GARDENING Enjoying your summer garden

Savoring the Beauties of a Summer Garden

BY KARLA A. DALLEY

"Summer afternoon— summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” Henry James

I keep this quote in my garden journal at the beginning of the “July” section to remind me that summer is essentially a time to enjoy the garden and not to be constantly weeding, pruning, digging and otherwise doing so many chores that I forget to enjoy the hard work that I have already done in May and June.

If there is one thing that the pandemic has taught us, it is that home—and by extension, our gardens, however we define those—can be our refuge. Many of us have learned this over this past year as we learned to work from home, go to school from home, shop from home—basically some of us, out of necessity, never left home.

And many turned to the refuge of the garden, whether that garden was a fullfledged backyard with trees, a lawn, and garden beds, or something else.

So, this year, as we approach the warmest parts of summer here in Connecticut, I want to encourage all gardeners to continue to enjoy one of the greatest hobbies that there is—gardening.

But even more important, don’t lose sight of why you’re gardening—in other words, don’t continue to work so hard in the garden that you forget to enjoy the garden. And I offer this caution because I so often fall prey to it myself.

So, what are some ways to savor the beauties of your garden, whatever its size or type?

For those of you that garden strictly indoors with house plants, enjoy the play of light on those plants. Have you ever noticed that at certain times of day, light coming through the window will highlight the underside of the leaves of a certain plant and give it a completely different look? I have a variegated plant with maroon undersides and when the sun hits that plant, the maroon shows through in a lovely way.

Or perhaps the morning (or evening) sun will cast a reflection on an opposite wall, showing you a plant in a whole new light (no pun intended).

Other plants are well known for their leaf movements. The Internet is full of videos of time lapse photography of these sorts of plants. While our eye rarely can catch these plants in motion, I can often “hear” one of my plants as its leaves adjust to the early morning light (it sounds like a gentle “swoosh” to me, but it might sound completely different to you).

Early morning is also a wonderful time to sit outside (if you have a spot to do so) and listen to the birds in the trees. Or take a morning cup of coffee or tea outside and just sit quietly and observe. You will be surprised, if you sit still, how many things you will see. Birds will land quite close by, as will butterflies, if you just stay quiet. It’s a lovely, peaceful way to start the day.

If you don’t have a place of your own, a drive to any of our wonderful parks after dinner will also permit you to listen to birds as they call to each other. Sunset is so late this time of year that a lawn chair and a quiet spot is all you need to enjoy this treat. You might even bring a picnic with you.

If you do have your own backyard, try picnicking there. Or go out near sunset to see if you can spot any fireflies. I am blessed to still have a population of them in my backyard and it gives me a thrill every time I see them. I actually recorded a video of them on my phone a year or two ago because I was afraid that they might disappear within my lifetime—let’s hope not!

To find fireflies, go to the darkest spot in your yard at sunset. They’re usually evident by this time of year. You will want a spot where pesticides haven’t been used, because they are sensitive to those. You will also want to stay outside in the same spot for several minutes to allow your eyes to become accustomed to the dark.

The insects are not shy—they won’t mind you standing there—but stand still and be quiet in order to better see them. Once your eyes adjust to the dark, if there are fireflies present, you should see them, gently glowing as they flit among your plants.

Summer is here—let’s make the most of it and truly enjoy our gardens!

Karla Dalley is a garden writer and speaker from West Hartford. kdalley@comcast.net. gardendaze.wordpress.com