Caring for our gardens and lives
A well cared for garden flourishes, and brings happiness and hope for continuing successes to its tender.
Many times our gardens are somewhat weedy and messy and not to our liking, at all.
Sometimes a garden will flourish in spite of all we do with it. When we pick and arrange the plants and soil to suit our plans there is never any guarantee that all of our work and planning will result in exactly the final result we had planned. This is where experience, patience, and going with the flow will eventually pay off.
A gardener can be pleasantly surprised with the results, or disappointed and have to try again to have the garden they are hoping for.
Sometimes it may take several tries to make it work, sometimes it is easier to just let nature have its way and enjoy what we get.
Yes, a gardener can just give up and stop buying things to plant, and toiling in the too dry soil and hot sun. It is certainly easier to sit back and cover everything up with concrete and mulch.
The true gardener does not give up for long, we just rest a bit, regroup and reeducate ourselves and start over to plan another special place to nourish and enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Gardeners are a hardy breed and we can always find a way, or be persuaded to try try again.
Will we succeed mightily, or in a mediocre way, or still need to get some help to get the weeds out, amend the soil, change our thinking. Maybe the gardener doesn’t need to try so hard to have the perfect garden.
The true gardener will enjoy the journey on the way to reaping the rewards of a great garden. After all there are many different ways to garden, who’s to say which way is the best for all.
The perils of gardening and life are pretty much alike. We all need to nourish ourselves and each other. The better the environment we are surrounded with the easier it is to succeed.
A little rain never hurts and it reminds us of how great the sunshine can be. A few setbacks are to be expected. In life as in gardening we must remember to enjoy the good times and have patience with the unwanted weeds and critters that appear, no matter how we try to keep them at bay.
Life, as well as gardens will flourish at times and fail at times. It is up to all of us tom ake the most of what we have, good, bad or indifferent.
We can take charge as much as possible, and not let the undesirable events overwhelm us.
We can share our lives and gardens with others. At this time of year it is a fine thing to rest up from the garden and nourish ourselves and others. When the Holidays are over there will be plenty of gardening to do, and maybe a new friend to share in your success.
Happy Holidays and Happy Gardening, till we meet again.
H. Jean Shields is a past president of the Garden Club of Cape Coral