Xylem & Phloem

Tonight was one of those quintessential summer nights... Slightly above 80 degrees, breezy enough to make the trees whisper, and clear enough to see a few bright stars and planets. In one word: heaven. These are the summer nights that I remember from my youth. Home from school for the summer, my eyes tired and bloodshot from swimming in a chlorinated pool all day, I am blissfully exhausted and keeping myself awake long enough to enjoy a dinner of fresh broiled shrimp and corn on the cob. Aside from being nearly eighteen years older, tonight was not far from my happy memories of summers past.

 The best thing about living less than five minutes away from my parents is being able drop in for dinner at a moment's notice. Is that a great thing for my empty-nesting parents? Maybe not. But I suspect that my mother added two more mouths to her count when shopping at the grocery store today. Just like her children, she loves nothing more than a house full of laugher and happy voices.

Tonight was made even more special by the fact that our entire family was gathered together for dinner: mom, dad, brother, sister, three dogs and one cat. We fired up the grill and had a spectacular feast of grilled squash and zucchini, Alaskan halibut, grilled asparagus, and fresh cantaloupe. What could be more summery than that???

 After dinner, Molly the Wonderdog and I hopped in the Subaru and headed back home with the sunroof open and all of the windows down, letting in the sweet night air and blairing some good ole' classic rock. Once home, we immediately headed back to the garden, joined by Xylem & Phloem's fearless felines, Max and Milo. The happy family finally reunited, we lounged under the darkening evening sky, watching fireflies and listening to the gurgle of my new garden fountain.

All at once, I understood the meaning of peace. When your mind can finally be still, free of anxiety or doubt, filled with nothing but an overwhelming sense of calm and happiness. 

Gardening is often depicted as a daytime hobby, and we sometimes forget to address the nocturnal benefits of creating a magical environment on our land. When the sun sets, what is there left to do as a gardener but enjoy the quiet still of our domain? The splash of a garden fountain, the sweet fragrance of night-blooming plants, the cadence of crickets... There are so many reasons we garden. One of the most important is surely the ability to enjoy our horitcultural paradises under the celestial blanket of nightfall.