As I write this, my town, and most of upstate New York, is being inundated with a thick layer of smoke that has blown in from the wildfires in Canada. The distant hills are almost invisible and the daylight is tinged with a yellowish glow. All of this after weeks of above average temperatures and little or no rain that has put us in a drought condition with everyone racing around trying to save their gardens both indoors and out. If this weather gets any crazier, it could be the stuff of one of those futuristic, gloom-and-doom movies!
One of the casualties of all this is a lavender plant my daughter purchased for me a few weeks ago. It came from a reputable place that sells all home-grown, organic plants, fruits, and vegetables. The other three plants we purchased, a rosemary, sweet basil, and curly parsley, are all doing well. I gave them a day or so to get used to sitting under a grow light or on the windowsill instead of outdoors, then re-potted them into larger pots since their roots were getting tight. I made sure to put drainage holes in the bottom and followed the instructions that came with them as to how much sunlight and how much water each one needed. The three of them are thriving. The lavender isn't. On a day when it was going to be particularly hot, I had to run out to the store. Since I don't get direct sunlight until after lunch, I thought it was safe to put the herbs on the windowsill near an open window so they could get some fresh air. Unfortunately, I got held up with one thing or another and when I got back, the lavender looked limp. I gave it a good watering and put it back under the grow light. When it started looking even worse, I took it out of the pot to make sure the roots weren't pot-bound, put it in an even larger pot, and prayed. The next day it was completely gone, all droopy and dried out looking. I truly thought that a good drink and a bigger pot so the roots could breathe were the answers to the problem. In this case, although it might have been thirsting to grow, it just couldn't. While it wasn't the first plant I've ever lost, it still made me feel as if I had let it down somehow.
We all thirst to grow. We thirst for knowledge, new experiences, opportunities to spread our wings, put down new roots, and grow into the person we are meant to be. Sometimes we spring forward, and sometimes we fall back. We reach for the sun, only to realize that it has set before we could get there. Just like a plant has it's ups and downs, so do we. The trick is to do the best we can, try to stay awake and aware, and keep watering our dreams. We may be trying to grow one thing only to discover that we've grown something even better instead.
I took the dried petals of the lavender plant and put them in a mesh bag. When I take a bath, I'll sprinkle some of them in my bath water, or, tie the bag to the shower head so I can be showered with lavender. She may have lost her battle in the soil, but she is still sharing her goodness in the water. In the meantime, I've purchased a packet of lavender seeds and some new potting soil. Sometimes we have to get back to basics and start from the ground up ... literally!
And so it is.
