Winter Solstice

Happy First Day of Winter!  Okay technically it happened yesterday at 4:42pm PT but today is the first full day.  This means the days will start getting longer!  Which leads to garden longing. 

I really need to learn how to just stay in the moment and not be looking forward to the next thing.  That’s going to be one of my goals for 2007.   Christmas hasn’t even happened and I’m moving on to Spring. 

Indulge me for a minute though.  Last year I drew up plans for a rose garden.  We have a lot of trees on our property so my gardening tends to be more of the azalea and rhododendron variety when my heart really yearns for roses.  I did manage to eke out a bit of sunny space around the back deck but not nearly enough. 

We have a flat spot below the back lawn that extends out to the creek.  We refer to it as the field but really it’s just weeds and berry bushes.  There is water already piped down there so I got the idea of clearing the space and creating a rose garden.   

It was to be about 20′ x 40′ with a picket fence surrounding it.  Arbors on each short end and an arch over the gate leading into it.   There was to be four rose beds with gravel paths separating them.  A burbling fountain right in the center.  A bench under one arbor and little cafe set under the other where I could sit and have a glass of ice tea and admire my blooms. 

I was going to only plant roses that had names of my loved ones.  Like Agnes for my Grandmother.  Queen Elizabeth for my niece.  Mixed in with the roses would be lavender and Canterbury bells and little English daisies.  Oh I had the whole thing planned out.

Then last year on New Year’s eve I woke up to rain.  It had rained steadily all night long.  I wandered to living room window and looked out and something just didn’t look right.  Something was moving down at the bottom of the lawn.  It was the creek that had risen during the night and had flooded the field.  It was two feet under rushing water.  Our creek, which is normally about 20 feet across, had swelled to over 100 feet.  It was astonishing to say the least. 

So my dream rose garden was washed away.  Thank goodness it was just a dream at that point otherwise it would have ended up two towns downstream. 

We don’t feel that this is our final home.  We hope to move closer to the shore and whenever and wherever ~ there will be a sunny spot for roses.  A little rose cottage by the sea.