Embracing Change

Embracing change is not always an easy thing to do, but if you don’t, you will be among other things, a frustrated gardener.

Gardens are not stagnant.  They are constantly growing, and evolving. There are some great lessons to be learned from a garden.  Being a gardener teaches us to be flexible.  Every season will have its successes and failures, and some of these will be totally out of your control.

Embracing the changes in your garden is part of the charm.  Maybe you didn’t plant that mullein in the middle of your perennial bed, but isn’t its tall, slightly fuzzy appearance a stroke of genius?  It’s appreciating the serendipity of Mother Nature that makes your garden one of a kind.

I am just one person with one very humble garden on less than a half acre of land in a suburban neighborhood- nothing special.  Certainly not anything like the gorgeous gardens pictured in every gardening publication out there.

I admit sometimes the pictures tend to discourage me more than they inspire me because I know I don’t have the resources, or the time, or maybe even the vision to create such a paradise in my own yard.

But, if we truly want to embrace change, we have to start from where we are and humbly admit that there is always better and should be. That is what resolutions are all about.

Seed catalogs are hope, hope and dreams that this year’s garden will be the best ever.   So as my mailbox gradually fills with glorious seed and flower catalogs, I am greedily devouring each and every one of them as they come.

Now, these once glossy magazines are all dog-eared, underlined, and circled, and if I bought everything I’ve circled I’d probably have to declare bankruptcy!  So obviously, now comes the harder task of eliminating three fourths of these wish lists, and trying to choose the plants that will truly thrive and enrich my garden.

Buying new plants for your garden is embracing change.  Is this the year you tackle the rocky side yard, or the boggy back corner, the wind that whips around the north corner of your house, or the general lack of privacy?

I couldn’t begin to name all the challenges that your garden might be facing, but it doesn’t all have to be tackled at the same time.  Chose one small area to concentrate on and focus your attention to improve that spot.

Maybe you won’t be able to recreate the dream garden you saw in a magazine, but you might be able to improve and create a one tiny oasis of beauty in your yard. A little space that you can take pleasure in; one little spot that might enable you to embrace change again somewhere else. 

So as I tackle the job of eliminating most of my circled choices, I am still hoping to turn my visions into reality.  What one of a kind beauty is waiting to flourish in my garden?  What eclectic element will make a transformational difference in my yard?

 I am embracing changes that are still undreamed of in my garden, and waiting patiently to encounter them.  I hope you are, too!