Blue Ridge Country July/August 2021 - 64
SINGING IN THE GARDEN
...Find out where joy resides and give it a voice far beyond singing.
For to miss the joy is to miss it all. -Robert Louis Stevenson
Singing Again
Text and art by GINNY NEIL
W
64 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
hen I was first assigned this column, I
asked my editor if we could change the
name from Mountain Garden to Singing
in the Garden. I believe that singing is
one of the highest expressions of joy and I
wanted my column to reflect some of that
joy. Plus, I sing a lot when I work.
But, to be honest, although I had the singing down
pat, I still had a lot to learn about the garden. My years of
writing this column have forced me to learn many new
skills so I can write honestly for my readers. I realized
pretty soon after starting that I love looking at my garden,
but weeding? Not so much. Mulching? Maybe later.
Pruning and staking. Do I have to?
When the pandemic hit, I lost my hope. I lost my
song. Then, the weather warmed and I returned to the
garden. There wasn't a whole lot else to do, so I used my
hoe every day. I staked and tied tomatoes. I improved
my half-hearted mulching. I yanked out weeds and relocated
plants.
When so much else seemed out of control, my garden
helped me regain a sense of balance. It gave me back my
song. And, in the process, it taught me some things.
You don't always get what you planned for, but keep
your eyes open for something good to happen anyways.
Although I plan diligently, volunteer plants from last
year's garden always poke their heads up in unexpected
places. A cherry tomato wiggles out of the corn rows. Self
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2021
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