When Grace Lets It Grow

 

In the spirit of using what you already have at hand, our son has set up a good-sized garden plot to the side of our yard by the fence, using sections of one of the trees we lost in constructing our new little house.

This is where a garden existed in the pre-construction era of the property.  And, to happily remind us of that, the rhubarb made its way up through the straw bed to help get things started.  

Nothing else has been planted quite yet, what with all the frost warnings still lingering about this May. But soon.  Maybe this coming weekend.

What I'm loving about the look of it, though, is how David, like I said, has taken sections of one of the trees we had to chop down to becomes the walls of the garden box, as it were.  

Even before any seedlings are planted, it's got a solidly organic vibe to it, all rustic and natural looking.  And while there's still random yard waste to clear away, and decisions to make about other corners, the overall look of this back/side yard space we share is more and more a reflection of the easy, give-and-take, live-and-let-live culture of our intergenerational living arrangement.  

Last year we were able to install the second shed, and had flagstones placed around the fire pit making pathways between everything.  Harvest's comment was that it looked like we were building a little village back here.  I like that.

This is the second spring season for us here.  So it's fun to see the morphing of ideas and effort and creativity in using what we have on hand, and the different skills, and passions, and resources we bring, as we build our lives together in this space.  

And it's deeply satisfying.  And not a little surprising.

Our family's story is complex, and, if you know it, you know that a lot of grace has been granted to us to make this work. So many answers to so many prayers are spread out around this yard.  Having just come through another Mother's Day and its usual ordeal of all the self-evaluative reflections, I am ever so grateful we are who we are, and that we still get to grow together.  I know I don't deserve this.

I should make it clear; the garden is all David.  One of the values we are owning here is that we make way for those who know what they're doing.  Hence, I am staying well away from the vegetables.  I'll stick to making our little front porch pretty.  And there are more plans underway for the space directly behind the house, which includes the original shed.  Of course, there's the ramp to build along the side of the porch up to our main door.  

Lots to look forward to.

Lots to grow into.