My Garden Is My Happy Place
Dear Friends,
At a party, someone asked me what I liked best about the holidays. My answer was, “when they were over.” It was in jest of course, but the holidays can be very stressful for many of us. In my family as in other families, we celebrate many holidays at this time and have even invented a few new traditions to be able to include our out-of-state relatives.
One way I handle stress is to go out to my garden. I take my pruning shears and an old, large, lightweight pot that I use to collect waste and start to prune plants and clean up old leaves. I find it very cathartic to just concentrate on clipping and cleaning. Keeping a clean and well-pruned garden always gives me a sense of peace and order.
We are in the time of year when our plants are resting, conserving strength for their burst of energy in the early spring. It is a quiet time. Most of the turned rust-colored leaves of my hydrangeas, Red Bud tree and Liquid Amber have fallen, covering the ground with their muddy colors.
Here at our beloved Virginia Robinson Gardens, the same is happening on a larger scale. As I walk the gardens, I see the last of the color change amongst the plants; the gardeners are cleaning and pruning and checking on water drainage and pulling weeds after the rain.
We have had hot spells, cold spells, and heavy rain confusing some of the plants. But I love that plants are so resilient under different conditions. The roses are giving their last full bloom, sending us beautiful bursts of color and fragrance before their deep winter pruning begins.
Not everyone has a garden where they can go and prune or take in the fragrance of an old rose which is why the Robinson Gardens are so important. The public is able to come to the Gardens and have some of the same experiences; they are able to breathe the fresh air after a rain, see more clearly the many colors of the plants that have been washed clean and see and smell the colorful roses.
Our visitors are in awe and wonder that a beautiful garden such as the Virginia Robinson Gardens exists. January is the beginning of the New Year 2023. Let us take this quiet time to regenerate and go forward with new resolve and to ensure that everyone gets to enjoy the peace of a garden and that this garden becomes their happy place.
May we all greet the New Year in optimism and joy.
Warmly,
Betty Rodriguez Goldstein
President of the Friends of Robinson Gardens
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