A ‘Stop-Time’ Moment in a Garden

Cultivating Quiet Awareness

If Nature is your Teacher your Soul will awaken ~ Paracelsus

Climbing hydrangea attaches to a wall by aerial roots. It takes a while to get established but then it takes off. Creamy petals and dark green leaves. Flowers throughout the summer. Zones 5-9 .

Have you ever experienced a moment when the wafting fragrance of flower blossoms captured your attention and lifted you away? Or when the birdsong around you was louder than the chatter in your head? This exquisite moment of stillness is what I call, 'stop time'. It can occur anywhere and anytime: while you bask in the warm morning sun, while gardening or even while getting into your car. At these times, you may have paused and drunk in the fragrant air or enjoyed the trilling of the birds. For a brief instance, you may felt a connection to the green world around you. 

‘Nelly Moser’ clematis is a hardy bi-color twining vine that you can grow at the base of a dogwood or similar low branching tree. It has extra-large flowers with a distinctive two-tone color combination of mauve and hot pink. Blooms in early summer. Zones 4-9.

That rare moment of reconnection can become more prevalent in your life if you take time to notice the natural world. Just as a wine connoisseur relishes that first sip on his tongue; you can learn to savor a flower, a rock or even a breeze.  This is the what many gardeners enjoy doing. They are deeply appreciative of the workings of the natural world and revel in these ‘stop-time’ moments while they are out there puttering in the yard.  If you think about it, wine and gardening are very similar; although not essential to life, they enrich our everyday experience, adding a quiet fullness to normal routines. 

These moments add a quiet fullness to normal routines

Savoring a garden asks that you look closely, as a child would, at the microcosm of pulsating aliveness that exists everywhere.  Once you notice this amazing tapestry of life under your feet, you delight in the little things you find there: the snowdrop peaking its white petaled head above the snow, the earthworm slowly working the soil or  autumn leaves resplendent in their colorful garb. Keen observation and quiet awareness will - in time - transport you to that elusive and exquisite ‘stop time’ moment. 

The North American native, White Trillium, is one the most beloved wildflowers of the eastern deciduous forest. Its flower parts are in "threes"- three leaves, three petals and three sepals. Blooms in mid spring. Hardy to Zone 4.

Thank you for being a subscriber to Gardentopia. I appreciate your support!