Spring, Life, and Change

My area in Massachusetts is in full spring mode after a few recent days of gorgeous weather. The tulips I planted in late fall have burst with color, and it feels like my heart has more space to breathe.

Unexpectedly, one of my family members has been hospitalized, so the garden has been a respite for me during a time of high worry.

When I am stressed, not only is the garden a beautiful space, but digging holes and planting new things gets out my frustration and gives me something tangible to fix. So that’s what I did this week.

I have a small garden, and I love to pack it full with color. I’ve been adding small evergreens to balance all the flowers and add winter interest. I found this Dwarf Mugo Pine at the store, and it was too cute to ignore. Plus, I love the smell of pine, and I can’t fit any other pine trees in my yard.

I’m lucky to garden in soil that’s pretty easy to dig since I live about three miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

Sandy soil :)

Then I took the pine out of the container, and ugh, the roots were so compacted. So I grabbed my pruners and got to work, cutting through to loosen it.

After: The loosened root ball

Here’s the results planted in the ground. I added some Biotone to the soil to help the roots establish. It’ll grow about 3-4 feet tall and wide and fill in the space. In the picture below, you can see the pine centered with a row of Phenomenal lavender on the left (easiest lavender ever!), three limelight hydrangeas down the center that are still dormant sticks, and three sky pencil holly that I’ll never plant again because they are too slow.

I’ve been wanting to add more red to my garden, so I picked up some red dahila tubers. Then, of course, I found two gorgeous lighter ones that I couldn’t pass on.

I also had some tubers I overwintered in a shallow pot of soil in my basement, and when I uncovered them, they were sprouting! These were from an assorted bag I bought last year, so the colors are either white, pink, or purple.

On the writing front, I slowed down this week and avoided the page. Since I’ve been feeling emotional and worried for my family member, it’s so hard to focus on creative writing. To get into a flow state, I have to feel like my life is in decent order, because creativity can feel like you are reaching into a chaotic abyss, pulling out pieces, then creating order and finding meaning. I can’t go there when my life already feels chaotic. Does that make sense?

Thankfully, next week I’m on spring break from teaching and can finally clean my writing office and catch up with laundry. Am I the only one who prioritizes gardening outside before doing inside chores? Hopefully with some time off I can process some emotions and return to the page.

Yesterday, my husband and I also celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary, 29 years together. He cooked dinner (this is usual for us—he’s better at it) and we watched the Last Kingdom series film-length finale. I can’t believe we’ve almost been together for 30 years and raised two kids. Soon our youngest will leave for college in the fall, and then life will change seasons once again.

Things grow, things change, and spring will always come back again.