My Garden Sanctuary

Planting Season has Begun.

The snow has finally melted. The rainy season of Spring has begun. The weather has been up and down — warm days, cold nights, and a battle between Winter and Spring. Spring is finally edging out Winter.

I’ve started cleaning up my yard during the sunnier days. The yard is a mess. Fallen tree branches, trash, and other debris have wrecked the yard. A few shoots of grass pocks the ground. But for the most part, the yard is a barren wasteland.

But it’s my wasteland. I’ve swept the yard, thrown away damaged flower pots, and started laying out soil in an area of the yard that I’ve cleaned. Tanner, my boxer-pit bull mix, hasn’t dug up the spot yet. I’m hoping flowers will bloom and fill the space.

I took up gardening in the Spring of 2020. I was home due to the pandemic and decided to use the time to pursue new interests. I was working on some art, writing a fiction story, honing my poetry, and now setting up a garden. I started on our back porch, a large deck that got tons of sunlight. I purchased some flower pots, seeds, and soil. I bought some plants from Home Depot and Lowes. I dove headfirst into the world of gardening.

And my first year yielded a lot of dead plants and few flowers. I made a lot of mistakes in terms of seeds, soil, and watering. While I did have some growth, for the most part, my first year of gardening was a lot of trial and error. I made sure to take note of what worked and what I needed to work on.

In the Spring of 2021, I was better prepared. With the pandemic still in full swing, I again used my free time to work on my garden. I found gardening to be very therapeutic. After a hard day of trying to educate young people, I needed to destress. The perfect place was my back porch.

I also did more work on my yard. I set up some fencing and decided to plant a vegetable garden. I purchased materials from Ocean State Job Lot. I planted the stakes and got some string and mesh fencing. I laid down the soil and planted the seeds. I surrounded the area with mesh fencing. It lasted a couple of months before the weather and Tanner destroyed it.

But last year yielded better results. Several of my potted plants produced flowers. Some lettuce grew in my vegetable garden. I also planted corn and tomatoes. The tomatoes came in, but the corn only grew stalks. I also had a few beets and some spices. It was exciting to produce actual food.

This year I hope to duplicate my success with growing food. I will plant tomatoes, and cucumbers and even try corn again. Of course, I want to plant some more flowers and see what comes in. Every day, when the weather is nice, I will come home from work and go to my back porch. I will water my plants, weed them, and check on their progress. The practice relaxes me and eases my stress. It has become a part of my Spring ritual.