Thankful for Gardens and All the Joys that they Bring

I have found that I have reason to be thankful not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day I have the opportunity to wake up.

This is true as a gardener, as well, as I am grateful for many things during this past year as I work my hands in the dirt.

I am thankful for the colors that this Autumn season has brought this year. Whether I am looking out my kitchen window or driving down a dirt road to work, the brilliant colors that surround us in the trees is a breathtaking one.

I am grateful for the bounty of sweet potatoes that my family is now feasting on.

I am grateful for sunflowers. Not only do they bring bright cheer and smiles when in bloom on long stalks, but they also are a wonderful source of food to many of our bird friends.

I am thankful for the two young men who watched over my gardens this past summer, as my family and I trekked through the Swiss Alps, Paris, Italian villas, and German borders. My garden would never have survived the three weeks without their care.

I am grateful for daffodils, bringing relief with their dancing and sprightly heads to long dreary months of winter. I am most thankful that they continue to do this many years after they are initially planted.

I am thankful for flowering trees in the spring, covered with flowers and bees, and again covered with fruit and birds in the fall. These trees do so much besides simply offering shade and providing oxygen.

I am thankful for lantana. This is one tough plant that resists our Georgia heat and drought, yet still bursts forth with hundreds and hundreds of colorful blooms each and every year. Great plant for our area of the South. If you don’t have several, you don’t have enough.

I am grateful for my chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Sure, they produce eggs, and that’s great! But they also provide hours of pleasure and entertainment by simply watching them. I am thankful that my children and foster children are able to experience this simply joy early in their young lives.

I am thankful for butterfly bushes, and the many colors they come in. As an avid butterfly and hummingbird watcher, I can never tire of watching these little creatures land upon the bushes, sipping nectar from their petals. An outstanding plant!

I am grateful that my garden was able to survive without me this past spring and summer. When I was home, I was nose down on completing my doctoral dissertation, as well as writing a book. Now, I just need to reclaim my garden, and push back those weeds that want to devour it.

I am thankful that gardens always forgive, and always allow opportunities to try, try again. I already look forward to next spring and summer, yet am grateful for these colder months, where I can relax, look at gardening books and magazines as I plan for next year, and reflect upon my failures of this past year. I hope you find much to be thankful in your own garden, and your life, as well. Enjoy!