Wildflowers are playful, beautiful and graceful…like ballerinas. I was wandering through the garden section at the hardware store last year looking for some new tools for my garden. I rounded the corner and discovered cans and bags of Wildflower seeds. The pictures on the front were so pretty…and an idea sprung to mind. We have had a patch of ground that we’ve never done anything with…it was just dirt and two round green covers for the guy I call every couple of years or so to pump the septic system. I’ve never lived with a septic system before we moved here. It seemed like forbidden land, like I should put up a Toxic Waste “Keep Out” sign. When I saw this bag of seed, I saw that patch of dirt and what it was now destined to become. I got so excited. I read the list on the bag of what kind of seeds it contained and how and when to plant. So last spring, on a beautiful day, I took a shovel out and loosened the soil…then wielding a hoe I broke up the chucks of dirt and loosely gave it shape. The next day I tossed fertilizer out lightly and watered. I did that for a couple of more days and then the time came. I lightly racked the soil and in a flurry of fun, tossed those seeds here and there with a feeling of such delight. I had liberated my dirt patch to become a garden of wildflowers dancing in the breeze. I could almost see them coming up as wild and free as their name blues, pinks, yellow and orange. I knew I probably tossed a few more seeds than recommended, but I felt as free as a wildflower. I felt happy, wild and I guess just a little “crazed”.
Then I waited …and waited…sprinkled the patch, and peered at the dirt. I wondered and waited some more…and more. Then, one day I saw a bit of green and more green patches. It was like waiting to take the cookies out of the oven…
For days, I watched and sprinkled my “wild garden to be” with the mist of the hose. While they were still green fluffs, I imagined my flowers, their colors, their shapes, their grace with a joy I just can’t truly describe.
Then, as reality has a way of butting in…there was work to do, and chores waiting. I got busy, as we all do. I cleaned the house, went to the gym, cooked and gardened, and paid bills. My dear hubby noticed that I hadn’t sprinkled my “garden” and gave them some water from time to time.
I peered out my bedroom window one morning and was surprised by the sight of stems topped with buds, and a little color on a few of the green bunches. I ran out to look! Sure enough…something was happening! Before I knew it…I was waking up each morning to more and more flowers. I didn’t know their names but I loved them…each and every one of them, as they continued to reach up and dance in the breeze. They were beautiful dancers. They were my ballerinas…wild and free and they gave me the gift of joy as I watched them grow. They brought butterflies and bees to join their show. That old dirt patch was their stage, and I was their audience and cheer leader.
With every great performance in life…the show has to end. The season is over. It was time for me to put them to rest, close the curtain, so to speak…I had mixed feelings, but for me that now has become a time to wonder what show will be featured next spring. I get to repeat the expectation of the “Ballerinas & Company”.
I am happy to announce that this year’s performance has begun and I’m finding new treasures each day…much to my delight!
