vinca

Yoga in the garden

When naming this blog, the concept was simple. I love gardening and achieve a sense of absorption and harmony when my hands are in the dirt. The philosophy of nirvana is beautiful: the consciousness releases, and the mind becomes aware in a way that is totally unconstrained by anything in the conditioned world. The act of gardening is the closest I’ve come to that experience.

After a rough week, I could think of no better way to sooth my soul than a bit of exercise, followed by hard work in my garden. I spent the morning pruning the topiary dinosaur, dead-heading several azaleas, raking dried leaves and topping off the compost bin. I filled an old planter with the rocks I unearthed from the planting bed, then pulled weeds around the Chinese Pistache. After hand-watering the smaller pots, checking the tomato seeds and smiling at the volunteer potato, it was noon. I still had an hour to spare, so I high-tailed it to the nursery for some plants.

No-Go on the Flowering Seeds

My seed planting extravaganza was a complete failure this year. The packets suggested direct sowing of cosmos, poppies and sunflowers. How simple! Out back, my vegetable garden practically planted itself, but the flowers are another story. I finally removed camp ‘squirrels-stay-out‘ when weeks later nothing came up. Okay, nothing is a bit of an exaggeration, but when you plant dozens of seeds and only manage to germinate one, it sure feels like nothing. Perhaps I can blame it on the blackened fingernail I smashed in the door. No green thumb in sight.

Off to the Nursery

I said a quick hello to my friend Doug at Almaden Nursery, then loaded my cart with sunflower, Alyssum and Cosmo starters. April came and went, so no time to dillydally with new seeds. A few impulse purchases made it into the cart, including a gorgeous orange-flowered geranium and some Vinca to fill in some bare spots.

Back home, I planted, planted and planted some more. I apologized profusely whenever I unearthed a worm, quick to return them to the cool, moist soil below. They deserve their own sense of nirvana like every one else.

What do you do when the going gets tough? How do you regain your center?

gardening [ˈgɑːdənɪŋ]
noun: the planning and cultivation of a garden

nir·va·na (nîr-vän, nr-)
noun: An ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy.

Kitty Update

We’ve made a couple of visits to the Cat Hospital this week. Our kitty is looking good, eating well, and ready to come home.

Beijing sports a Tony-the-Tiger bandage

Growing up a redhead my mom never let me wear pink. A ginger herself, she advised that pink was not our color. She was right of course, but when you’re told not to wear something, you can think of nothing else. Am I right?

Pink is definitely one of those colors that can easily be overdone, but not in the garden. This has been my summer of pink. The volunteer cosmos continue to splash color across the pumpkin patch. The pink potted Hydrangea doubled in size and bloom production. I added a few pink Vinca to one of the patio planters and rounded things out with a polka dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya), grown for its beautiful pink and green leaves.

Power to the Pink!