I cannot say I always thought gardening was “therapy”. As a child I lived on a tree farm. In 1969 my father decided to change his career as a carpenter to an organic tree farmer. His family of a wife and 4 children joined him; it was a family tree farm. Organic growing methods were considered unconventional at that time. Dad believed most of the horticultural chemicals used on this earth were harmful for our environment; plants, animals, and humans alike. So my siblings and I were the herbicides and pesticides. We pulled out weeds with our gloved hands and picked bag worms off the evergreens.
Despite those hard years getting the tree nursery established, I later appreciated the conservative values I learned as a child grower, as well as the beauty of the outdoors and plant life. Today, I love flowers and growing plants organically. The rich rewards of the pink eye candy and fragrance of a peony bush outweighs the toil of tending to it. Gardening, and writing about it are my therapies from this complicated society we live in. I choose the simple life of gardening rather than to solve the world’s troubles. To me tending to plants as a farmer or gardener speaks James 1:2-5. “Consider it pure joy, my brother, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance…maturity.”
Since my husband and I bought our quaint 4-room cottage in a historic small city in Missouri, many of my days have been filled with decorating thoughts. Color, pattern, texture, and space. Every niche, nook, and cranny of this less than 800 square-foot space. I am perpetually frugal, a bit of a “minimalist” is the word these days. Despite Dr. Seuss’ advice,“Fill your house with stacks of books in all the crannies and all the nooks,” I am being selective on where to create that niche, nook, and cranny and how to fill it. Although “the love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books,”(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) provides plenty of opportunity for my brain and time to distress from this too real world. Designer, Xorin Balbes offers a different use for nooks. “Creating nooks for conversation and shared activities can do wonders to bring people together. Create more intimacy at home, and you will become more intimate in the world.” Quaint times with and for others is good use of the cottage. We have the cottage listed with Airbnb for festival weekends only, and open our new space for family & friends, too.
Woman Warrior 