By Marlena Hirsch

January 2026  

The weeks have gotten colder in November; the spider is still in the middle of the magnificently crafted web. Perhaps there has been an unaware prey to eat. I don’t know, as I am a gardener, letting spiders and other small creatures do what they do in this big garden. I focus on my observations of the plants and my many seasonal tasks. The big story here is what the garden is revealing about me.

My experiences in the garden are a mirror of other inner developments. Tasks are easier than my initial planning tells me. Spaces for new plants have a way of appearing. New ideas for “weed control” better support the natural cycles. I am more peaceful and aware of my surroundings, so I feel appreciation and connection to the life around me. I hope to put these details into words, because finding a peaceful center within matters.

I will share details of the place and purpose, so the inner story has context. It feels like a new year as the October rains start and the land turns green in Northern California’s dry-summer Mediterranean climate. My mind races with plans for new plants in the landscape. This is planting time in this climate, because the rains will water the new plants while the ground still has some warmth from summer.

The house we built and moved into two years ago is surrounded by mostly oak trees, some Douglas fir, and bay trees. Even while we were building, I was adding elderberry bushes, fruit trees, and a few native shrubs to the landscape. Wildlife is supported by the elderberry and other native plants, and I am supported by the apples. I wanted to get them all started early. We also grow flowers to give away to those who get free food at the pantry and to a couple of nursing homes. Every year, I add a few more bulbs, perennials, and shrubs, because we need the flowers. Shrubs with different types and colors of leaves provide “greens” for the bouquets. The project is big with garden areas at various stages of development. The same can be said about me, that I am at various stages of development.

Initially, I worried that I wouldn’t get the tasks done or weeds would overtake the plantings. Somehow, I conjured up scenarios of failure, but I can turn off worry. It is a pointless bad habit. I planned to move the grass plant in the photo to the landscaped area, but the spider needs the grass blades to support the web. Other fall tasks, like planting hundreds of bulbs and adding new perennials, keep me busy during the fall planting time. I imagine the spring beauty of daffodils and Dutch iris as I plant. Some new colors of bearded iris were planted in September when they arrived in the mail. Compost goes under these bulbs and rhizomes with a native goldenrod root on top of the daffodils. These plants aren’t bothered by deer and add to our year-round flowers without taking up space in the fenced areas. Day by day, the bulbs, seeds, perennials, and greenhouse cuttings are in the ground receiving the copious rains. I feel satisfied.

If I plan carefully, the garden can integrate into the woods, plants that deer like can be protected in the fenced areas, and landscaped areas can have new plants as needed. We have a big area surrounding our home with much potential for beauty, food, and sharing.

I know yearly planning matters in a garden, yet this year, no maps of garden beds with plantings have been made during planting season. I have always been a careful planner with maps of garden beds and landscaping arrangements. I did try to map out the summer garden for ten 30-foot beds. Somehow, when I walked out to plant with a flat of seedlings from the greenhouse, the written plans were unnecessary. The plant positions were based on the reality of the garden. By October, I was planting garlic cloves among zinnias and cosmos that would soon be finished with the December frosts. The flats of snapdragons and perennial statice found space as the sunflowers, strawflowers, and marigolds offered their last flowers. My concern about having enough space for the seedlings was unwarranted. There was even finished compost from a spring pile to bury under most seedlings. I didn’t use the written plans. The garden itself speaks louder, and I listen.

I ask myself, “What is going on?” as I do less formal planning. Not following plans is not what is advised by the other garden writers that I have read. The garden was grandly successful. Eight-foot-tall cosmos flowers, tomatoes since July with carrots under them, dahlias with roots in wire baskets for vole protection, greens like lettuce and cabbage through most of summer, volunteer hardy-annual seedlings with copious spring flowers, and even artichokes, both for food and flowers.

I know I am listening more and more to the garden. I walk into the magic of these spaces between the rows and hear the hum. There are all types of pollinators buzzing, a vole tunnel entrance offering a safe, cool space for amphibians, lizards sunbathing, and my cats hunting. I work with them. All of this life is part of this place, and now I am part of it also. Better listening and awareness of other life is improving my gardening abilities and bringing joy.

The finished branching sunflower was pulled out as snapdragons were planted. I thought I would leave the old sunflower blooms tied to a fence for the birdseed, yet I could barely find seed for next year’s plants. The goldfinches not only ate parts of the leaf centers earlier, but also ate sunflower seeds as they ripened. I can only imagine the garden insects that these birds feed their babies. Probably, they ate caterpillars that would have damaged garden plants. When I cut flowers, I leave some for the pollinators. The different species find their niche and live in balance.

I am now interplanting before a crop is finished. Soil scientists write about the value of constant roots in the ground, so constant planting lets old decaying roots provide space for new roots. Roots secrete carbohydrates as food for soil bacteria, eventually supporting healthy fungal populations. I let dead, old plant material drop to the ground if a bucket is not handy. Yes, I harvest dead plants for compost piles, but weeds also degrade on top of the soil. The microscopic soil life is part of all of the other life that I work with. In fact, that is the part that supports all other life. All of these life forms, seen and unseen, are my garden partners. We work together. The noise in my mind about tidy garden habits is dropping away, leaving care for soil life.

