The ritual of gardening.

Recently I have noticed people commenting on the lack of ritual and disconnection from the seasons leading to the year seeming the same all the way through.   It makes me realize how lucky I am with the work I do.  Gardening has its own peculiar rituals that mean we cannot help but be highly aware of the changing seasons.

Fall is always the time when that becomes most evident.  The light seems to change as the harshness of summer mellows to something warmer; the warmth is emphasized by the reds and yellows of the leaves and the soft browns and golds of the drying plant material.

We are currently putting many of our gardens to bed for the season – a process that takes weeks to allow us to leave enough winter interest. This marks the end of a successful summer when we can really see how big some of the annuals got – the sunflowers in Sacred Earth were insanely tall this year thanks to the extra moisture, though it did not get warm enough for the cotton fruits to ripen and split.  As the foliage thins we get to see some of the fruit that we missed before, that is if the birds and squirrels did not get there before us.

Today – the day before first frost is expected we go into a frenzy saving things that will not survive outside and harvesting the last fruits and vegetables that will be mush the next day.  Sometimes it feels as if our squirrel instincts have kicked in and we are storing for the winter ahead.

Fall rituals are mostly frenetic leading to the calmer winter when we get to enjoy the bark & berries & the stillness of the gardens.  Some fall activities though look past winter to spring.  We are starting to plant bulbs and as the days get shorter and colder we are burying reminders to ourselves that winter will pass and as it goes we will be rewarded with the flowers in spring.