We gardeners tend to be a hardworking bunch. We dig in. We get ‘er done. But sometimes we forget to stop working — and smell the phlox, the lavender, the lilies and, yes, the roses.

I’m trying to get better about it. Some nights when I get home from work, I’ll spend an hour or so just walking through the garden, just checking things out. I’ll do a little watering, a little weeding. Then I’ll get a drink (my current fave is tonic with a lime but without the gin) and sit down with the newspaper, maybe a book. And I do start to read. But then I’ll look up and see a weed — a weed! where I just weeded! — and the next thing I know, I’m back in the garden working away.

We’re at the peak of the season for most gardens. Even my garden looks pretty darn good. (Especially if I ignore the hail-ravaged, insect-nibbled leaves.) So how in the heck do I make myself just enjoy it without working in it? How do you make yourself stop and smell the @#*! roses?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 8:12 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.