“Gardening is the most therapeutic
and defiant act you can do especially in the inner city.” – Ron Finley
I love a
quote that presents itself at the perfect moment for maximum impact. This one
came in time for a morning of aching back and legs, the inevitable result of
spending the previous warm afternoon clearing away last year’s garden clutter. Springtime
squats—the exercise I’m always unprepared for—are those repetitive motions
performed by bending the knees to get closer to the clump of dried up stuff you
need to cut off or pull out to make way for the new growth that’s just peaking
out of the ground. Anyway, that’s my ritual. Someday I’ll get smart enough to
pull up a stool and sit down right away.
My gardening
space is more suburban than inner city. I still count it as a defiant act in so
much as it tends to fly against the grain of a homeowner’s association’s idea of
neat, tidy, and bland. I have a few supporters in my corner. Those who wish me
well in working on my little island of a Monarch waystation. Their kind
comments help me keep going. Plus, the butterflies have found me! Caterpillars,
by the way, make great pets. I give them a head start in life by nurturing them
through their main stages of growth then send them off into the world. At the
end of the season, we are all free to go our separate ways.
As for
therapeutic … Yes, I have the good feelings that come from helping the Monarch
migration, but I have the look of a gardener: weathered skin, worn-out leather gloves,
and a healthy respect for bees. I’m not sure I’d call that part therapeutic. For
me the therapy comes when I absolutely need private time—I go out to the garden
and find something to do. It’s a soothing repetitive routine that’s not without
its surprises. Some good, like seeing a moth that behaves like a hummingbird.
Some bad, as when I finally discover the parasite that’s killing caterpillars. Both
spur me onward with new understanding and growth.
Gardening is
work. Writing is work. Seeing them as therapeutic and/or defiant acts comes
from your perspective and inner need. My need right now is get on with my next
project.
Ron
Findley’s quote comes from a recent Quad-Times Crytoquote puzzle.
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