For me, the voice of garden life is best heard in the garden. The paper planting plan drafted at my desk got folded up and put in my pocket. Since three other gardeners grow for our flower-give-away project, we have tried to find ways to share a garden calendar to plan our plantings. Several different charts have not helped with sharing. I myself don’t look at last year’s planting plans much anymore, and our goal is year-round flowers. At first glance, this makes no sense. One of the new gardeners wants a planting calendar to share, so we are going to try monthly calendar pages on the wall in the garage, where we assemble bouquets.

I think about what to write on this calendar, like planting times for each crop. The new planting year comes with the rain in the fall. (Some religions and ethnicities have a new year in the fall, also.) Maybe I make the October list of what to plant: agrostemma, sweet peas, calendula, nasturtiums, love-in-a-mist, larkspur, etc, or maybe I state principles. I will probably do both briefly. Sow favorite hardy annuals when the rains start and before the soil gets cold. July’s list can include starting small, seeded hardy plants like snapdragon, perennials, cabbage, broccoli, and other greens in the greenhouse for fall and spring harvest. Too many words on the calendar will be ignored. The February planting list is tomatoes, peppers, and flowers like calendula, annual phlox, veronica, or any hardy annual not yet planted. The summer direct seeding list starts in May for zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos if they haven’t already volunteered, and marigolds. Some of these plants, like branching sunflowers and annual phlox, can be planted every few weeks for a succession of flowers. These lists are not complete, but they give the important planting times. I think a planting calendar with four main seed starting times would work for us. Knowing your climate goes with providing for the different plants, and calendars chronicle the seasonal changes and planting times.

The garden tasks that became simple amazed me, as I learn to work with the natural world. I thought about getting early control of weeds while the plants are still small, so I sprayed concentrated vinegar on the weed seedlings in the driveway and behind the house. There is a low spreading half-inch tall plant with a small pink flower that seems untouched by that spray and is still growing in part of the driveway and behind the house. We have a six-foot area around the house with no plants, as one of many recommendations to make the home safe in a wildfire, but only black plastic for six weeks in the late spring will stop this plant. The spray didn’t work. I decide to leave the plant alone. A half-inch tall plant is not a fire hazard for a home built with fire-safe materials tested by insurance industry scientists. There are probably pollinators using it, and deer browse a similar plant. The low plant has value.

The annual grasses grow tall, but they can be managed by mulching in the fall or trimming in the spring. I read in a natural farming book from Korea, JADAM Organic Farming by Youngsang Cho, that grasses left to grow in orchards keep temperatures even, so fruit trees don’t bloom too early. Now I see that the “weeds” have their purposes, and I have a new hoe that is flat and moves back and forth, cutting weed seedlings off at their base for using in between landscaping plants. Suddenly, the weeding tasks seem easy.

The garden is perfect. I am focusing on family and friends gathering during the holidays. I trust my connection to garden life to know what needs doing. We are in this together. The gardener is not separate from the garden. I see more clearly the coherence involved in doing the right thing. I am excited to continue deepening and widening my ability to garden using observations of life around me.

Here is a review of my inner awarenesses written to hopefully apply to any situation:

The garden is mirroring learning to worry less, appreciate more, connect to other life, realize perfection, and plan by fitting the actual conditions.

Sometimes tasks seem overwhelming. Feeling worried and imagining the worst can cascade into a bad state of mind. Worry can be stopped. I find almost instant clarity of purpose if I stop worrying and I tune into what matters. I make decisions that allow the tasks to flow. The most timely matters are done first, yet I find myself also doing things that improve my aesthetic sense, like making a beautiful concrete birdbath with big leaf impressions in the bowl. Having pleasant surroundings matters.

I find myself more aware of the beauty around me. Things that are all around me, like early morning light, a slight breeze rippling through leaves, the different shades of green in leaves, and my body moving through space. Appreciation fosters joy!

The bird sounds alert me to winged visitors. Quick movements on the ground can be a lizard. Sometimes I spot the smaller insects. All of this is a reminder of connections. I even catch birds stopping to look at me when I pay attention. Connections to other life warm my heart.

Perfection changes to match circumstances. When I look at the setting, tasks actually match what is happening. I don’t imagine doing tasks out of sequence. When building our home, my husband cautioned me not to do tasks out of phase, like if I wanted to start landscaping before the rock piles were turned into walls. Tasks done out of phase cause more problems later.

Planning takes in what is actually happening and shifts with my observations. This makes for efficiency and easier tasks. I use awareness of the needs of the plants, not the noise in my brain of how things are done by others.

All of these developments bring great satisfaction. I feel calmer and more aware of my surroundings. I am grateful that I am learning while enhancing beauty around me.