Planting in the Pouring Rain

I planted a garden today. Well, the beginnings of one. And I did the whole thing in the pouring rain.

All week I have been pondering this idea of “seeking Neri”. By that I mean, seeking the creative, wild at heart, free spirit within me that was the definer in my life as a kid. I was always late, always off in some dream land, always dreaming or creating worlds in my head. It’s why I am still kinda surprised I ended on a career path of business and leadership. I was so far from being what defined the beginnings of someone being on the road to CEO-ship that I still can’t quite figure out how I ended up here.

The balance between the true self I know exists within me and the expected self that I show up for each day is way off. My work world is too dominating and if I don’t shift the balance soon, I don’t know if my creative self will eve truly return.

I have been consciously leaning in to anything that will draw me closer to true self and creativity as a way of balancing the default mindset I am in most which is work. Some of the things I have been doing are so simple you would think me silly for finding my true self in them. Like listening to my favourite music on the way to work instead of thinking about work and all I have to do that day. I know, it sounds so simple and so obvious but honestly it has been so refreshing to me!

Other ways I have been leaning into tipping the scales has been to watch a Youtuber called Linnea. I stumbled across Linnea a year of so ago when one of her van life vlogs popped up in Youtube. Since watching that first vlog I have ended up binging most of her content and love it when I find out she has released another video. My husband and I joke that she is my spirit animal. One of the reasons I enjoy her content is that it slow, intentional living. I love seeing the adventures she goes on with her gorgeous dog Akila. the hikes, lakes, waterfalls and trails she finds herself on are often so beautiful and I find the content calming, easy to watch and often dreaming about doing the same. Well, at least having a van I could I go on weekend trips up and down the coast and write and explore and disconnect from the world. Even watching her buy 40 acres of land and begin to build a studio and house on it all by herself has been dreaming of going to Bunnings and buying a drill and some wood and making something.

I think the reason I am so attracted to her way of living is that it is so paired back, simple, definitely not without it challenges and always deeply appreciative of the environment she finds herself in. It got me thinking. How could I lean into what is around me to reconnect with my creative self?

Enter the three raised gardens beds already assembled in my backyard. When I first moved in I tried to grow vegetables but that inevitably failed because it required more than I was willing to give it at the time. These lovely garden beds have sat dormant for the majority of time I have lived here. That is until today.

Thanks to ChatGPT and inspiration from my other spirit animal - Joanna Gaines - I set about choosing and designing what flowers I would plant in my garden bed. I’ve landed on Dahlias, Ranunculus, Lavender, Gardenias, Lilac, Alyssums, Zinnias and Daisies. (Go big or go home, right?) I want beautiful fragrance and beautiful posies to decorate my home with. I had spent a lot of time this week planning how much soil I would need, what mulch I would get, how much the seedlings cost etc. I had even checked the forecast and thankfully while rain was forecasted there was supposed to be a gap in the middle of the day. Just enough time to buy what I need and get it planted.

The rain, however, had other plans and while no my way home from getting my haul my husband called me to let me know it was pouring rain at the house. I thought for a second and boldly proclaimed to my husband “Stuff it! Linnea wouldn’t let something like the rain stop her from building a house, so it’s not going to stop me!” And it didn’t. As the rain poured down I poured the soil into the bed, worked out where I was going to place my Gardenias, Lavender and Alyssums (the only plants I could find at Bunnings) and planted them. As it continued to rain I weeded the garden, trip some shrubs back and gave some of my existing plants a good feed. I absolutely loved it.

I’ve only completed one garden bed. I’ll need to source the other plants like the ranunculus from somewhere else, I have the beginnings of a garden. Tending to this is going to be a practice of being present and intentionally drawing my focus away from work or trying to just numb out.

I’m super proud that I have achieved two out of the four things I said I was going to start doing in last weeks blog. That sense of feeling grounded and connected to my creative self, or my true self, feels incredibly life giving. And it makes me want to keep going.

I’m sure there is also some spiritual lessons I could glean from learning to plant in the rain. That maybe, in fact, in the middle of the downpour could be the perfect time to plant. But for now, I’m satisfied knowing I simply enjoyed God’s creation and the beauty found in the simple common task of planting.

Watch my garden grow with me, it’s going to be a beautiful, slow, intentional ride.