A garden is a respite from the everyday chaos of a busy life. When I am stressed by deadlines and schedules, I can sit on the stone steps in our garden and observe the painstaking progress of a spider repairing its web between two branches of a Japanese Maple. I can listen to the whisper of the wind through the Pines above me or watch tiny leaf buds unfurl in the spring sunshine. Our garden is a sanctuary where I am able to slow down, smell the flowers, and regain my balance. It is a place where my spirit finds shelter.

Gratefully shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& garden shelter recipient)