Sunday Opinion: Thoughts on Tour Day

I worked outside last night until 8, and was up at 5:45 this morning; it promises to be a beautiful day.  The dogs are having breakfast, and I my coffee.  I need to go home, finish arranging the flowers for my terrace table, make sure my pots have enough water on them to go the entire day, and fret about whatever else I haven’t already fretted about.  But what becomes clear about being involved in this is how good an experience it has been-even ahead of the actual event.

I have consulted with every gardener and looked over every garden-not really needing to.  They all look breathtaking; each garden has an aura of care and committment that glows.  No matter all the problems with cold weather, bugs and fungus, the lack of rain – no matter the star plant that looks for all the world like it is not going to perform for company – the sun is shining at each one of these properties.  I have a Princeton Gold maple with sun scalded leaves at the top-it’s glaringly obvious to me that it looks bad.  Why this tree is acting up, I have no idea, and neither does Tim Ortwine who looks after all my trees and shrubs.  He does tell me that he believes the tree will pull out of this, and be fine; that is the important part, right? My unmatched pots have become a source of amusement to me.  We have sold 225 tickets to this garden tour as of this moment, and I am very sure not one person will mention this tree to me.  They will be talking to me about what they like.

Susie called two days ago to tell me that gardening was bloody hard work, and that I had worn her out.  Janet called yesterday to say that there were a few spots that were not perfect-did I mind? She is so tired she may not be able to make the reception.   I reminded her that she has five acres that she has put her mark and her care to for umpteen years, and that was what people would see.  She will be energized today by the interaction and discussion with her visitors-I bet I see her here later. Karen welcomed two people into her garden yesterday, to two people who got mixed up about the tour date; come on in, she said.  What’s so striking here is the sharing that’s going on; I am watching people come forward in a really good way.   

All in all, I would highly recommend finding something to get involved with that means a lot to you, and help out the best you can.  My tour hasn’t even started yet, and it already has been so good for me.  I am beginning to really understand the idea that that whatever you give comes back to you ten fold. I am very sure every person who opens their garden today will hear the thank you idea many times over, and in many different, personal, and individual ways, as well they should.  People doing good-its a pretty grand thing to see, and be part of.