State of the Garden
When I first got to my room on the fourth floor of the hotel, the airconditioner was straining noisily, and the room was very stuffy. To My great delight — the windows not only open, but have screen and look out onto an unveveloped tract of land with trees higher than my window. I immediately opened the windows and let in the smell of fresh air and the sounds of the forest. There is occasional car noise, but it is muffled by the sounds of wind and rain in the trees.
I thought this morning how often I end up in an office building or hotel where the windows do not open. That cutting off access to the realities of nature, of what is greater than our little world, in order to have a controlled climate seems like much of modern life.
Many I know do not even notice that the windows do not open. Others of us, see the windows and want to know what is outside and to be with the greater energies. We seek to oprn the windows and know. Those who are able and so moved and who are able — rare beings — leave behind the buildings and go entirely on the renunciate path. The rest of us who live the life of householders, seek to have windows that open and spend time each day breathing in the sweetness of what is greater.
Whom I brought home today from foster care.
One of the delights of my trip to Tucson, was visiting the Native Seed Search’s shop. Native Seed Search works to gather, safeguard, and distribute native and adapted seeds to farming and gardening communities, and to educate farmers and gardeners about the uses of those seeds. When I go to Tucson, I make sure to visit the shop (so much more fun than shopping on-line) to buy unique varieties of peppers and beans for cooking.
The first time I went — three years ago — I did not buy any seeds. I was not certain that I should be bringing seeds from the southwest to DC for planting. This year, after the last two years of heat and drought, I bought a few varieties of southwestern greens and some pink green beans to try in containers. I had a good chat with the workers in the shop about shifting what we plant as the climate changes even as we might otherwise try to avoid bringing new species into the area.
I went small with this experiment. As long as I do not let the amaranth (to eat as greens not grain) go to seed and pick the beans to eat or replant, nothing will spread. It will be interesting to observe if these plants require less water or tolerate more heat here than the greens and beans we are more accustomed to planting.
It was also wonderful, on this icy cold day, to take the seed packets out of my bag in anticipation of spring. Planting season for cool weather greens, etc (etc meaning beets, turnips, and radishes) is only a couple of weeks away.
