gardening

13

I think I could enjoy having a garden of my own. I’ve recently become the co-tender of an allotment garden plot, so we’ll see how well I know myself. My Finnish grandmother was an amazing gardener, and the childhood memories I have of all the flowers in her garden border on fantastical. The lilies and roses and poppies that simply flowed over in her flowerbeds. But it’s a lot of work, keeping a garden, and to be honest, maybe what I enjoy the most is just sitting, breathing, taking in all the calming shades of green. It was in my grandmother’s garden where I wrote many of the short stories I produced during my teens. I write well in a well-tended garden. They offer focus. Help me get my thoughts straight. I don’t do yoga – I watch trees.

Photo: Botaniska trädgården vid Lunds Universitet, Sweden, May 2017. Posted on Instagram April 23, 2020.