There is something about the fragrance, color and lushness of the garden that is unbelievable at this time of year. Harvesting vegetables from the garden and feeling the warmth of the soil has always been one of my simple joys. The summer night is still and the moon is huge and bright. Fragrant Nicotiana and jasmine scent sighs in through the bedroom window bringing with it a calm soothing sleep.
Here are my 5 favorite ways to celebrate Summer’s Bounty
1. Pick vegetables or fruit and make something to share. From your own garden or at a roadside u-pick garden it is a great activity for you alone or to share with kids. If you don’t have a kid available you can always borrow a neighbor’s. I know several who are available to help with harvesting, cooking and eating. Touching the earth, feeling its warmth and smelling the soil brings us a connection with our dependence on the earth. The food bank in your area is happy to have any excess food you may harvest or swapping with a neighbor for what they might have is another way to share.
2. Visit a Farmers market and share. It’s wonderful to visit with vendors, get good information on what varieties they grow so you can grow them next year. Seed packets are great but sometimes tasting a veg or fruit gives real taste to choices. There are wonderful sweet cantaloupes that grow in the San Juan Islands. I grew a variety from the seed rack this year but next year I will try to find out what variety they grow. Theirs must mature quicker because we were eating them in July and mine are still green.
3. Pick a bouquet of flowers from your garden and share them with a friend. Maybe with a person that lives in a condo or an elderly person who can no longer get out. Maybe with a friend who just needs to know you care. If you don’t have a lot of flowers in your garden do an arrangement of leaves and twigs. I’ve also been known to engage in ‘civic pruning’ i.e. collecting branches and flowers from roadside ditches or abandoned properties. There are endless combinations to try. You can always pick some up at the farmers market or a roadside stand too. The point is to enjoy the beauty, grow them or shop locally, and share what inspires you with others.
4. Go out into a local garden or footpath. Just getting out among the trees and growing things is exactly what will encourage you and inspire new ideas in your mind. We have lovely Bloedel Reserve here in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a stunning place to stroll, contemplate and rejuvenate. Supporting local gardens with your patronage is as important as supporting them financially or in volunteer work.
Stroll for Well-Being
Blodel Reserve offers a ‘Strolls for Well-being’ program where participants take part in planned walks and meditations with themes focusing on awareness, forgiveness, and gratitude to help people cope with life’s twists and turns. Garden as therapy!
Conserve Washington
Go out on a hike with The Nature Conservancy.
5. Sit outside in the evening. Watch the moon rise, listen to the earth falling still and quiet. See night flying insects, (wear mosquito spray – Burts bees’ makes a great one), look for bats and see the stars come out. I grow several types of flowers that only smell at night. Enjoying their fragrance and seeing the beauty of their white flowers is also a way to enjoy the bounty of nature. A few weeks ago I met a Hummingbird Moth, check out the video below.
How do you enjoy the summer bounty in your area?
