Report From PIA – March 8
I arrived home from the Midwest late this afternoon, and as always, felt grateful to be back at Poison Ivy Acres. It was above fifty degrees, so it felt as if spring is near. Notice I said near not here…I may be glad to be home, but I’m not delusional.
Since all but the most shaded traces of snow have melted, I’m able to see the winter-worn landscape in full. Broken grasses, aster stems and the grayish remains of various perennial foliage are everywhere. The gardens need some serious cleanup work before the new growth appears.
Do we need to always remove the old before something fresh can grow? I am, of course, talking metaphorically here…I’m wondering if old habits need to be fully broken and banished in order to begin new behaviors. Or, like the spring growth in untended woodlands and fields, can new behaviors and practices arise out of routines and lifestyles that no longer serve us?
Perhaps the renewal we seek in our lives is like what we see in our gardens and wild areas: sometimes the old has to be removed in order to fully appreciate the revitalization, and other times the new life force covers and is fed by that which is no longer living.
This is just a very small sample of the old grasses and perennials that fill the beds at Poison Ivy Acres right now. Spring cleaning is very much needed...
