Someone very wise once said “Live like you’re going to die today, but garden like you’re going to live forever.” I really love this quote. So many things in this world are designed for immediate gratification, and the marketing industry makes billions of dollars telling us that we are entitled to have what we want now.
That’s just not the case with gardening. Plants begin with seeds, and seeds take time to grow. That’s just a basic truth, as difficult as it is for us to accept. I think that it’s a very good thing to sometimes let ourselves submit to the slow life. The distant view. The long game.
We broke ground on our lavender labyrinth project this week, and it definitely falls into this category. We started 250 seeds, and happily, most of them have germinated. They’re living peacefully in our kitchen window on a garden rack, and are beginning to grow true leaves. As soon as they have a good strong set of true leaves and are about 3 inches high, they’ll be transplanted into individual containers and, hopefully, move outdoors into the greenhouse.
Then….we’ll start the process again and start another 250 seeds! The outermost ring of the labyrinth pattern will require about 300 plants, and we’re aiming to reach this milestone by mid June of this year. Depending on our final germination rate and the strength of our backs, we may even have two rings completed this year.
The piece of land that we’re preparing to plant has been fallow for several years, and it’s full of thistle, grasses and weeds. We’re tackling it one section at a time, clearing one 8 foot section per day. By the end of May, we should be finished the outer ring and be beginning the second ring, which is (thankfully) much smaller.
When my back hurts and the tiny seeds don’t look like they’re germinating, I just keep my mind’s eye on the rows and rows of blue lavender plants, and imagine the intoxicating scent of hundreds of future mature plants. I close my eyes and see myself walking the finished fragrant path on a hot summer day and reaching the cool shade of a white gazebo in the labyrinth’s centre, where I’ll sip a cold glass of lavender tea. That’s what keeps me going.
