"Flowers respond to something in the gardener's face ~ Some secret in the heart, some special grace." ~ E. B. White, "To my American Gardener, with Love"
Dahlia ~ American Beauty
Good morning, sweet friends. I hope this finds you enjoying these autumn days. We have had lovely weather, although we are in desperate need of rain. The past few autumn seasons have been dry, resulting in less than our normal magnificent fall foliage. Our trees are golden, but the vibrant red and orange still have not arrived. Anyway, I will not bore you with our weather details.
As the autumn season is now with us and it is once again time to put the garden to bed, I want to share a piece from a book that I treasure. The title of the book is, A Garden's Grace (see note at the end of the post) and it was written by Nancy Hutchens, published in 1997. As a child, Ms. Hutchens spent many days with her grandmother, Mamaw Tribby. Mamaw Tribby lived on a farm in the mid-west and was quite a gardener. Together, they enjoyed gathering fruits and vegetables, pulling weeds, planting flowers and trees, doing things gardeners do.
Yes, Mamaw Tribby taught her granddaughter valuable gardening lessons. And, little did I know that when I picked up this treasured book, Hutchens and Mamaw Tribby would teach me as well.
Last night, there came a frost, which has done great damage to my garden. . . It is sad that Nature will play such tricks with us poor mortals, inviting us with sunny smiles to confide in her, and then, when we are entirely within her power, striking us to the heart. ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
The following are the words of Nancy Hutchens ~ When I was a girl it was my job to rake leaves in the fall, just about the time school started, bringing with it activities much more interesting than leaf raking. I postponed the chore time and again ~ until it was too late. Big, dry flashes of snow started falling early in November one year and didn't stop until over a foot had accumulated. This severe weather continued every weekend throughout the autumn. All winter I looked out on a yard encrusted with caked and soggy leaves caused by my procrastination.
Mamaw Tribby said this experience should teach me one of the most important lessons a gardener can learn ~ nature waits for no one. We think we can control her, but all we can do is follow her lead. As we puttered in her flower beds, she'd say, "People are in awe of nature when they first start gardening and follow all the rules. The trouble starts when they get cocky and think they can do things at their own convenience."
I hope you have enjoyed a bit of wisdom from A Garden's Grace. Perhaps you have received a gentle nudge to make sure your garden is tucked in for her winter's nap, a nudge not to let your 'leaves get soggy.' And a nudge not forget to gather lovely little things to use in preparing your gifts from the heart (the holidays are approaching). In thinking of 'gifts from the heart,' I find Mamaw Tribby's words so touching and I hope you will too. "Gifts tied with silver ribbon, son are prized the whole world over. But, through the years, I remember the scent of fragrant, crumbled clover."
"Did I take time out to laugh, to love, to think, to see, to pray" These are the thoughts that cross my mind at the closing of the day." ~ Mamaw Tribby
Dear friends, know I wish you and yours a beautiful day.
And. . .
May the week ahead bring you joy. Stay well!
Amour,
Sandra
Note: Should you be so fortunate to find a copy of "A Garden's Grace," by all means, grab the book. Especially if you are interested in gardening. It is not only a delightful read, it is full of worthy seasonal gardening information.
Images: Via Tumblr, Pinterest, and Swan Island Dahlias
Sandra, as always, lovely images, quotes, and your sentiments. Mamaw Tribby was a wonderful gardener and teacher. I will be checking on line for this book. It won’t be long until we will begin putting the garden to bed. Happy Sunday, my friend!
Good morning, Pam. We have already begun putting our garden to bed. Jack Frost will be in town before too long and there is much to do before his visit. Pam, you would enjoy the book, it contains much that would be sweet to read to the girls. I think it is a treasure of a book. Have a lovely week, sweet friend.
Thanks for introducing us to A Garden’s Grace. Sounds lovely.
It will be longer before I need to think of putting my garden to bed. Our weather is so moderate,
Have a great week, Sandra. Hope you get the much needed rain.
Bonnie, when we lived in VA. I didn’t worry about getting the garden put to bed until around Thanksgiving. It is a different story in West Virginia. The Farmers Almanac is promising us a hard winter and early snow. Enjoy your autumn days – I know it is beautiful in your area.
A lovely story and so true.
Good morning, Penny. The story is so true and the book holds many other words of wisdom. Have a great week!
Sandra, such a lovely post for this Sunday. Mamaw Tribby had such wonderful wisdom. Our fall hasn’t been very pretty. It is very dry and the colors just aren’t here yet. I’m afraid the high winds are just going to blow what leaves are left off the trees. Wishing you a most blessed and happy week ahead, sweet friend!
Shannon, our weather has been pretty much the same as yours. We are in desperate need of rain, everything is so dry. The last couple of autumn seasons have been the same and we have not had our vibrant colors. Wishing you a beautiful week!
Mamaw sounds like a wise woman who knew just how to share her garden knowledge. We are putting our garden to bed these days. I am planning to move my peonies and need to get going on that.
I hope the rain comes and gives the ground the water it needs to flourish.
Have a beautiful week, Sandra.
Good morning, Lorrie. We are working on putting our garden to bed as well. The Farmers Almanac has promised us an early winter with snow. I have been working on getting the peonies cut back and the hydrangeas. Wishing you a lovely week!
I’m not at all failiar with this book, Sandra, so thanks for the introduction. The words, though prose, are true poetry. There is much we can learn from a garden, especially resilience. A lovely post.
Thanks so much, Jeanie. I love the book and refer to it often, as it is full of worthy gardening information. There are also many short stories that are great to read to little ones. Stories with good values, presented in a simple way.