Lessons from the Garden, Part 1

During the summer months, when the kids are on vacation and we don’t have anywhere in particular to be in the morning, it is my habit to grab a cup of coffee and take a walk in the garden with the dogs. I choose this time not only for the coolness of temperature and the songs of the birds, but because it is the time of day that I can let the dogs run without fear of crabby neighbors getting upset because the dogs may have wandered into their yard. Rudy and Rosie enjoy this time immensely, they practically bounce as they run and you can almost see smiles on their faces. I don’t bounce, well maybe parts of me do, but I truly enjoy this ritual as well.

If the dogs are behaving well, not wandering too far or digging in the garden, I often will check the garden beds for weeds, or to see how the plants are progressing. This happened this morning. The dogs enjoyed an extended time to run and play as I decided to pull weeds out of a garden bed that I had ignored for too long.

This particular garden bed still has a few perennials in it that are alive, despite my neglect. A Japanese iris is currently sporting deep purple blooms, seemingly oblivious to the weeds that are attempting to overcome it. However, the other few perennials are indistinguishable in a sea of green chaos. I have big plans for this little area, and it’s just been bumped up to the top of my “to do” list.

I envision a multi-tiered raised bed, bordered by the fieldstone that we’ve been piling for years at the edge of the woods. Nasturtiums spilling over the four corners, a mass of low maintenance perennials or herbs in the middle and a dramatic centerpiece of striking flowers or perhaps a water fountain, is all part of my evolving plan. But before I can proceed on with the grand scheme, the weeds must be pulled.

With a garden fork, I loosened the dirt and began pulling the weeds. Every now and again, I came across a plant that suspiciously resembled poison ivy. Although this caused me to proceed more cautiously, it did not deter my effort, and with gloved-hand, I carefully pulled it out by the stem. As I approached the middle of the garden bed, I discovered an Asiatic lily that had been completely covered by the weeds.

It was about 8 inches tall, much smaller than it should’ve been, and it’s foliage was a light lime green because it had not been afforded enough light from the sun. Regardless of it’s obviously stunted appearance; it still supported five plump buds. It stopped me cold in my weed-ripping tracks.

I had a perfect opportunity to work on this garden bed this morning, the dogs were behaving, the kids were inside watching a movie, and the weather was sunny and cool. I had no time constraints and could work all morning at it if I wanted. But despite this, I could not bring myself to uproot this lily and move it into a pot or another garden bed to make way for my new plan. If I did so, I ran the risk of stressing the plant and that would mean the buds would most certainly fall off without ever having the chance to bloom. Then the thought occurred to me…. everything should have its chance to bloom, no matter where it is. Better yet, EVERYONE should have a chance to bloom.

How many times have we walked by people, ignored because they are planted in the middle of chaos? Or perhaps overlooked because we are too busy focusing on our exciting plans to notice them and we plow right through. Our daily “weeds” can sometimes consume and smother the beautiful blooms we have to offer. And sometimes the weeds get so big, that we need others to help us uproot them.

I cleared the weeds from around the lily, found my wandering coffee mug and directed the dogs back to the house. In the coming morning walks, I will be pulling weeds again, checking on the progress of the green beans, scolding Rudy for digging up my ferns, and most definitely, watching for the blooms of that lily.