To everything there is a season, the saying goes. And here in many parts of North America, we are in the midst of my favourite one - autumn. To me, it is a season that brings together the best of the other three. There is a hint of lingering summer heat tempered by cooler breezes. Some days feel like spring with fresh rains and some green still left in the leaves. And as the trees start turning into shades of red and auburn, they remind us that autumn is keeping the winter snow at bay a little longer.
Fall also signals a time of change. For garden lovers, it's a time to close off our flower beds, wrap our evergreens in burlap blankets, and plant bulbs for the spring season. As an amateur gardener with mostly a brown thumb, I always admire the bountiful gardens of my friends and neighbours. and professionally landscaped botanicals with sprawling year round blooms and weed free beds.
But in a world so focused on outward curated perfection - perfect houses and lawns, perfect bodies and clothes, indeed perfect lives whatever that means to each of us - I have come to terms with my messy garden. In fact it has become a source of solace and joy, a place where I get to putter, to experiment, to try things with imperfect knowledge, and to learn by trial and error. A forgiving place where flowers and vegetables sometimes bloom in spite of my ignorance. A reminder that life is inherently messy and surprising despite our best attempts to control it.
Photo credit: Merlin's Hollow
