One day it will be a secret garden........

There is an old saying that tells you to take a lover to secure short-term bliss,

while the traditional recipe for a few more years of joy is to be married.
But if you want your whole lifetime to be filled with happiness and contentment
you should plant a garden.

I remember reading Beth Chatto's words in a gardening magazine, "I think I would die if I could not garden."

Whilst that is extreme, I can relate to the depth of emotion, with regard to her garden.

Yesterday afternoon I had the time to work in the garden. Down on my knees, removing creeping buttercup from the beds.

Several bees joined me, and I found that I had drifted far away. Watching them work had calmed me.......given me a moment simply to be.

I was conscious of myself, and all that was around me,

not wanting to move or to change or do anything at all.

Simply to be.........

"Cup of tea for the gardener" Mr P brought me back to earth. His smile made me smile.

"Have you noticed the gardens closing in?" he said

And do you know, he is right. The garden is starting to wrap itself around me.
This has always been my dream, a secret garden.
A space of tranquility, restfulness,

a place to forget the stresses and pressures of life outside.

I am humbled by the toughness of nature, its ability to look after itself,
the eternity of it all.

I leave you with the words of Bliss Carman........

'Where is heaven? Is it not

Just a friendly garden plot,

Walled with stone and roofed with sun,

Where the days pass one by one.

Not too fast and not too slow

Looking backwards as they go

At the beauties left behind

To transport the pensive mind.

Love your garden and enjoy the sparkle it brings to your life.