump comes along for the ride. I hope that all of the extra movement/exercise this weekend will ultimately be to our babe’s benefit. No doubt the extra salads will be! And certainly the delight of planting and enjoying our work has a payoff to it as well. I am a more peaceful mama when we tackle projects and get things accomplished (even if an exhausted one). I know I teeter on the edge of “too much” all too often, and I’m still working on somehow embracing the concept of stillness in this calendar year. I think on the days when physical stillness isn’t at the forefront for me, I’m still working on an internal stillness that is growing and taking root in good ways. I hope so.

Lastly for today, we let our little butterflies go tonight just before dinner. They fluttered around the front flower garden for a few minutes, bringing a few bonus moments of joy to our crew before bidding us all farewell. “Little Caterpillar,” “Wiggles,” “Weedle,” “Bon Bon,” and “name still TBD” all had a good run here, and I hope they’ll all find purpose in their few weeks of life out in the world. Goodness knows they chose a great time of year to be born!

For all the growth and change and beauty happening in this place these days, I am abundantly grateful. There is so much good cropping up all around.

MM