Four years ago, this space was gravel and clay. I started digging holes and dumping kitchen scraps and this went on a couple years. This year, I spread cooked compost from the bins and about 4 inches of clean, aged horse manure. Beautiful! Today, I will share with you some teachings of a couple of these plants growing. My experience of a garden in a word is grace. It swells my heart, friend.
These flowers are annuals, which means they die at the root every season, leaving behind seeds that begin again, forming new roots, each spring and summer. They do not complain. They do not get mad if their neighbor casts a shadow on a particularly warm and sunny day. They do not have problems with even annoying neighbors. They just live, unburdened by their sure death or their conditions. Having said that, nice soil and appropriate moisture will let them sing their most glorious notes.
Why did I write that whole paragraph and didn't even tell the name of the flower?
Someone asked Eckhart Tolle about how to teach a child presence, about stillness. Every child is born present, clear. That's why it's so enjoyable to look into the eyes of an infant, so free of stories and judgements. They are perceiving without history, here for it. And they love you without knowing how to use language. Then their preferences show up and their personality begins to emerge, as is the way for humans on this planet, our cycles begin. Yet can we keep that innocence as the cycles of our life unfold? Eckhart said, when you look at a flower with a child, and the child asks the name of the flower, first invite the child to experience the flower without any name at all. This is a nice presence practice: to perceive without naming or labelling. Then of course, we can give it a name. In this case, these flowers are Zinnia. The great and bold, Queen Zinniford of a Colorado town. And the child learns to see the world around them with clear sight, with deep presence.
This is the final form of this flower. It's a very strong plant, strong flower. It will not drop until deep into winter, if at all. Yet look at the grace and delicacy with me!
Gosh!
Yet before it becomes that final form, there are stages.
It begins as a blossom.
But the blossom doesn't have this final form in mind. It's just a blossom, doing it's thing, being a blossom without even knowing we gave it a name.
Even if it's losing its leaves early, even if I am responsible for scorching it, put that water out for it in the sun, it doesn't have a problem. It continues to do what it can. It wants to live, to grow, to have insects visit and it does all this naturally, without thinking.
All stages of a flower exist together on one plant. A dying bud doesn't look at a fully formed flower and compare their lives and bemoan its destiny. The full flower does not wonder why the other buds, in their various stages, are not flowers yet. There isn't any static at all in their relationships. They leave each other alone and share their resources.
I present this creation to you next:
These flowers will not open during the day until they are fully heated up in the sun. They refuse. They don't want much water. They will not grow long enough stems to make a bouquet. Even the bugs that will eat anything, will not eat this flower.
This photo was taken at just after 11AM. She's just now opening for business but the bees won't land until she is wide awake. She is not sorry for her requirements, not defensive, not refusing to grow in the conditions she is given and she will not be waking up early for bees, no matter.
Look at this unfortunate looking pumpkin. The image on the package of seeds is glorious. They're French Pink Pumpkin. However, I have pumpkins without any warts at all, smooth and trying to be pink. Nothing elegant, as the seed place said about them. It's like the wart allocation was all dumped into this one pumpkin. Yet it grew, it doesn't even consider if it's anything less than beautiful. It takes up all the space it needs. It doesn't consider if I think it's attractive or delicious.
That's it for this garden post. Soon I will be posting videos and not just words on this website. I hope you'll follow along with me on Youtube. In this great, glorious mess of being human, may there be goodness and grace and kindness within and around you.
Much love,
Parker