904. Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. ~May Sarton

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    Gardening time is time that involves itself in the moment,
that focuses on the soaring stateliness of trees and
the minute scale of the tiniest blossom.

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The time that began in a garden is the kind of time I go to my garden to find again. It’s the time the way God created it: as a servant and not a master.

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This kind of time is a container for worthwhile work, a resource for creating the beautiful and feeding the hungry and growing soul. It is measured in drifting or purposeful hours, in day and then night and then day again, in slowly rolling seasons, each with its special purpose under heaven.

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Garden time required daily attention but does not require that everything be done in a day. I go to my garden to rediscover that kind of time. And I have to take time out from the other kind of time to discover it.

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It’s great to get away from the rat race, the conveyor belt, the traffic jam, to be renewed and refreshed in the company of growing things; it feels like a day in the country. ~All pasages by Emilie Barnes

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The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ~Genesis 2:15  ✝

**A friend and fellow blogger asked me to post pictures of my garden. And so I spent some time looking through old photos this afternoon. But here’s the thing, my “garden” is actually in flower beds all around the house and along the fences. The largest portion may be in the backyard, but it is separated by other beds and sections of the yard so finding a photo the covered it all quickly became an insurmountable problem. Then I also realized that what might be blooming in some photos is not blooming later in the year. So it really is a moveable feast as it were, and now it is waning rapidly, not so much because the temperatures have lowered all that much but because we haven’t gotten rain in months. So I’ve already started cutting down spent perennials, pruning roses, and pulling down vines that have nearly bloomed out. Sadly right now there is only a smattering of things worth seeing, and it’s hasn’t even gotten cool enough for any leaves to start turning their lovely colors. There are only the dead and brown ones from the heat and lack of rain. However, I did go back and found some pictures that give an idea of the splendor around here at times.  Another thing, look at the white trellis in the third photo; it is now completely covered with spent autumn clematis vines and morning glory vines that are both waning fast. In the last photo, the black round trellis in front of the metal sunflower is also covered in waning morning glories. So the garden really does alter its appearance from month to month and season to season as some things perish and new things are planted. A garden at any given moment is just a work in progress.

35 thoughts on “904. Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace. ~May Sarton”

  2. I enjoyed the beauty in your garden snd all my senses were filled with Joy, Natalie. I smell the lovely scents and see the pretty natural wonders and pretty decorations like trellis, stake with Peace words and the turquoise birds almost like a land weather vane and not a house roof weather vane rotates around with the wind. 🙂
    You are such a blessing, Natalie. ♡ Thank you for this special “garden party.” 🙂

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    • You are so welcome, JoAnna. I love puttering out there and sometimes it is a bit of a jungle. Towards the end of the growing season when everything has grown with reckless abandon, my husband starts complaining that things are “attacking” him when he goes out there. He complains about the “tall” things and I keep trying to explain the only grass grows along the ground. Love, N 🙂 ❤

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  8. The coming and going of our gardens is a part of the gardener. We hurt when they start the decline but then we are delighted when they start to come back. I love the pics of your gardens and if I were closer would join you out there sitting and enjoying the wonderful beauty our Lord has placed on earth for our tending.

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    • You are so right, V. It is sad to see it all starting to come apart, but then there’s always the scheming about what new can be brought in. I would love it if you lived closed and could come visit. We’d sit and chat and have the best time. Hugs, N 🙂 ❤

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  9. Thank you, Natalie, for the gorgeous and glorious garden tour. ❤ I enjoyed the collage of colors. I know what you mean about different flowers taking center stage and not everything all at once. Hardly anything is blooming in mine right now–but it's displaying a riot of autumn foliage until late November.
    Blessings & hugs ~ Wendy

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    • You’re so welcome, Wendy! I’m glad you enjoyed my “babies and their beautiful colors.” Oh it has been still too warm here for any of the leaves to turn and some years they never do. It just gets cold one day and they all turn black soon and just fall off. I so hope we get some color this year. Enjoy yours. Love, N 🙂 ❤

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