In my perfect world, happy endings always occur. For this reason, I sometimes read the end of a book first, just to prepare myself for the prospect of an unhappy ending. Of course, life doesn’t always offer happy endings and, even when it does, it may be that there is difficulty and sadness along the way. To remind me to be patient with this uncertainty, I like to garden.
A garden demands some labor in exchange for a reward a few months later. The growing season alone is a lesson in waiting. Of course, I’ve also planted my fair share of seeds that don’t sprout. So I know that gardening is not a guarantee of a happy ending. But it is an investment in the idea that patience may bring beauty. Seasonal change is its own reminder of constancy and on the coldest and darkest day of the year, the promise of a warm long day to come is as certain as life gets.
I thought about this last weekend as I got out my garden shoes for one last set of garden chores before winter. I dug up my dahlia bulbs and stored them in the basement for next spring. Tomato cages were put away for next season. I ran the mower over the leaves on the lawn to mulch them up; this disposes of the fallen leaves and feeds the lawn over winter. This particular chore also had the double purpose of running the mower out of gas for the winter.
Many of the leaves in my yard have already fallen and the stark beauty of winter has begun to take hold. The peach tree has just two leaves left.
The apple and pear trees are not quite done dropping their leaves.
The garden had a few roses that had survived the cold. I brought those inside for one last bouquet.
The cold temperatures that are settling in are a reminder that Winter’s season of rest is nearly here. Gardening chores are shelved for a little while.
On the front porch, a few pots have bulbs hidden in the dark soil. These porch plantings will be the first sign of spring when it arrives in a few months.
Until then, Mother Nature has ordered that we rest. It is a welcome respite.
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