April, Zen, Bliss

It was sunny today and around 14 C so I decided to soak up some much needed sunshine and unwind from all the stress I've had lately. It did me a lot of good just to be in the garden today, perhaps not doing very much; just pottering about, but enjoying myself a lot nevertheless.
Contrary to what I wrote before everything didn't go so well for my mother and it is only since last Sunday that she is in MC. It all looked OK at first but then suddenly everything went from bad to worse. All in all she spend 8 days in ICU, had an emergency bypass op and some complications later on. Fortunately when I visited her yesterday she seemed to have turned a corner and was much improved, both physically and mentally which came as a great relief.
So today I was in dire need of the Zen of gardening. Luckily I have a few furry helpers who are very much into Zen and mindfulness, not to mention masters of yoga too. OHM, OHM translates to purrr, purrr in cat speak, but those who really listen do get the message our furry friends are sending us.
Here's Byron Vita, a master of being *in the moment*, living in the now, free from the tyranny of thought.
Surprise is another guru in the art of living; her enjoyment of life seems boundless. It's hard not to relax with all those Zen masters around me chanting purrrOHM, purrrOHM!

But woman isn't spirit alone, the body also needs some pampering so I went into my kitchen garden to see if there was some food available to heal my body.
The lettuces I'd sown a couple of weeks ago weren't ready yet but some of the radishes were.
I've sown them in a cold frame so they are nice and snug during the night when it is cold. We've had 3 nights of frost so far but the plants in the cold frames are doing fine.
I picked a few radishes even though they were not very big yet, but that doesn't matter as they taste so very good, freshly harvested from the garden. I also picked some watercress from my greenhouse and went inside to make myself some tasty open sandwiches with it. I know that many people have radishes in salads but I prefer eating them on a slice of bread, smeared with butter and sprinkled with some sea salt. Tasty, healthy and very low in calories, what more could a body ask for? On the other slice of bread I spread some soft goat's cheese with watercress and freshly milled black pepper on top. Scrumptious!
After lunch I did the Tour and looked at every plant in my garden, however small it might be. It's amazing how green and lush the garden is all of a sudden and how many blooms are there to be enjoyed in early April.Some pink and blue forget-me-nots I transplanted a few weeks ago, are just starting to flower.
Pulsatilla is doing great too, such a wonderful plant to have in the garden as it flowers so early with such beautiful flowers.
In the front garden many tulips are in flower, all smiling and dancing in the light breeze.
I love the gorgeous spring green frock my front garden is wearing now. It is the most tender of greens to grace this earth of ours. It's good to be a gardener as our gardens contain so much to lift our spirit, calm our nerves and sooth all that needs to be soothed. And if you put a kittycat or two into the mixture, well then you have utter bliss!
There, all healed now; body, mind and soul.

copyright 2008 Y.E.W. Heuzen
Love of flowers and all things green and growing is with many men and women a passion so strong that it often seems to be a sort of primal instinct, coming down through generation after generation.
Helena Rutherfurd Ely, A Woman's Hardy Garden, 1903