Diary of a Gardener Those Magic Moments

At the start of this year, 2024, I wrote down many personal and professional goals. One of those goals was to write a weekly blog post. I have succeeded in that goal, so far. The main reason I decided on weekly is to hold myself accountable, otherwise it may be 2 months between post. I do enjoy writing but some weeks I just do not have anything to say. The brain is empty of creativity. It is not like I am sitting around twiddling my thumbs with nothing to do. I run two businesses, take a class, sometimes teach a class, have three dogs, a husband, get my daily workout in and tend to my constant and demanding garden. This week was one of those weeks when I just did not have anything to talk about until I read an article this morning that was the lightning bolt or jolt I needed.

There are so many moments in my garden that are simply magic. There is no way to describe the feeling, the way the sun shines on a leaf, the butterfly that swoops across your path, or the sweet and intoxicating smell from a nearby plant. Those moments are what Scott Beuerlein call “magic moments.” He says “They capture vignettes of nature in time…. That is what is real.” He put words to feelings I have felt so often. It is that moment I witness so many times that makes me stop, look, listen, and physically feel what the garden is trying to tell me. I leave my phone in my pocket, and I look at this small vignette of pure magic. It is as if my mind is taking a mental photograph.

Have you ever tried to photograph that magic moment? It never works. That small rectangle on my phone’s camera just cannot simply capture what my eyes witness. The way the colors come together, the sun shines, how the flowers flow from one plant to the next in continuous swaths of color. It is the song of the birds early in the morning or the hum and buzz of bees hard at work in my Firebush while I stand underneath it working. It is being so incredibly proud of something that quite literally my blood and sweat have poured in to.

I realize my garden cannot be perfect, as hard as I may try. It is a constant work of progress as one flower wains another is glowing beautifully. The ever-ending weeds and do not get me started with pest on my roses. I love what Beuerlein says, gardens are makers of moments. Just like life. A garden’s job is to create moments that make us stop and gasp of amazement or smile. How often do you allow yourself to walk around and look without pulling a weed or deadheading? A gardener’s job is never ending. Do you sit and watch what is going on around you? The pollinators at work, the birds finding food, a butterfly looking for a flower to land on are happening without our knowledge. What if you just stopped to witness those magic moments? That… is real.