If there is a silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic it is that it is occurring in the spring. The days are getting longer, temperatures are warming, and gardens are bursting into growth and bloom. Not only the plants, but also all the creatures that live in the garden, including humans, are active. Our gardens are a safe haven for us while circumstances outside are threatening and disheartening. Gardeners by their very nature are optimists. “Our gardens” are anywhere plants are growing: windowsill gardens, planted pots on a balcony, or a single favorite houseplant.
My garden provides me solace and hope for the future: a sense of normalcy. I am nurturing the growth and health of an entire community that includes plants, insects, birds, and people. The colorful bumblebee in the photo below made me laugh as it gathered pollen from a small narcissus that is not much bigger than the bee. Anna’s and Rufous Hummingbirds feed off the wild currant in my front garden. For a short period before garden flowers opened, bushtits scavenged the ants that gathered on the hummingbird feeder, while the hummingbirds waited their turn.
I am harvesting compost from piles of leaves and kitchen scraps that have been broken down into soil by an active community of microbes. This lovely, nutritious, living dirt will be added to my vegetable beds. With some gentle digging on my part, the vegetable bed will soon be ready to grow peas. It is less easy to obtain seed during the shutdown, but my gardening friends have bailed me out by giving me their extra seed. I hope to return the favor with produce and plants in the near future. From microbes to peas: amazing!
I love to propagate plants. I recently divided a clump of trilliums into a dozen plants to give away to friends and to spread around my garden. Gardening can be a solitary activity, but the gardening community is strong and supportive. We can enjoy each other’s gardens and share, even if it is online, on the phone, or from six feet—or more—of distance.
Working in the garden does not need to be a large project. The “working” that gives me the most comfort is puttering, or looking around to see what has changed since yesterday. Pull a few weeds, deadhead some flowers that might send seed in unwelcome directions, or check on the newly planted seeds. Sit in the sun.
While walking the neighborhood, take note of how parking strips and front gardens are planted. If you see something you like and the gardener is out and about, ask what it is and how to grow it. My parking strip grows vegetables in pots and many plants that thrive in a sunny, drier environment. Even from a safe distance gardeners love to share their successes and hard earned lessons.
The title of this article is borrowed from a reader’s comment on Allan Jenkins’ Sunday gardening article in the online version of The Guardian newspaper (theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/apr/05/in-worrying-times-there-is-nurture-to-be-found-in-nature). These articles and the wonderful resulting comments illustrate that gardening can encourage a sense of community even in a distant place such as a newspaper comments section.