The other day I was walking around in the yard measuring out my ideas for the new garden layout. Even though things are blooming in the southern parts of the New York State, here up north things are just starting to come out. It's still too early to plant outside since it is not unheard of for us to get frost in April, but I can measure, draw, and design, order planters and other materials, and get ready for May to open the door to gardening in earnest.
Anyway, as I was walking around, I noticed a small patch of Forget-Me-Not sticking out of the ground in a space when I knew I had not planted them. In fact, my entire garden last year was a container garden. I mentioned this to my great-grandson who is just getting into gardening and ready to be my partner this year. Smarter than the average 12 year old, he said: "You know, Gigi, maybe the wind blew them out of the pot or your hand when you were planting them last year, or maybe a bird did it." Never under estimate the power of a child to set you straight.
How many times in our lives do unexpected things turn up where we would least expect them to, or a door that had been closed for years suddenly open? How many times have we "planted seeds," in our lives or careers but given up hope when nothing sprouts, and see have it burst into bloom years later? I think the most important lessons I've learned in my life came from seeds I planted years ago only to see them finally shoot up now in my "golden years." Perhaps it was a mix of hope, experience, and wisdom that comes from living 70+ years that finally made them bloom. I think the idea is that hope is the seed we plant, experience is the soil, and wisdom is the fertilizer.
Have you planted seeds in your life that haven't bloomed yet? Maybe it's time to change your soil, sprinkle a little fertilizer, and never, never give up hope. You'll be surprised what pops up in the most unexpected places.
And so it is.
