Gaining a heart of wisdom
Every fall, when I plant the garlic, I am overcome with awe. Somehow, those small, pale bulbs not only survive a Maine winter in the ground with nothing but a blanket of earth and dry leaves. They actually flourish and start sending up green shoots in early spring, long before I would dare to plant… Continue reading Make the Choice to Stay in a Thankful Mindset
If you've ever grown garlic, maybe you've noticed the curled, flowering shoot that appears once the top leaves are fully established. Gardeners recognize it as the "scape," and the scape needs to be snipped off to allow the plant's energy to remain focused underground in creating a big, beautiful garlic bulb for next winter's pizza… Continue reading Be Brave! Cut Off Everything that Isn’t Helpful
A beat-up black three-ring binder holds the record of 35 gardening years. I turn to it every spring because it remembers where the tomatoes grew last summer. It reminds me of the serendipitous genius of planting the peas next to the fence—a ready-made trellis! It helps me to foil the ravenous beetles by keeping me… Continue reading Life in the Garden on Your Bit of Earth
This morning, the fall colors called me outside for a walk, and, as usual, I ended up in the garden—even though the only living things that remain are the zinnias and the dahlias. I'm cheering the dahlias on in their race against the frost. The buds are there, but having planted them in a spot… Continue reading Fall Gardening in Maine and Other Extreme Acts of Faith
The garden here on the hill has gasped its last, and sunflowers stand guard over the ruins. Rows of canning jars in my basement are solid evidence of summer's fruition. I expect to be enjoying our beautiful butternut squash for Thanksgiving dinner, but, looking for pumpkins among the tangled vines, the gardening season seems to… Continue reading An Autumn Celebration: The Subtle Beauty of Mature Fruitfulness
The gardening life is full of surprises. It yields good surprises like volunteer tomato plants that show up among the squashes from last year's random self-seeding—and bad surprises such as the utter gluttony of one woodchuck who feels entitled to our green bean plants. This year's best gardening surprise has been the unexpected results of… Continue reading God’s Joyful Surprise: The Gift of His Given Strength
Very often, when picking beans or tomatoes in the garden, I work alongside the neighborhood honey bees. They're busy ransacking the blossoms and thinking about a honey supply for the long Maine winter ahead of us. At the same time, I'm picturing shiny and colorful jars of beans and spaghetti sauce to store on my… Continue reading What Kind of Fear is Pleasing to God?
Every spring, property owners here in Maine cede our rights over to the blackfly population. With their serrated jaws and overwhelming numbers, they swarm by the hundreds, drawn by breath and body heat. I've seen them drive even the most determined souls back into the safety of home. When my four sons were all small… Continue reading Rest for the Weary and Hope for a New Season
Every year in late spring, we till up an admirable crop of rocks as we prepare the garden soil for planting. Some years I have been diligent about collecting them. Other years . . . not so much. Regardless, there always seems to be a plentiful supply, and after twenty plus years of gardening in… Continue reading There’s a Big Purpose Behind Every Small, Unseen Task
My joyful sunflowers have bowed their heads in the garden, waiting for the long winter to begin, but I have picked my last tomatoes and green beans, dug up the beets with my grandkids, and all the pumpkins and squash can sit on the deck for a bit longer while we wait for the first… Continue reading The October Book Talk Where We Are Celebrating Abundance!
Living Our Days 