#SundayStills: Searching for #Peace

Published on by Yinglan

I recently told a friend of all the work I do in the garden on a daily to a weekly basis like turning each compost pile weekly, water the vegetables weekly now that we’re entering winter, and prune things that are getting unruly. “That’s a lot of work,” she said.

“Yes,” I replied, “but worth it.” The conversation ended right there. I think I may have turned her off on gardening. Yes, it’s a lot of work to keep up but I’m at peace with it. I’m at peace with the work because I’ve found peace in the garden. Even now, I still go out each day to check on things and almost always end up noticing new things like the lettuce seedlings are getting bigger and a strawberry runner has rooted itself in the soil. It’s fun to find little surprises like this, especially in December.

This might be my current definition of peace, but long ago, my definition of peace was different. Searching through my archive, I found a #SundayStills from December 2023, in which I wrote about the same topic. Yes, I still enjoy a good hike but I think I enjoy watching my plants grow more, like a mom watching her kid grow up. A plant parent, I like to call myself, although I wouldn’t say no to leaving the garden for a few hours to head up the mountain for a peaceful retreat from civilization.

For SundayStills

70 thoughts on “#SundayStills: Searching for #Peace”

    1. Thank you. I find the hardest part to be finding the space to put all the plants and there are times when I’ve felt very overwhelmed by the work but overall, I think prioritization is the key and sometimes, one just has to do take it easy.

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    1. Hi Debra, I am glad to be of inspiration. I think the most important thing to start a garden is good soil full of life for plants. I’ve seen people just put down a thick layer of cardboard and dump several bags of soil to start a garden. I wish you the best of luck and happy new year. 😊

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  7. I used to have a nice vegetable garden and a beautiful flower garden, but since we had to divide the land among the family, I had to get rid of everything and now there’s no space left to plant or grow my vegetables. ☹️

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  10. Oh, this is beautiful. This looks like somewhere I could become one with nature and just be at peace. I inhaled deeply then exhaled peacefully when I saw these two pictures. There’s something….calming about them.

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    1. It’s been a super mild and strange winter down here, that part of my garden is still going. Even if it’s not mild, I still will have some hardy plants out in the garden to keep the winter blues from creeping in.

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  16. I hope this will encourage the discouraged about the joys of gardening. I live at college right now, but one of my hopes is to garden and become self-sufficient as an older adult. Any tips for those who want to get started?

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    1. That’s so neat that you want to be self-sufficient. It makes me feel happy to hear that another person is wanting to become self-sufficient. I’m working on that and have been working on that for the last 4 years or so. If I can offer any tips to get started, it’s that don’t think about achieving self-sufficiency all at once. Start small and work your way up. I started with a tomato growing from a grow bag and worked my way to raised beds. Hope it helps. 🙂

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  19. Since I am in the winter cold months of southern Indiana, gardening is in the planning stages for spring. I long for the fresh produce and warm earth smells, but also dread the nagging weeds as well. But gardening is worth it all.

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    1. I’ve been lucky this year has been quite mild over here in the intermountain west region, otherwise, I will be alongside with you, huddling in the house longing for fresh produce. 🙂

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  26. We have a small garden, which I refer to as our Heavenly Father’s garden, it does bring peace to sit there in the still of the morning, and I find a sense of joy as I help with pruning, watering, and talking to the plants making sure I give thanks in prayer to the one who made all this possible.

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    1. That’s a great name for a garden. Even after 5 years, I’m still trying to find a name for mine. I have a set of benches in the garden, where I like to sit on a sunny day and try to tune my ears to the sounds of nature around me. It’s takes a while but once I get there, I can feel the peace and calm it brings.

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  29. I love my Gulistan (Garden in Urdu) its my peaceful haven. During the summer I can spend all day in the garden, just pottering away. When I first moved in, I found a Victorian hot water bottle and a couple of french medals.

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    1. Oh, I’m glad your mom is into gardening as well. Gardening has a weird and wonderful way of bringing people together and it’s a very worth it endeavor. My mom is always trying to talk me out of gardening. Thankfully, I found a couple of neighbors who are into gardening, so I have someone to talk to.

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  34. You sound a lot like my mother. She works in her garden all hours of the day during summer; it’s some of the most satisfying work that I see. She ends up closer to nature, and the grounds end up gorgeous and full of life! I admire what you gardeners do.

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