...will return by Ismail Shammout
Given a choice between blogging about our garden- and simply being in our garden, it is obvious which I choose!
I feel badly not to have posted more here. Every day I do think of it, of different themes I might explore. And then every day there are distractions, too many articles to read, too much laundry to sort, letters to write, poems to dream of, meals to be made, emails to answer, dishes to wash, doorbells, phone calls, errands to run... and family to enjoy... and then there is simply stepping out into our garden and letting go of everything to simply be in the garden- marveling.
It's already May.
Spring in Palestineby Ismail Shammout
This week many people world wide are commemorating the ongoing Nakba, the huge tragedy where so many Palestinian men, women and children have lost their homes and gardens- and their freedom. There is a flurry of attention on the topic but only briefly it seems, as it is already being pushed aside again by other compelling stories, and a very dangerous status quo remains the same with Zionists very much owning and directing the conversation in America.... Zionists really are talented propagandists. They are also adept at knowing how to reach into America's mainstream to draw in sympathy and support for their "cause". Tragically most Americans simply do not understand what a scam it all is, and how much trouble and sorrow and confusion and suffering Israel creates day after day after day.
On yahoo pictures this week I caught a glimpse of a huge key, a giant key made of metal to symbolize the Palestinian Refugees' Right of Return.
There are also pictures of Palestinians holding keys, wearing keys, making wooden key souvenirs. Its a good theme- simply home and the right to return. No political party or religion can own it- or trade it way. It simply is, and obviously it is getting bigger and bigger.
In our garden here the trees have been blooming. Some, like the lilac are fragrant, others like the dogwood are mainly visually enchanting. I like to stand under a blooming tree, surrounded and surrendered into its charm.
Sometimes, I take my camera out and try to capture at least a little of the beauty that I see. Every day is a little different, and this year I want to remember our garden in detail as best as I can. Every nuance and every nook. Our Black Irises already bloomed and today the taller ink blue Irises are on the brink of bloom, ready to soon ruffle out. And in the corner of the back yard where we had to cut down the Mulberry tree, I put a little flower fairy statue on the stump. This corner is now our fairy garden. My husband planted delicate flowers there for me this year and my mother suggests I add a small marble, as apparently fairies like marbles. So what was simply a stump is now an entire theater, with everyone adding a little something in to make it more even more whimsical and fun.
Our fairy garden is quite a contrast to our vegetable garden which is serous business. Already we nibble on the spinach leaves as a garden snack. The tomato plants went in last week and they have a long way to grow, along with the cucumbers.
Never can tell for sure what will take off and what will wither. My husband plants more than one variety of whatever he can to increase the odds that at least one will flourish. One patch of strawberries on the hillside is flourishing- spreading out and vigorously blooming and already starting obvious berries, while another strawberry patch planted at the same time has all but disappeared.
Our wild honeysuckle is blooming. Cameras can't catch the delicate scent, or the feel of the spring breeze or the sound of our wind chimes. Or the smallest of the small creatures that come to be in our garden. Or the patterns of the birds and the butterflies as they flit about.
It takes a long time to grow a good garden- and it takes constant care as well as a growing knowledge of what works where and when. Plant too early and a late frost might kill the seedlings. We planted the morning glory and moon flower seeds this month. Already they have come up, one thin stem with two leaves that seem to hesitate a bit, waiting, but soon enough they will become long sturdy vines growing every which way with tendrils reaching up to twine into anything they can reach. I adore the wall of flowers that comes with each morning glory seed, and all the many different colors of bloom that might be- but you never know for sure what might be where.
And in imagining a public Garden for Palestine, having walked through the key shaped entry, and stopped to admire the mosaic map of Palestine, and smelling the herbs, hearing splashing water, watching the birds... I'd have a fairy garden too. A small nook. A place for imaginations to simply have fun. But my little flower fairies would hold keys.
I'd have a metal shop somewhere on the grounds - a bit like how living history museums have exhibits where you can watch how things were once made. But this would be a place where large and small garden sculptures and birdhouses and benches could be made, anything really- not only for the formal public Garden for Palestine but also some for sale so that anyone who wants can have a garden gadget or work of art from the Garden for Palestine. Trade routes shaped historic Palestine in many ways all through out the years- for generations. Much of civilization is simply the exchange of things - and ideas...oil and spice... and flower seeds and bulbs... good thoughts planted and nurtured.
Good thoughts like the rightness of respecting and honoring hard work and home- and every child... every family- and every garden... respecting and honoring Palestine- both the people and the land.
- Growing Gardens for Palestine
- Planning a garden is one step towards planting it ...
- "Come, I'll tell you about Palestine"
- Honoring Arabic & Arabic Calligraphy
- Poem in Your Pocket Day is April 17th
- Poetry continued-
- Lavender ...
- Mosaics
- Bulbs & Birdhouses
- Carrots
- Getting distracted by snow geese
- Embroidered keepsakes
- Going Green for St. Patrick's Day
- Seeds of hope and connection
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