Higgledy-Piggledy

Higgledy-piggledy is a British term for confusion, disorder, or jumbled. I first saw the term used to describe a cottage garden, the flowers spilling on to the walkway, the overflow blooms billowing over and above and beyond any fence or boundary. I love that look in a garden: full and breezy, happy and jumbled, colorful and loose. An uncontrolled jubilation of flowers and leaves and fruit and vegetables is my ideal garden.

Here, in our new house, I brought along a few of my pots of flowers. I have yet to plant anything in the ground, partly because it has been so hot, and partly because we have been working inside the house (in the air conditioning) to put things in order.

Someday, I would like to paint a wooden garden sign with the words,

"higgledy-piggledy"

I can picture the sign in my garden, tucked in among the flowers, partly buried in the abundance of blooms, half hidden by leaves.

Life can be higgledy-piggledy. Started projects, unfinished. Piles grow, dust scatters, stuff spreads. The work of pruning and weeding and cleaning, inside and outside, is on-going, unfinished.

The art, it seems, is finding the beauty and fun in the overflow. Just as I thrive in a full, rich garden, I can appreciate the clutter of our home. Because it means people live here. Love here. Work here. Learn here. Our house may appear higgledy-piggledy to some. I see photos of perfectly cleared off kitchen counters, immaculate floors, sparkling windows. Those are goals for me, good goals.

Here, as life is today, we live higgledy-piggledy. Imperfect. But beautiful. Higgledy-piggledy sounds so much better than imperfect. It brings out the fun side of less-than-perfect. Will your week be a bit of higgledy-piggledy?