Handing Over

Time moves so quickly, when Spring finally arrives, and the temperatures outside remain stable.  I heard on the news Calgary received Snow a few days ago. So I am a little fearful of the same thing happening here...Calgary is south of us.

I have planted all my seedlings.  They have been through the worst...Snow and Hail almost did them in, and then an early Heat wave again almost finished them off. A little ragged, a little less fresh than they were when I purchased them, they have finally taken root and are showing signs of new growth.

There was a  happy glitch in my intense fervour to landscape the raw land we live on.  Graham had a conference to attend in Port Alberni, my hometown, and where my family lives. Of course, I went along! While he was busy working, I was able to spend some lovely, energetic time with the Grandkids.


I also, on this occasion visited my sister and brother-in-law.  Her garden is one I aspire to...she has lived there all her life and her garden shows it. Every Tree and Bush has reached maturity.  It is the kind of garden where one never knows what might show up just around the corner.  They have recently built a very large swimming pond and I spent a pleasant morning watching a Mama Bear and her Cub nosing around it.

The visit was great for my garden, as well.  My sister gave me a huge bunch of raspberry canes, which I could not find in Williams Lake.  As soon as berry canes come in to the nurseries here, they are snatched up.  Raspberries, apparently, grow large and especially sweet here in the Cariboo.


When I visit a garden such as this, it gives me even more impetus to continue on with my own. 

People ask me why I would put so much effort into making a garden when I plan to move again in a few years, back to the Island. And it is a valid question.

I'm not sure I know the answer.


All I know is I love to garden.  And to beautify a place, to help Creator sculpt a garden He has already planted, seems imperative in every way.  I leave behind, when I move, a small part of myself in my gardens, a small imprint of who I am.

And every home deserves a garden.



A few weeks ago, I was at the end of my rope.  I was fighting nerve damage; with every movement Pain was my companion. I planned the garden during this time. Others wondered why I was even planning, since I could barely move without searing Pain. How was I ever going to manage landscaping this raw, stony land?


But I could not think this way.  If I myself thought I could never do it, I would have been severely limited. I handed my health over to Creator...I gave it to Him.  And then I tried to forget I might have trouble putting my gardening plans into action.


But the diagnosis of Fibro opened the door to new medications I had not yet tried.  And one, Lyrica, has stopped the Pain in its tracks. As long as I take the medication, my body feels little burning from the nerve I damaged so long ago.

Yesterday, I was clambering up and down the bank which runs along the back of our home. It is steep and rocky and filled with wild Flowers and many Weeds. To plant the whole bank, one which only Wildlife sees, would quite possibly bankrupt us. So, only a small part of the bank was planted with various flowering Shrubs, Thyme, and Chamomile.


Arnica, which grows rampant along the bank, suddenly looks more defined, as the raggedy edges are cleaned and pruned. And I found a set of Rocks which look like a dry River bed cascading down the bank. I will highlight this area in some way.


The point I am trying to make is I was actually climbing up and down the bank, planting and digging on its steep sides. I was climbing!

With no burning pain from that damaged nerve whatsoever.

The only Pain I have now is from Arthritis, which will harass me at times...but even this ache from the joints has dimmed. Yet, my right hand is largely useless now, due to Arthritic stiffness, swelling and Pain, if I try to use it too much.


And so, I am using my left hand more and more.  Isn't it great that we have two hands! In my younger years, I never thought I would learn to be a lefty as I grew older. It is not as difficult as I might have thought, at one time.


Creator has given me the tools to continue to live with joy. Handing over my problems to Him has always worked; I had no reason to believe He would let me down this time.  I wanted to plant a garden and I asked for help.


It really was that simple.