No Snow on the Septic Tank!

A sure sign that spring is coming: The snow has melted off the septic tank! I haven't seen that piece of lawn since December, so even though it looks like frosty dead brown grass today, it's a welcome sight.

Those of you in the city rely on city sewer services, while those of us in the country rely on a big, 1,000-gallon cement tank, buried about eight feet under the lawn. The slight amount of heat generated by decomposing toilet waste and cooled shower water and dish water is sufficient to warm the surrounding ground and thus melt the snow above.

I plant crocuses in the lawn above my septic tank to take advantage of this tiny March microclimate.

The elements are in motion: snow (water element) is melting due to the heat (fire element) of the septic tank. The earth (earth element) plus water and warmth give rise to tiny crocuses wavering in the spring breeze (air element).

We, too, rely on earth, air, water, and heat for our own survival.
Welcome, Spring!

Photo from coldclimategardening.com

Buying Things and Giving Them Away

While i was in Laos, i bought several silk scarves and Hmong coin purses, toiletry bags, and glasses cases. Shopping in the "night markets" of Vientiane and Luang Prabang was one big long display of eye-candy.

Now that i'm home, i put all the little silk tchotchkes in a basket and take them with me wherever i go. "Would you like a gift from Laos?" i ask my masseuse, my women's group, my writing group, my neighbors.

I enjoyed supporting the local Lao economy (by shopping), and now i'm enjoying passing those items along to women who will never travel to Laos.

Walking up at 3 a.m. this morning, i realize: Oh, i buy things in order to give them away.

This insight moves me down to my garden book bookshelf, where i load up a box with beautiful garden design books to give to my local library.

Oh! I see: I've decided to retire from designing gardens without an "I" being involved in the decision at all.

It's just time to give away that beautiful clutter that i haven't really looked at for years.

Dead Leaf Litter

The messiest aspect of having a solarium full of tropical plants is the amount of dead leaves that litter the floor and the adjacent flowerpots. Thank goodness the cleaning woman sweeps the floor once a week.

I'm on a Yoga in the Yucatan vacation, staying in a sweet little inn on the beach. Every day the courtyard is littered with dead leaves and wilted red hibiscus flowers. Every day the gardener rakes the sand and the dirt and sweeps the walks. I can see that wishing for a clean solarium at home is total delusion. The nature of plants is to drop dead leaves and dead flowers.

We too are dropping dead skin cells as well as dead hairs. We litter our bathrooms and our bedrooms with our detritus, but mostly we don't notice.

Plants are changing. We are changing. Have you noticed?

Harvesting Greens in the Snow

My book designer, Carolyn, is growing beet greens inside her house this winter.

Using a Rubbermaid tote, she made an "earth box" filled with growing media and a wicking moisture media to keep the soil slightly damp. Last summer, this garden-in-a-box lived on her deck. She brought it indoors in October and has been harvesting beet greens ever since.

What would we like to harvest when our inner climate becomes cold, when our lives begin to feel snowed-in?

Right now, while the sun shines on our life, now is the time to plant and water the seeds of meditation.

Glorious Bougainvillea

After 6 weeks in the tropics, i come home to snow and shiver the moment i step out of the airport.

The flowers and fruit of southeast Asia are glorious. Bougainvillea abounds. In Thailand, we drove by miles of multi-colored blooming bougainvillea in the median strip--a beautiful and very appealing sight to see during a 4-hour drive.

I come home to a pathetically blooming bougainvillea in my solarium.

I attended 2 meditation retreats: one in Yangon and one near Chiangmai in northern Thailand. There i saw the easy, daily access to Buddhist practice that is interwoven into people's lives.

Now i am home where i have to make an effort to attend to my spiritual practice if i don't want to look like my small, faded bougainvillea.

The Meditative Gardener is meditating in Thailand

I'll return March 15.

The Meditative Gardener is in Laos and will return March 15

Happy Groundhog Day!