Weeding

I pull high grass from the front right flowerbed. It’s a large half circle space that measures about 16 feet at its diameter. Planted with bee balm, some mint, black-eyed susans and primrose, it’s been neglected for the last three years, as all gardening energy went into the main vegetable garden.

But with the weeds pretty much under control there, I have set my sights on reducing the amount of tangle in the front. The left side was easy to do as the whole thing was taken over by grass and nothing was planted there. That side is mulched and I await the flowerings of the large zinnias planted there now.

Not willing to strip the right side of all its plantings, I pull at the grass in a rather haphazard way. Grass is insidious, with roots extending in all directions, and I learned years ago that to be rid of it you have to virtually sift the earth clean of all roots.

So what do I think I will accomplish by simply pulling the high grass out? It’s a question that I ponder as I do the work. And I have sort of settled on the idea that I am altering the weed/plant balance. While not getting out all of the roots, I am getting some, and no grass shoots will be able to go to seed. The remaining plants will get all of the sunshine and all of water and hopefully will grow stronger and fuller because of it.

I extrapolate on this concept in terms of what I consider the state of the world, and the overwhelming and debilitating nature of the world news. Can I be content to alter the balance in terms of the behavior that I can control? Will a cheerful and open disposition extended to all reduce the tangle and allow other thoughts to grow?

Perhaps it’s like the front flowerbed. With intentions to continue to pull grass and loosen and improve the soil on a more or less ongoing basis, I liken it to a spiritual journey: a discipline and an experiment where I have no real expectation on the outcome.

I put energy into my belief that little moves will make a difference and that I can cultivate the plants of my choosing. I celebrate the flowerbed as it becomes less dense. And in accepting the limitation of my methodology, I find a measure of satisfaction in the outcome.