A thin place “is a place where the boundary between heaven and earth is especially thin. It’s a place where we can sense the divine more readily.” In essence, a “thin place” is a way of saying “God is especially present here.”

I feel like the garden is a thin place. A place where I can feel the Divine so clearly, cleanly. Magic, too. Each and every time I endeavor to wrap my head around the delightful business of seeds sprouting, I end up getting lost in the mightiness of it all. William Blake wafts in with his talk of ‘heaven in a wildflower’; echos of Madeleine L’Engle’s Wind in the Door shimmer on the garden rocks and I half-expect to see a dragon swoop down out of the sky.

It’s a thin place.

With all these flowers opening up, unfurling their delicate selves, it’s also gorgeous. I was thinking of how fun it would be to make a calendar snazzily entitled along the lines of “Girls of the Garden”

 Miss January: Our bright squash blossom, shyly hiding behind her fan leaf

 

 Miss February, a blushing tender beauty who prefers to remain nameless as she hugs her friendly Beet

 

 Beet, herself, is our Miss March, glistening with morning light and dew, laughing as she gaily chortles with her companion flowers

Miss April is our sunrise-petalled...cactus flower? (5 points to whomever knows her real name!)

 Snapdragon claims Miss May as her month, reveling in all her crimson velvet glory

 Miss June is lassoed by our very own Wild Iris!

 Miss July is occupied by another Wild One (5 more points if you know her real name!)

 Lovely Ivy has settled into her reign as Miss August

 ..and August indeed is she!

 A dancing, prancing delight is our Collard Blossom, Miss September

 The title of “Miss October’ is happily captured by the vibrantly gracious Strawberry

 Miss November goes to the Trumpet Flower, curling, twirling, whirling

And last – but never least – we have Miss December, our violet-hued succulent blossom. All a’glow.

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Garden Glorious Pin-Ups and all, it’s a Thin Place. A magical place. A soothing place, a fun place and a place of mystery (never know what you are going to find under that leaf over there!). Why hello – here comes Mr. Blake, back in my head for a visit!

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 
And Eternity in an hour.

- William Blake 

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