A new leaf
I finally got around to fixing the garden today. Brian and Dale kindly lent me their mower to try and un-jungle the garden. The cats were starting to enjoy the long grass though, but it had to be done.
I went to the nursery in Sea Point and got everything I needed to start my herb garden. Potting soil, compost, mint, parsley, coriander, rosemary, thyme, sweet basil and some kind of lettuce. It took me a few good hours to get it all done – pots and troughs needed to be moved around and I removed the hideous wooden railing that wasn’t serving any purpose. That allowed me to gain a little bit more extra space by moving my pots onto the edge of the garden. The pots need painting, but I’ll get to that next month. The whole exercise cost more than I wanted to spend, but I feel good that I’ve done it now. I was talking about it for so long and the sense of accomplishment after having completed it was definitely worth it.
But today meant more than simply cleaning up the garden and planting a few herbs. It’s a step forward for me. I never cared for gardening before. There were always too many other more important things to do. Now I’m looking forward to caring for and nurturing the plants. It’s another form of responsibility that I’m taking on. The cats were the first major step – the plants are the next. Plants need attention and care and I feel I’m ready for that now. It also allows another way if interacting with Mother Nature. I didn’t think about anything else when I was gardening today. That was a good thing.
“Take the earth between your fingers. Feel it’s contours, smell it’s energy, and let yourself be moved everyday by the rejuvenating power under our feet.”