Mary Mary quite contrary,
how does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockleshells
and pretty maids all in a row.
Every year when I attempt to plant a garden, this old nursery rhyme plays on repeat in the dark recesses of my mind. And of course, we all know that these historic nursery rhymes are ripe with hidden messages, often of darker times and sad lives. This one is no exception.
We do know that Mary, Mary Quite Contrary is an old English nursery rhyme. Some say Mary refers to the mother of Jesus and the rhyme is about the spread of Catholicism. The bells represent the sanctus bells, cockleshells are pilgrims, and the pretty maids are nuns.
Some say it is about Mary Tudor, Queen of England in 1553. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. She is contrary because she was unsuccessful in the attempt to reverse changes made by her father and brother. The pretty maids refer to miscarriages.
Another theory is that it is about Mary, Queen of Scots (1542). The silver bells are her cathedral bells; the cockle shells indicate that her husband was not faithful to her and the pretty maids all in a row are her ladies in waiting.
Women named Mary and religion. They seem to go hand in hand. Who knows!
But back to the original premise of this blog: gardening. My name isn’t Mary, I’m not religious and I have no idea what cockleshells are! But I do know I enjoy sticking things in the ground and watching to see if anything comes up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
I remember my grandparents on my mother’s side had a beautiful garden. My grandpa would cut off a stick of rhubarb, wash it and hand it to me along with a saucer of sugar. Such a treat. I also remember the sweet peas they grew. I guess one day in the late 1950s, the police paid my grandmother a visit and asked her about the plants she was growing at the far end of the garden, along the back alley. She said they were weeds and she was trying to get rid of them. Turns out they were pot plants. Yep. My grandma. Seriously, I suspect someone else had planted them and were quite annoyed that someone kept cutting them down.
My mom had the occasional garden, but it wasn’t until the mid 1980s that I decided to see how green my thumb was. I enjoyed the pastime until the mid 1990s but then it became too much with work, kids, weeks, and life. We replaced the garden with a play fort, swings and sandbox for the kids. They grew, and much quicker than any vegetable I had every planted, and eventually the play area turned into weeds. Life goes on.
During Covid, we decided to try gardening again. I spent so much time planning and planting. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting some more. Nothing. Are you serious? We realized that the soil was depleted of anything nutritious thanks to the neighbour’s trees. The spot also lacked sunlight. So, the following year we added compost and shifted things around to allow a bit more light. We still didn’t have much luck. We replaced the garden with a lawn swing and gravel. Containers boasting tomatoes and peppers replaced the flowers on the deck.
This year, my husband who has more time on his hand since he retired a few months ago, built a couple of garden boxes for me. I have meticulously planted the basics: lettuce, radishes, celery, peppers, and several herbs. A pot has some cherry tomatoes, another has carrots, and I found space for acorn squash and zucchini in a flower bed. We will see what happens. And of course there are flowers—some edible, some not. But they’re all pretty!
Gardening is a great luxury. It doesn’t matter if it is a flower garden or a vegetable garden. It doesn’t matter the size, or the method. In the ground, in a box, in a flowerpot, it’s still the magic of growing something from seed (or small bedding plant). It’s the fun of planning, the pleasure of getting hands in the soil, the joy of watching something take form, and the enjoyment of caring for that plant. For older adults, gardening is a great conversation starter. I can’t count how many times someone has asked, “So, do you garden?” And the blank stare when I have said “Nope.” Oh, oh. Now what do we talk about?
Gardening is a healthy activity providing you don’t over do it. It helps to sharpen the memory as you try to remember what you planted, and where you planted. I wrote everything thing down this year and took photos. I am hoping to create a garden journal so that I can remember what worked this year next year and what to do differently. Gardening also involves various forms of exercise. Up and down, stretching, reaching, squatting, balance. Groan. No wonder my shoulders and back hurt! Let’s not forget the Vitamin D we get from being in the sun. Gardening also releases endorphins, reducing feelings of depression and anxiety. Pride is a great mood lifter!
My garden is all in and so the waiting begins. It was a cold May long weekend, and I hope my little seeds and plants are strong enough to handle the rain falling today. Oh well, if all I get are a few bowls of fresh salad, that’s fine by me!
Interesting Reads & Things
https://www.almanac.com/content/container-gardening-vegetables
Wanderings Art 