Garden as Love Perfected

The perfection of my garden is not in perfect order, it is in perfect love.

There are moments when I know all is as it should be. When I know why I spend time on bended knee, simultaneously in contemplation and work. This garden is the ultimate collaboration. Between the gardener and God.

Those moments aren't always outside. I am most fortunate that when I am not in the garden, my study window faces where I can watch the birds feeding and monarch butterflies tracing the warm currents of the summer air. 

Still, the difference of looking at a garden and being in a garden is the difference between observing a sport and hitting the ball. So while the sun is still softly sliding in from the side, I like to walk about the garden, see what is new.

This week the swallowtail butterfly returned. Its bold yellow and black wings a graphic display of her divine prowess amongst her kind.

The yard here wasn't always a butterfly kingdom. It became so because we worked to create the environment they love. 

The gardens that touch my heart aren't those that are either a total surrender or conquering of nature. They are those that realize the value in collaboration with God.

What about a garden touches your heart?