My Midnight Garden

Four years ago I agreed to share a home with my partner whose outdoor space is limited by design - gardening is not his passion. Gratefully, there were two small strips of Earth on our South facing patio that I proceeded to fill with medicinal herbs and native plants for our winged and multi-legged kin. To begin, I ordered small native plants online and they were delivered while I was away one day. I returned late that night to boxes of plants… which I then proceeded to offer into the garden, at midnight. It was dark and cool outside, an almost new moon, and the Earth was warm and welcoming. I asked them where they’d like to go and offered their roots a little mycorrhizae in support of their growth.

All these years later my heart still expands when the leaves start to unfurl in the Spring and shoots gently push the mulch aside to drink in the sun and rain. While sitting with my plant kin early one morning last week, I heard a song rise from my garden and I’d love to share it with you here. Though it doesn’t include all the members of the space that I share, many are celebrated below.

My Midnight Garden

I sit with yarrow and poppy mallow,
Mugwort, motherwort, and rue.
I whisper with hyssop,
And delight with the tulips,
Staring at Speedwell so blue.

Now sages, I tend five, who keep me alive,
With their dusty deep gray-green hues;
I play with the chives, petite flowers of sweet mauve,
Contrasting completely,
Against the bright yellow lilies,
Who pop-up and thrive by my stoop.

The goldenrod rises slowly, flowering deep in the summer,
The blazing star holds butterflies true;
The milkweed it dances with bees, flies, and mantis,
The sunflower stares full as the moon.

I watch echinacea softly rise in the Spring,
Behind tarragon and tall tiger grass;
The dandelions shine like ground stars divine,
I am blessed by all who live in my yard.

I am blessed by all who live in my yard.