the garden in early spring & other scenes
Oh, early Spring… To fall asleep to the hoot of our resident tawny owl, and to wake up to the early activity of woodpeckers, European goldfinches, and blue tits (among so many others!). Windows open wide in the morning, meals outside, and sunshine work breaks to soak in the warmth and clarity this change of weather brings. Chickweed, cleavers, and fresh lilacs making it back with me from afternoon walks for kitchen and apothecary preparations.
It’s been almost a month since I started writing this post, as I’m not sure what’s happening with time. The wattle and daffodils you see here have come and gone in the meantime, and my seedlings are almost ready to be transplanted into the garden.
With only a month left before baby F joins us, I often have the feeling that I should be doing more. Photographing more, writing more, sharing and connecting more. But it looks like the natural answer my body craves is… less. A permission for stillness and to not be productive (beyond what is already happening within!), a nod to moving slowly.
I am doing my best to listen.
The garden, however, never feels like another thing I should be doing. The dance of reciprocity between body, plant, water, soil, and more-than-human beings is pure joy. And so I’ve sown, and planted, and nurtured, and I know the result of these small actions will fill my heart and my baskets with so much joy in the next few months, when I’m deep in the cocoon of postpartum. Well, who am I fooling — my heart feels that joy already.
Things may not look too exciting right now, though it’s only a matter of time. The soil is composted and mulched, the finding of worms always brings the three of us squeals of joy, and the underlying activity of roots and mycelia feels just so palpable. This time of the year feels like the turning of something, we’re right at the cusp of it before green and growing things envelop us in their magic.
Here’s a little list of what I sowed and planted by mid-March:
🌱 carrots
🌱 different varieties of beetroots
🌱 radishes
🌱 salad greens like lettuces and rocket
🌱 tomatoes, about five different varieties
🌱 bell peppers and chillies
🌱 zucchini and pattypans
🌱 pumpkins, many of those and in different varieties (I plan on just spreading these around the house for strong hobbit cottage vibes, we shall see how that goes)
🌻 cosmos, tagetes, sunflowers, and zinnias
and… probably some more I’m forgetting (of course!)
Friends, I’ll end today’s transmission here. Everyone is still in bed, as the full moon rose me from sleep with her silver brightness, but I hear the chatter of the early birds now. I wonder what they are telling each other. It’s time for a rose latte and to sit down with my journal, and maybe for a round or two of knitting… Just in time to say hello, sun in my face quite soon.
What is happening in your neck of the woods?
With love from mine to yours 🤎
