Around this time every year, it occurs to me that possibly the most important thing about your garden space is not how it looks or what you are growing, but that it be the place where you take full advantage of how summer seems to slow things down and make our lives less hectic.
Now I realize that’s a little ironic for me to say – summer is our busiest time. The whole Warner’s team is going full speed ahead at the nursery and I’m working some of my longest days during this season.
But in other ways, summer allows me to kick back.
First off, my three boys are home and my husband and I aren’t juggling endless logistical questions (Whose picking them up from school? Can you take them to practice?) And – big bonus – for a few blessed weeks, we don’t have to be the heavies who hound them about doing their homework. Yay!
Summer always makes me feel like I have more time to do things (I think this has to do with sunset being later – it feels like I get an extra hour or two to my day!) The pace just feels more manageable. Even if I’m putting in a lot of time in our own garden, the work just feels peaceful and relaxing.
Best of all, that work creates a space that lets you reconnect. Inviting friends over for a glass of ice tea or lemonade (or, let’s be honest, wine and beer) is awesome, and you get to show off all your hard work.
A nice outdoor space is also a great way to get the kids outside and away from the various digital screens. Our boys may hate the yard work, but they love the lawn games and water balloon fights we have in our backyard.
A couple of Sundays ago, my family was having breakfast under the arbor in our yard and my 16-year-old said, out of nowhere, “I really love our yard.”
That reminded me again why we all work to create these wonderful outdoor spaces – to take advantage of summer, slow down our hectic lifestyles and get back to what’s real and important; face-to-face time with loved ones in a relaxing and beautiful space.