When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. John Muir
There is a verse in Ecclesiastes which says,” a time to plant a time to mourn.”
This would seem to be a good time for both.
I’m always amazed that every spring no matter what mess the human race has gotten itself into, the crocus pop up in their bright colors followed by daffodils, and fabulous tulips in my yard.
I planted cool crops such as peas, kale, onions & lettuce earlier than usual this spring. It seemed more urgent to get things growing as we face this Covid 19 pandemic. The growing of plants affirms order in an uncertain world.
The first garden I grew was when I was a college student in N. California
. I grew up in suburbia and had never grown anything except an avocado tree from an avocado seed (which was actually pretty exciting). Each student in my horticulture class was given a garden plot. Our semester-long project was to grow a vegetable garden. I remember being so nervous as I planted the seeds in my plot- were the seeds deep enough, too close together, watered too much, or not enough? To my delight, everything came up and I feasted late in the spring and summer. I discovered that seeds wanted to grow. I still peak every day to see what seedlings might have emerged from my garden plantings- such a delight when they do.
As a 6th-grade science teacher I purchased a grow light and had my students plant pea seeds in paper cups they filled with soil. Every day they would come in and check their “pet peas” and such a hubbub when those pea sprouts poked their heads out of the soil! Of course, they named them. Eventually, they proudly brought their pet peas home complete with a blossom on the plant. This was cheap magic and full of learning opportunities.
If you (or your children) need a little magic in your life right now, go out and buy some seeds, soil and plant them in pots or even paper cups. Flowers like zinnias and marigolds are very easy to grow- or if you are more ambitious, try a tomato. Water and place in a sunny location in your home and in 7 days or so watch the show begin. You will not be disappointed.
In Every Seed a Promise
A germ of possibility
Tucked into a tiny package
Waiting to unfurl its cotyledons
Up in the sunlight
From the depths of fertile ground
The sprout will grow vigorously
With the right conditions
Beneath the sun’s rays and the spring rains
With the breath of nature whispering
“grow, grow”
Tend it with care
Lest it be choked by weeds or eaten by pests
Then feast from your labors
and natures’ mystery
The wonder of a tiny bit of matter
That waited to reveal its purpose
that most of the garlic in the USA comes from China! Surprising since garlic is a fairly easy crop to grow that most of it is imported. Thus some years back I began my education in garlic and garlic cultivation.
years’ crop for the next. The bigger the clove planted equals the biggest bulb for the next year. Also worthwhile was purchasing the book 
I was out in the garden today “putting it to bed “ for the winter. It’s good work on a chilly autumn day. I looked up at the sky and the colorful leaves and said to myself “this day deserves a poem- just do it” so I dashed off to the house in search of a notebook and pen. Sometimes you just have to pause, be amazed, and write about it!
When they come, catch them by writing or sketching them in a notebook less they blow away into someone else’s “garden”. Then give them the attention they need to germinate.
It’s tomato time here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The only advantage I can see of the hot summers we have been having is that the tomatoes love them. Growing good, delicious, organic tomatoes is an art form and I have gotten good at it- actually a little too good. Frequently I get tomatoes over a pound and they aren’t even the beefsteak variety. But, there are only so many tomatoes the two of us can consume. We have a freezer full now and they are still coming on. Finding the extra homes other than the compost pile has gotten to be too much effort. Next year I will have to go down to three plants. The varieties I grew this year….
The rain
flower.
Planting a garden is an alchemy of human interaction with natural processes.
