This morning we spent in the garden, digging up cilantro starts, dividing up kale and watering the blueberries. I let Gladys know that we should remove all the flowers and fruit this first year, to make the branches stronger and produce more fruit in the future. This is just the sort of tough life lesson that one learns when gardening. Short term loss for long term gain. Strength over beauty.
The snow peas are sneaking out of the ground, and I hope that the slugs munch out on the bait. The biggest piece of excitement is awaiting the lily of the valleys that I planted all over the place. This is my THIRD try, and I should say a Hail Mary that they come up. I really really love this flowers, which have a very intense and happy childhood memory attached to them.
Elementary school. Catholic. May Day procession for the Virgin, and we girls are all carrying little bouquets of lily of the valley. The hymns were my favorite, the smell of the flowers, the warmth of spring after a long midwestern winter. Crowning the statute of the Virgin, which seemed too cool and a bit crazy (like was she going to materialize from marble to flesh once we put the crown on? These are the thoughts that a 7 year-old with a ripe imagination would ponder.) I don't think I could have been more happy or connected to my faith. Funny how a plant can trigger all that?
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What lovely memories of Our Lady of Loretto. Even I recall the crowning of our lady at Holy Trinity school over 60 years ago. Thanks for sharing such a lovely memory.
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