Tuesday, May 13, 2008

When I'm Not Writing

This time of year, here's where you'll find me working:

(Abigail Adams azaleas)


(Donald Wyman crabapple tree)


(andromeda bush, perennial candytuft, peonies)

(bleeding heart)


Yep, all those pics were shot just this morning in my yard.

I never in a million years would've predicted it, but I love gardening. This time of year, I'm bringing bouquet after bouquet of daffodils into the house. In the coming months, I'll have peonies, iris, hosta, hydrangea, daylilies, catmint, daisies, and aster.

As a kid, I always viewed the garden as a chore (probably because weeding my parents' garden interfered with my social life, such as it was.) However, now that I've gotten all my own gardening areas into shape, I spend a couple days each summer weeding (and occasionally dividing overgrown perennials), and I'm rewarded with fresh flowers on a near-daily basis. Doing something that's so opposite of writing keeps me invigorated and helps to clear my mind. It also means that I can take my writing out-of-doors; in the summer, I frequently park out back (under a huge umbrella) to enjoy the breeze and the scent of all those flowers as I work on my laptop.

It's what I'm most grateful for today.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Those are beautiful! We moved into this house a few years ago, and I have yet to get many good flowers going, although I have a start. I've mostly been concentrating on our garden. Nothing tastes as good as a summer-ripe tomato still warm from the sun.