This year I was determined the put in the time from the beginning, to foster a relationship with the plants from seed upward. This requires much less money, a bit more time, but much more attention. It turns out for me thats key. I like to nurture things. After spending all those weeks tending the tiny things I couldn’t bear to plop those spindly babies into the ground and wait for mother nature to take over. They needed hand watering. They needed compost worked into the soil before setting out. They needed row covers and fish emulsion.
I am sure if I had babied last years beautiful seedling as I did these they would have been stunning. But my focus wasn’t there. Sometimes we need to let things go and be ok with it. But, this year I’m ready to commit to my garden.
It occurs to me that this garden truth applies to many facets of my life. While it’s easy to complain that I’m not getting enough (satisfaction, skills, knowledge, support, etc) out of some job, group, or experience, a quick reflection reminds me that just like the garden: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Lots of time, attention and focus = lots of flowers, learning, satisfaction, and food! (Japanese beetles and squash bugs aside).
I wonder if Aristotle was a gardener?
Or a parent.
Your garden looks lovely. I am all too familiar with the plop it in the ground and see what happens approach. I tend to be more attentive of my house plants than the ones I put in the ground, though they also don’t get the attention they deserve. Looking forward to seeing what it looks like as the summer gets underway.
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