Learning to love from my love

By TIM RATHZ
Guest Columnist for When Nature Speaks

For almost 12 years now, I’ve had a fabulous opportunity to learn about flowers, plants, planting, growing, soil, and countless other gardening lessons from someone who cares about the subject more than anyone else I know.

When I first met my wife, Megan, I was completely uneducated in all things nature. Sure, I enjoyed growing tomatoes (without much luck), but that was about the extent of my gardening knowledge, outside of maybe being able to identify a rose or a peony. Beyond that, I was a dunce in this field.

Now, I’m not going to sit here and claim I’m now an expert on the topic; I’m still very far from it, but I can say I’ve learned a ton just from watching Megan. There is one nature lesson I’ve learned from her that ranks above all else, and that is an appreciation … rather it is a LOVE for nature and gardening.

Starting in about January of every year, I begin my months-long craving for sunshine and warm temperatures. Of course, for me, the warmer weather means the smoky aroma of grilled burgers, sausages, briskets, and ribs.

Oh, how I long for the sounds of the cracking of a wooden Louisville Slugger, my kids playing “come get me” in the yard, and the deafening, screeching roar of IndyCars. These things all scream SPRING IS HERE to me.

However, it doesn’t truly feel like the fresh beginning to a sun-drenched season until I’ve plummeted my bare hands into the clay-filled soil of my yard. There is something so rewarding about breaking my back to shovel and spreading the mulch that makes our gardens pop or cutting an outline in our yard of what will be my daughter’s garden of her very own.

One of the many before and after landscaping projects my wife has had me do in our yard. (Photos provided)

One of my favorite pastimes is sitting with Megan on our back patio with a cup of coffee or glass of wine (depending on time of day, of course), watching the daylilies open for their day of glory, the cardinals and hummingbirds gliding to their respective feeders, the vegetables beginning to sprout buds, and the bunnies deciding which of our plants are going to be their dinner that night. Not to mention trying to keep our dogs from digging everything up.

The mark of a good teacher is when they imprint on you an appreciation for something new, instead of just cold hard facts. That is why I know I am incredibly blessed to have my wife and best friend as my educator to all this beauty right in front of me. It makes me feel like a kid again to have my eyes opened to a whole new world of God’s glorious perfection. I get to see Megan teach my children these same lessons, as their eyes light up when they are given the opportunity to discover this amazing wonderment.

I remember many years ago, Megan was staring at the backyard of our first house that we had just purchased. She looked at me and said, “I’m going to need a large garden right over there by the fence for all of our flowers.”

I glared at her and said, “What flowers?”

She rebutted, “The flowers we’re going to buy and the one’s we’re going to get from my mom’s house.”

“Oh, those.”

I remember thinking at the time that she’d forget that conversation, since it was currently December, but boy was I wrong. The first warm weekend in April, she told me to put on clothes that can get dirty and I went out the back door.

I found myself mapping out a plan for the garden. I didn’t have the first clue what I was doing. I had a lawn mower, a shovel, and a tiller. I slopped my way through it and ended up with a garden space that I felt had a decent design, considering I was a complete novice. We filled that up with day lilies, live forevers, Asiatic lilies, lambs‘ ear and anything else we could buy or was gifted by Megan’s mom. I remember being surprised at how fulfilling the work was. Once they started growing and blooming, I considered them our babies (this was prior to actual babies) and couldn’t believe how beautiful it all turned out. I was hooked!

Well, since then we expanded the garden, added more flowers, moved, took many of those flowers with us, started new gardens, and the whole cycle continued and repeated. I am so proud of all I’ve learned and all the sweat and blood we have put into our yard. Gardening has been such a bonding experience for my family, and I am forever grateful for the never-ending learning and beauty.

Nature is teaching us to learn, grow, and love. Are we paying attention?