An Introverted Garden: Spring

I spent a lovely morning having coffee with my mom and a mutual friend of ours when the conversation turned toward health: physical, mental, and spiritual. We all agreed that we spend too much time on information overload. We write blogs, we read blogs, we research everything we need to know, and a lot of stuff we don't, on the Internet and pin thousands of images we just can't stand to lose track of. I was exhausted just talking about it.

When I got home I headed straight out to my garden for the day. I was all alone except for my Frankie Dog, and I usually let her do all the talking. She doesn't say much except the odd, "Rub my belly, would ya?" What I love about my garden is how well it suits my personality. Just as the Japanese Maples are making tentative unfurlings of their leaves, hoping winter is over, I too am tentatively putting down my knitting needles and checking the temperature outside. Don't rush me, I always think. I'm not ready yet.

 

And then by mid April, something wonderful happens. My equally shy Japanese Anenome Nemerosa decide to show up. Like me, they don't stay for long. Just when the party is getting started, they will recede for the year, leaving behind the raucous laughter of the livelier party goers; the bold hot pink peonies, the cobalt blue hydrangeas and the drunken table top dancing dahlias. I will forgive my Anemone Nemerosa for leaving early, the same way my friends forgive me. We are introverts. And when I see them again next spring I'll tell them they were worth the wait.

 

 

 Mounds of my beloved Japanese Anenome Nemerosa

spread beneath several varieties of Japanese Maples throughout my garden.

 

 

 

I'm always looking for a quiet place to sit,

 

 

 

and my favorite garden helpers are usually taking a break in the shade.