"A beautiful thing is never perfect." ~Proverb
Summer is officially here (while it may not seem that way here in the Pacific NW). And today's phone photo has me reflecting on a post I'd created around this same time last year (see "summer=peonies").
As fans and followers may recall, I planted three herbaceous peonies last summer (two fucshia and one white). With love, patience, and a little ortho-grow for good measure, I kept a close watch over them for signs of growth through the remaining summer months. Nothing. When the cold and rainy fall returned, I reluctantly cut them back to near stumps (yeah, but will they grow back?!?!) and covered them with some fern fronds to insulate them from the snow, rain, and colder temperatures.
Then spring came (woo-hoo!) and while the cold seemed to hang on longer than desired, I opted to remove the ferns and give them time to soak in the rain and slightly warmer temperatures. Pretty soon, I started to see little blooms forming....I patiently waited even longer until finally, the blooms grew taller, bigger, and then burst open with vibrant layers of color.
Well, not exactly.....one of the two fuchsia plants grew back full and leafy but without blooms. The other fuchsia grew a single beautiful bloom without any fragrance, and quickly wilted when cut and put into water- then nothing more. No more blooms. The white one, while unique in appearance, was not what I had anticipated- it's blooms were less layered, and not as fragrant as I had hoped.
So what, you may ask, is your point? Well for me, the last several weeks have been filled with a lot of quiet introspect and meditation....work is filled with lots of positive (but very slow-moving) changes, my personal relationships continue to grow and evolve...and so do I. And as I sit at my computer, enjoying a vintage bud vase filled with a few of my fresh cut white peonies (photo above) I reflect on some of the life lessons learned from the experience of planting, cultivating, and enjoying my very own flowers.
PATIENCE- (Good thing I am not a doctor!) Speaking candidly, I will tell you that I am not a patient person. In the car, on a long line at the grocery, working on projects, whatever. I am the type of person that wants to see immediate results, and I get easily frustrated or put off when I don't get them. But something I've learned from these beautiful flowers (and other plants that I've nurtured and grown) is that it takes TIME. We live in an insanely chaotic world; life is all about multi-tasking, and how much you can cram into a 12 hour day....from gardening, I've learned that anything that is worthwhile and meaningful takes time to grow. Rather than fighting it, and getting frustrated with the snails' pace of things, take the time to learn, enjoy, and GROW.
HOW TO SEE THINGS FOR WHAT THEY ARE (not what you think they should be) When the first bloom broke open on that fuchsia peony plant, I said, "oh that's nice...but it doesn't smell like I thought it would....why aren't there more blooms? well, maybe next year...." it was at this point I was asked, "so you're ready to just throw these aside and not enjoy them at all?" And my reply was NO, of course not! It was at that point that I started looking at them in a different light. Maybe they didn't look as beautiful as the market or store-bought bouquets of peonies that I saw on desks around my office, but they were all mine.
What's more, I started remembering all of the hard work (weeding, digging, planting, maintaining) care, and yes, love, that went into growing them. I can appreciate beauty in my immediate surroundings, but rather than feeling envy over what another has and I don't, I am able to recognize that what I have is beautiful, just as it is.
Posts
