The Crafty Gardener. Becca Anderson

      Public Gardening

      Longing for a garden but have no place for one? Take advantage of the variety of places that have gardens: zoos, public gardens and parks, cemeteries, college campuses, garden club tours, nurseries and garden centers, or a friend’s house. In many cities these days, there are also community gardens and gardening co-ops in which you can get your hands dirty. Call your parks and recreation department. (All of the above are also great places to get ideas if you do have a garden.)

      I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the

      journey-work of the stars,

      And the pismire is equally perfect, and

      a grain of sand, and the egg of the wren,

      and the tree-toad is a chef-d’oeuvre for

      the highest,

      And the runny blackberry would

      adorn the parlors of heaven

      And the narrowest hinge in my hand

      puts to scorn all machinery,

      and the cow crunching with depress’d

      head surpasses any statue,

      and a mouse is miracle enough to

      stagger sextillions of infidels

      —Walt Whitman

      With Family and Friends

      All God’s pleasures are simple, the rapture of a May morning sunshine, the stream blue and green, kind words, benevolent acts, the glow of good humor.

      —F. W. Robertson

      Going Wild for Wildflowers

      My mother is a naturalist at heart. She treasures wildflowers much more than the domesticated plants I adopted as a child. She would take me on wildflower walks and teach me the secret flora of meadow and wood. I learned to identify wild irises, jack-in-the-pulpit, Dutchman’s breeches, larkspur, lady’s slippers, and dozens of gorgeous and delicate specimens. I wondered at the difference between the small and seemingly rare wildflowers and the big and bold flowers that grew in our garden. The irises especially were in great contrast—wild irises were about four inches high and the irises I started from my aunt’s were over two feet tall.

      One day I decided to surprise my mother by transplanting some of her treasured wild irises to a flower bed at home. She was pleased, but warned me that these delicate plants simply wouldn’t thrive outside their habitat. By the next spring, however, we had hearty clump of wild irises growing beside the shameless “flags” from Auntie’s house.

      They tell us that plants are perishable, soulless creatures, that only man is immortal, but this, I think, is something that we know very nearly nothing about.

      —John Muir

      Bringing the Woods Home

      There are a number of woodland flowers that will do well in any shaded and treed part of your yard with moist, well-drained, rich-in-humus soil (you can add your own peat moss if you need to). These include lily of the valley (my personal favorite), dog’s tooth violet, great trillium, red trillium, false Solomon’s seal, Virginia bluebells, and redwood sorrel. But beware—don’t go digging up plants in the woods: many, such as lady’s slipper and swamp pink, are endangered. Better to get them from a reputable (some suppliers of difficult-to-propagate plants are over-collecting from the wild) company such as Prairie Moon Nursery (send two dollars to Rt. 2, Box 163, Winona, MN 53987 for a catalog) or Underwood Shade Gardens (508-222-2164, four dollars for a catalog).

      Each flower is a soul opening to nature.

      —Gerard de Nerval

      Spring Day Sachet

      This craft is delightfully easy to make and is a sweet and thoughtful gift!

      •½ yard lace

      •1 dinner plate

      •disappearing ink marker

      •scissors

      •1 cereal bowl

      •tapestry needle

      •2 yards ¼” wide ribbon

      •2 ounces lavender or potpourri

      •2 yards of inch-wide ribbon

      Place the lace on a table and lay the dinner plate on top of it. Trace the edge of the plate with the disappearing ink marker. Remove the plate and cut around marker to make a circle of lace. Turn the cereal bowl upside down in the center of the lace circle and trace the edge. Remove bowl. Thread the tapestry needle with the thin ribbon and stitch around the inner circle you have just created. (The size of stitches doesn’t matter.) Tug gently on the ribbon so the lace gathers to make a pocket. When the opening is the size of a silver dollar, pour the lavender or potpourri in until full (about the size of a walnut). Tug the ribbon tight, tie in a knot, and cut the ends short. Tie the wide ribbon into a beautiful bow. Repeat until materials are gone.

      Makes five sachets.

      Seeds of Wonder

      Kids love to help in the garden. It’s a wonderful place for a child to learn and have fun and to spend enjoyable time with you. As you are starting to prepare your garden this spring, consider setting aside a special plot or container specifically for them. Pick plants that will grow quickly (patience is short) and those that have personality (like the face in a pansy); fragrance; texture (like lamb’s ears); vibrant color; and/or attract butterflies. Good options depending on space and climate are: Chinese lantern, columbine, pinks, poppies, stock, sunflower, cornflower, bachelor’s button, cosmos, violas, snapdragons, and zinnias. Take the kids with you to the nursery, and let them select from the above choices.

      You can also help youngsters sprout seeds indoors. Fold a couple of paper towels together to form a strip as wide as the towel, around eighteen inches, and five inches high. Moisten and place inside a peanut butter jar or similar-size jar, forming a border at the base. Crumple and moisten another paper towel and stuff into the center. Carefully place seeds—beans are easy to grow and handle—between the folded paper and the glass. Keep moist, but not soaked, for several days as seeds germinate. Kids can watch roots and plants sprout. When plants reach above the jar and two sets of leaves have formed, transplant to pots of soil or into the ground.

      Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us and the art of life is to get the message.

      —Malcolm Muggeridge