Where Does the Energy Come From

My father lives in England and I was talking to him today. His wife was saying that it is getting harder for him to walk (he's 85); I asked how the garden is doing and whether he can still do it. Of course! He's still gardening and the garden looks great! His garden is at least three times larger than mine and only a small portion of it is lawn.

I know that I can garden all day and, at the end of the day, still want to keep going. Somehow the act of gardening energizes us, fills us with joy and hope. When we garden we cherish and revel in the moment but our actions are blessed by more beauty and joy in the future.

Because April was so warm the early May garden is in full Spring mode. All the perennials are pushing through the ground, it's such a joy to see the Hostas, Astilbes, Anenomes, Geraniums, Lupins; the list goes on.

The Primroses and Helebore are in flower and the ferns are starting to unfurl into the warm spring days. Because there has been no frost for weeks, the Magnolia Bush is in glorious flower. It is the first time that it has flowered since we moved into this house in 2001.

I'm slowly hardening off all the seedlings, putting them out in the day and bringing the tender ones back in for the night. At first I only exposed them to a little sun and slowly increased it. The Peppers, Egg Plants and Tomatoes are now about a foot to 18 inches high and looking great. The Penestemon Huskey Red seedlings are growing well which is gratifying as they wouldn't germinate last year.

Today I was weeding and tidying. It's always hard to decide whether to keep all the self set (volunteers) Nicotiania, Night Scented Stock and Calendula. It's amazing, even though they start weeks after the seeds are sown indoors, they always catch up and overtake the indoor ones. I guess Nature is a much better gardener.

The pictures are of Primroses that are flowering in the back garden. The Cow Slip (yellow primrose) reminds me of my childhood in England, they are very common in the English woodlands.