Garden Lessons

I feel like I should apologize for being fixated on my garden this summer, but it's truly been a high point for me! I think I started growing flowers because I wanted to take pictures of them, but I realized this summer how much plants teach you.

You know how the smartest advice often seems to be the simplest? I know this and yet I still find myself thinking, "That's too simple, that just can't be the answer!" I think I always knew how to take care of a garden but I never followed through. I'd think about planning what to plant and where to put it, but then I never took the time.

Last spring I made a plan. Certain plants need certain things, and are happiest next to certain other plants, so I thought about where they should go.

Then once the seeds were planted, I adopted an attitude of generosity: I was generous with watering, and once the seedlings were big enough, I was generous with space (everybody needs sunshine!), generous with time (weed, weed, weed), and generous with fertilizer.

Once everyone was established, it was time to be patient. I checked on everything daily but trusted that each plant knew best when to sprout new leaves or put out buds.

Then when the garden started to fill with blooms, I shared them. In the past I left the flowers in the garden because I couldn't bear to cut them. They blossomed, went to seed, dried up, and blew away. This year I cut flowers for family, neighbors and friends. I shared bouquets with everyone, and brought them in for myself, too. The more I picked, the more they blossomed. And more, and more, and more! They're doing it still. It's what they do.

Planning, thoughtfulness, generosity, patience, and trust are good for making things blossom. And the more you share blossoms, the more you get. What a fun garden lesson!