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Have you ever walked through a gorgeous garden? A garden that is teeming with flowers and shrubbery, a cacophony of life and nature in happy harmony?
My mom always loved gardens and then my sisters too. They particularly loved roses. I loved them, but until recently hadn’t found space in my life to care for them. So I enjoyed theirs. Having a garden had many benefits. It was a local opportunity to bond with nature and it also made Christmas shopping fun and easy. I love picking out wind chimes, statues and stakes to embellish their gardens. These objects were pure whimsy and not to be taken seriously.
In the garden, there were small spaces that were set aside for magical enclaves to entice children to enter and imagine. My sister had a fairy garden under her roses. She had set out miniature patio furniture, a swing and a statue of a fairy. Her grandchildren loved to spend time in the garden, playing and making up stories about mermaids, princesses and lands far away.
In my mother’s garden, hummingbird feeders were hung and there always seemed to be a butterfly flying among open buds. Many times the butterflies would land and perch on my mother. They somehow knew that she loved them and they were safe with her. A stone fountain invited birds to come take a drink and rest within the quiet green enclave. A collection of chimes provided a musical backdrop for the natural magic.
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I eventually reached a point where I wanted to start a garden. I found a great sprinkler guy. Hard working, great prices and he set out to provide the life source that every garden needs. Precious water. Water that covers most of our planet, but becomes so scarce as you move inland. Even though we live over huge aquifers, accessing this liquid gold has become a privilege as cities and counties tax and raise water prices. Not a new occurrence as significant water wars were a fact of life for the early settlers of the west. The most famous water war in the Inland Empire centered around the needed water for citrus and created the legend of Eliza Tibbits, a sociable and intelligent matron who had to water the two trees that started it all with her own dishwater.
So the waterworks were installed, it was time to pick plants and visit nurseries. There was an amazing nursery in Riverside; Parkview Nursery. Here, one could find all exotics varieties of flora and natives too. The plants were healthy and primed to create beautiful gardens. I picked out a beautiful pink iceberg rose variety and a few other colorful species to plant. A careful education was provided, some great plant food, and I was on my way.
This was the start to some sporadic gardening sandwiched in between long work hours and the other specifics of daily life. Eventually the weather turned cold and the garden rested and sporadically bloomed through the cold, short days. Finally, I understood, why people looked forward to Spring.
Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash