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Contentment

curb garden purple flowers

Scabiosa ‘Vivid Violet‘

con·tent·ment
/kənˈtentmənt/
noun
a state of happiness and satisfaction
“The gardener spent a lovely 45 minutes working in the curb garden today.”

Gardening brings about a unique contentment: The work is satisfying, the results are rewarding, and the time spent with my face towards the earth grounds me like nothing else.

We had a nice breeze today, keeping the temperatures manageable.  Once finished with my appointments for the day, I spent ‘drop-in’ garden time at the curb. I love working the curb  garden. I can take care of the entire box in about an hour, then continue to enjoy the fruits of my labor from my kitchen window.

curb garden snap dragons, freesia

Snapdragons, Freesia, Cilantro and a self-seeded yellow annual

curb garden love in the mist, gravel

Love in a mist volunteering around the edges. Wooly thyme slowly filling in over the gravel.

curb garden yellow pest

Can you spot the visitor on this yellow flower?

The last of the daffodil foliage looked tired and spent, so I trimmed the bunches down to a few inches and tidied up the rest of the bed.

I spotted one or two lady bugs visiting the aphids. The ‘ladies in red’ generally consume a lot of aphids in one sitting, but they are currently outnumbered. I snipped off a few of the heavily infested branches and hope the ladybugs will tell their friends to return at dusk and take care of the rest.

curb garden pests aphids

Aphids!

My son pointed out a small wasp’s nest inside the hollow ceramic bird perched in the center of the garden. The ‘bird’ used to be part of a ‘self watering’ system but it broke off at the base. I put it at the top of the small trellis over the winter for a bit of color. Since wasps eat garden pests too, I’m going to leave the nest undisturbed. I know many people have aggressive wasps that chase them around the garden, but the ones that nest near our house are fairly mellow. Case in point: I lifted the ceramic bird, spotted the nest and one adult who simply hovered nearby till I replaced her nest. I guess she’s content too.

curb garden yellow bird

Ceramic bird housing a wasp’s nest

Did you find contentment today?

curb garden mint and daffodils

Chocolate mint escaping the confines of the box

30 thoughts on “Contentment”

  1. We should be done with snow by day’s end here in Michigan’s Upper Peninsual and with temps warming up I can do more than garden vicariously. I keep apologizing to the poor beans, dill and cilantro I planted too early (was in the 80s one day last week). They look so bereft after being covered by plastic buckets for most of the past two days. The citronella is mad at me, it was perfectly happy I doors all winter. I need to find more cloches (cake covers) so light can come in when we get these late spring polar blasts and tenders have to be covered. I was contented today – and drew the contentment angel card as well in my daily affirmation practice. Wishing all gardeners as much fun as you have in your pretty green spaces!

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  2. Yesterday I thought winter had arrived, but today we were back to the mellow yellow – so you may imagine how deep my contentment went 🙂 Isn’t it wonderful what joy you can reap from an hours contented labour? Fabulous all round really xoxo

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  3. Your gravel garden on the curbside looks really lovely Alys! I like your snapdragons too. I am starting to collect a few annuals for potting up in the next week or so, so I must look out for snapdragons. Any snatched moment in the garden makes me content. 🙂

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  5. I used to take care of all the landscaping around our house, pruning and planting and weeding. And I remember at that time reading a quote somewhere about gardening being cheaper than therapy 🙂 How true! It was time where I could let my mind wander and take pleasure in creating (or at least trying to create) beautiful surroundings. I always came away from time in the yard with a feeling of great satisfaction.

    Unfortunately, those times have past. Now, any kind of work requiring bending over or forward for any length of time aggravates my back issues to a point where I’m often laid up for a day. But seeing your lovely curbside garden brings back those good memories 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Alys!

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    • Jean-Marcel, what a lovely thing to say. Thank you.

      I’m so glad you find contentment in writing. I too enjoy the process, especially when I’m in the zone. I’ll come see what you are up to.

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  8. Your garden is beautiful, Alys. And I’m so glad your wasps are mellow. Gardening is indeed a bit like therapy for the reasons you wrote about. So glad there are people to share its joys with!

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  13. I love the word “contentment.” When people ask if I am happy, I answer that I am content. I guess I don’t understand the word happy. Contentment feels more long term than happy. Being in the garden does that for me as well. I did notice your yellow wiggler the same color as the flower. How do they do that and what in the world is it??? Now about the wasps. I know we need them but do they have to keep building nests under the porch eaves where we walk by each day? I’m worried they will get very unhappy when I have to pressure wash and paint out there. And the little dickens didn’t eat the spider hanging down beside the house. I tried to look up what they ate. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. 😦
    If your lady bugs eat all those aphids, they will be too fat to fly. 🙂

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  15. Good Morning little Garden Girl ❤ Your curb garden is filling in and overflowing with your TLC. If one must be in the kitchen, how nice to have a spectacular view. I had great plans to redo our curb this year, but I think once I manage the garden beds in the back. I'll sit back and enjoy and I'll save it for next summer. Between the yard, work and house the weekend flew by. I've said this a million times but it's worth saying again, you amaze me. What you get done in a day with a family in the mix…..gah! I really like the pea gravel at your curb. So much easier to walk on than crushed rock. I'm going to copy you 😀

    I've never seen so many aphids, those must be the fattest Lady Bugs going. Can you spay vinegar on them or something? Seems like vinegar does everything. I read in Pinterest the other day that Vinegar/Dish soap mix will kill weeds in rocks or walks quickly. I'm going to give it a whirl behind our garage. I've been picking them by hand but my nails say "no more". What do you use your chocolate mint in? Peppermint paddies is one of Karens favourite treats. She'd keep a jar of mini ones on her counter and have one once a day 😀 She takes her Chocolate and Wine quite seriously, LOL Later tater xo K

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