Planting a Garden

I did something today that I've not done in a very long time.

I cleared some flower beds and planted flowers.

Yeah, I have to say, there are periods when my poor landscaping beds suffer from neglect. Last year at this time, I was recovering from back surgery. Bending over weeding, amending soil, and planting was pretty much the last thing I should have been doing. (And don't even ask my husband to do yard work of any sort . . . it's why we have a mowing service.) Other years, I was tending to other things (in 2002, I cared for my Mom in her final year). Or, I was sadly out of shape. Gardening when you're an obese couch potato is pretty exhausting, so it got to the point where I just didn't do it.

But . . . this year. This year, I want to whip my landscaping into shape. I want to clear out all of the half-dead plants, get rid of the weeds. Remove the top 2 layers of hard, rocky clay and replace it with decent gardening soil. Put in some new plants, plant some annuals. Stick some interesting perennials in a few places. Prune. Mulch.

The whole 9 yards. And more.

And y'know, it's funny. I'm rolling off my "busy season" at work, and I got it in my head somehow that I could get it all done this weekend. I'm getting a late start, owing to the fact that I've been working most weekends this spring. And I guess I just wanted to catch it all up, in a hurry.

Once I plunged in, of course, I realized (as I always do) that this is going to take some time. A couple of days is simply not enough. I have other commitments the next couple of weekends, so my planting bed renovation may extend into June, or even July.

A part of me absolutely hates this. I want to get it all done NOW.

Now, why does that seem so familiar to me?

Oh, right. It's a lot like I used to feel when I got the "I hate being fat!" feeling. I felt awful about myself. Ashamed (at least until I shoved it all into the back of my mind). I wanted to be able to wake up thin the next day, or perhaps the day after.

I knew then, of course, that such a thing was impossible. I know it all the more today, and have become a fan of the slow approach. It may be, though, that I still have some problems applying that philosophy to other areas of my life.

A little while ago, I finally got some plants into the ground (just in time, too, as it's now storming) and went inside to get cleaned up. And it suddenly occurred to me: gardening is a lot like weight loss. It takes time -- oftentimes, more time than you originally intended. Sometimes, things don't always go as planned -- it rains buckets (you go to a party and eat too much), weeds try to take over (your best friend tries to sabotage you), it gets hot and dry and your plants wither (you get bored with your food and wonder, 'what's the use?').

But for every problem in the garden, there's a solution. Rain is beneficial, and you can always wait until the soil dries out, so you can get digging again. You can weed. You can water when it's dry. It's the same with weight loss . . . for every problem you encounter, there's a solution, if only you work to find it.

So, I'm going to be patient. I'm taking a vacation day this week, and I'll put it to good use . . . getting my hands in the soil, renovating my landscaping one square foot at a time. I'm going to do it right, and enjoy the process, and the eventual fruits of my labor.

I got a good start today: I weeded, dug up and worked on a 12' x 2' strip alongside the driveway. It's now filled with lovely New Guinea Impatiens, in salmon, pink, purple, and lavender. They are still quite small right now, but they will grow, as long as they get sufficient water, fertilizer, and sunlight. And before I know it, they will be so large that they'll be spilling onto the concrete. They will be so beautiful.

And worth waiting for, don'tcha think?

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Comments

[Marie]

This is a wonderful analogy. I too am a gardener and a long time Weight Watcher having lost over 120 pounds over the last three years and still working very hard to lose the last 20 or so and keep them off. As a very long time gardener, I work almost daily to keep the weeds and pests at bay (those temptations and pounds that keep popping up) watering and feeding (still eating right and working out) and working to make my garden better (reading and listening and learning about nutrition and exercise). Weight management, like gardening is truly a forever job.

[Debbie]

Thanks, Marie. I think I'm somewhat better at the weight thing than the gardening thing, at the moment! ;-) Hoping to get back to it this weekend.