Dear Gardener,

As we tend to our gardens, there are so many moments of magic and wonder. A hummingbird visits the Cardinal flower blooming just in front of us. The perfect ray of sunshine might illuminate our snapdragons, making them glow. We harvest the heirloom beans that have been passed down through the family for generations and we recall those who came before us.

Most of these moments come and go. They lift the spirit and help us appreciate the beauty of nature and tradition, but it’s hard to explain the joy or comfort those moments give us. Unless, that is, you’re a skilled poet, as so many of the writers in the Gardening Poems Collection are.

For instance, take this haiku by writer Greg Schwartz:

Planting bulbs
In the shaded yard
She lets the phone ring

In those few words, we’ve entered the garden with her, whomever she may be. We can see the dirt on her hands as nearby trees shade the garden from the hot sun. And we can hear the phone, too. But like our protagonist, we don’t feel a need to answer it. Whatever it is can wait.

Or read Jennifer Rood’s poem, Joy of Being, which begins:

A time-lapse flower,
I open suddenly, spectacularly:
a firework
of petal and pistil
of stamen and sepal,

She goes on to offer us a wonderful description of this “time-lapse flower” in a way that only a skilled poet could. By the end of the poem, you can see this flower on a lush hillside, blue skies above and bees hovering nearby.

When you can’t get outside to enjoy the colors, sounds, and smells of the garden, you have the next best thing in this collection of Gardening Poems. Let the finely crafted words of these writers bring the garden to you, along with heartwarming scenes and a reminder to notice and appreciate the little moments that we honor in our own gardens, wherever they may be.

Bill Dugan
Editor & Publisher
GreenPrints