My Garden Visits . . . The Beginning

I've been thinking about expanding my French Country blog from once to twice a week. 

I'll still write about French Country decor on Fridays;

this will be my first post about my garden. 

I hope you'll stop by each Tuesday for a visit on My Garden Visits.

(Can you spot the little visitor in my garden below?)

I like to think of gardening as an extension of my creative spirit in my home. 

It spills out the French door onto the patio and into the garden 

like my yard-sale treasures tumble into my home on weekends. 

It's that same creative urge that speaks to me in the plant nursery and says, "Take me home."

I may start out with a plan for my garden but then that spirit taps me on the shoulder 

and whispers, "Why not try something different?" 

And so I dig out a butterfly bush and move it to another spot. 

It will get more sun there, I tell myself, fingers crossed it will survive the move.

That garden spirit whispering in my ear is my father. 

My love of gardening came from my Dad 

even though I didn't recognize it until much later after he was gone.

It's hard to picture him now without seeing him kneeling in the dirt, 

a grin on his tan face, as he holds a fresh baby eggplant. 

Like a new father, he is proud of what he's produced. 

I can just hear him shout, "Hey, look what I made!"

My father died on Good Friday fourteen years ago. 

Maybe that's why my thoughts turn to him this time of year and I invite him for a garden visit. 

His gentle presence is always with me in the garden, letting me know he's proud of me 

for the woman I've become and for my stewardship of all living things in my garden.

I didn't know I'd become a gardener (my sister inherited the green thumb) 

but somehow that latent love of the earth burst forth in me 

like spring bulbs pushing up through the wet, soggy ground. 

And over the years, it's become a bit of an obsession, giving me purpose and rebirth each year. 

Now, as spring approaches and the ground warms, I kneel in my garden and say, 

"Hey Dad, look what I made!"

P.S.

Thanks to everyone who checked in on me during the
Great Denver Blizzard four days into Spring.
Yes, we were smack in the middle of it and got about 16 inches!
But no broken limbs (in the trees or on the body)!
Now, if I could just find my plants.

Linking with:
Bella Rosa Antiques, Elizabeth and Co., Savvy Southern Style, Knick of Time, Maison de Pax,
Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson, A Delightsome Life, The Vintage Nest, Poofing the Pillows,
Peonies and Orange Blossoms, Adirondack Girl at Heart, Rooted in Thyme, Charm of Home,
French Country Cottage, Shabby Art Boutique, The Cottage Market, Shabby Fu Fu, Thoughts from Alice, Our Southern Home, Rustic & Refined, Dwellings, Between Naps on the Porch,
Cozy Little House, Coastal Charm, Cedar Hill Farmhouse