People who have good health have many dreams; those that are struggling with their health have only one – to be healthy. My life is good so I have many dreams.
Each summer one dream comes true every year. It starts in spring then summer arrives and my backyard comes to life. In the morning and evening, I survey my little piece of heaven – my backyard. It holds a lush carpet of green grass surrounded by gardens bursting with flowers or soon to be flowering plants. I bring out my fanciful creatures – the panda under the miniature Japanese maple, the towering peacock that glitters, the elephant with its trunk raised high (a sign of good luck), the wizard that oversees the birdbath, and the dragon with the solar glass ball that stopped glowing. This is my stress reliever, where I find my peace of mind, where I can nurture the plants to grow and be creative. There is nothing practical here. I do grow a few herbs for cooking, but no vegetables.
My garden wasn’t always lush. I started working on this after my kids lost interest in the backyard. I could finally take down their construction project that started out as a wooden jungle gym. Later during a summer vacation from college, they put in my fence. The next year they gave me the most wonderful gift – rocks. Yes rocks. My gardens are lined with rocks. Over the years I have added plants, mostly perennials, many have multiplied. The last two years the backyard went from almost full shade to full sun.
After 15 years of nurturing my gardens, I now have a constantly changing kaleidoscope of color from spring to fall. With the rain, little warmth and sunshine my little piece of heaven is at its best. Life is good.
By Mary Guldan-Lindstrom
