My Garden

So what have i learned from my garden?



I bought a beautiful plant. It lived a while but then it died.

I bought another one and planted it in a different place. Three years later, it’s glorious.

I started reading the plant tags. This one says, “full sun” and that one “part shade.” I realized … by watching this plant thrive and that plant grow weak…. that I didn’t really know what parts of my garden were most in sun or in shade.

I didn’t know that morning sun is different from afternoon sun.

I learned the Latin names of plants and that the original tulips were tiny and came from around the Black Sea. I began to have a feeling for what at least a few of my plants might need … this sort of soil, this sort of drainage, afternoon sun…..


What a world to explore. In just an ordinary garden, so many different individuals with different quirks and needs. And a web of relationships — the living soil, the rain, the sun. And those ungovernables: the sharp frost and no snow to protect the roots; the neighbour's dog.

How can one dahlia tuber that sits comfortably in the palm of my hand produce 6 foot tall stems and glowing flowers. It’s clear that the laws and forces that inspire the garden operate on a level over which I have no control. My good mind and my learning help a little in navigating this wonder, but its like having an old map, drawn by someone who only explored the edge of the territory.

I’m walking in this garden. If I think I know it, look again. It’s always changing. I’m interested. I keep watching.