The Shrinking Garden

It's too hot to garden, so i go out to the flowerbeds in the early light with my clippers to deadhead. Actually, "deadhead" means cut the whole plant down to the ground. Bucket by bucket, cart by cart, i am hauling my entire garden to the compost pile.

The entire verdant, blooming garden shrinks to the size of a compile pile. For me, that's 3'x3'x3'. It's mind-boggling. My entire landscape shrivels into dirt.

I can see it, if i pay attention. I fill a compost bin up to the top, overflowing even. By the end of the week, it's shrunk to 6" from the top. I fill it up again. Same thing. Shrinking and changing before my very eyes.

Sort of like my own body. Shrinking. I've lost more than an inch of height. And i don't want to look too closely at the shriveling part.

The garden ages. And so do i.