How Does Your Garden Grow

I love flowers. I love driving up to my house and being greeted by blooms.

Every March, as the ground begins to thaw, I look for the green stems of my daffodil bulbs, breaking through the earth, pushing themselves towards the sun, waking up after a long winter's rest. A sign of a new beginning.

I impulse buy flowers that line the entrance of the supermarket (just got patio pots for $1.50 today!), and plant them in the mulch bed in front of the house. I pull out the weeds and get rid of the dried leaves that hide under the bushes.

We lay new mulch to keep away the weeds. Our spring garden looks fresh and orderly. Filled with annuals, so I have a chance to change the color scheme each year, and perennials, so I have a guarantee that I will always have flowers.

The rituals of spring.

Spring turns into summer, and before I know it my garden is filled with weeds.

The blooms of yesterday are dried and dead on their stems.

For me, tending a garden isn't as much fun as planting one. After weeks (ok months) of neglect, there is work to be done.

Weeds need to be pulled. If they continue to grow wild, they will rob the flowers of sun, water and nourishment.

Flowers need to be dead headed so new blooms can burst.

Sometimes we need to pull out the hose and sprinkler because the ground is baking under the summer sun, plants thirsting for water.

Tending a garden can be tedious work.

You can dirty and sweaty, gardening in the hot sun.

If you put in the time and effort though, you are rewarded with beauty, the blooms of your labor.

Gardening is a lot like life. Sometimes you just need to make the time to do some weeding.

We all have weeds in our lives, things that take the nourishment and energy away from the flowers. These weeds can take many different forms. Maybe it is that extra 10 pounds that you really need to lose. Maybe it is that pile of mail that gathers on the counter that just makes you feel like your house is a mess. Maybe it is a relationship that just isn't working, and is bringing you down. Maybe it is a dead end job. Maybe it is all those things on the "to do" list that you have been putting off, yet need to be done. Weeds can be very resilient. They rarely just go away. Instead, they seem to multiply. Sometimes we are fooled because sometimes weeds can be quite pretty, but beware, don't be fooled by appearances.

Sometimes we need to deadhead the flowers too. Get rid of the old, so the new can grow.

Pull out your weeds.



Dead head your flowers.



Plant some annuals to bring a bit of excitement, and take comfort that your perennials will always be there.

Let the flowers of your life bloom, attract the butterflies, brighten your day, and fill your life with beauty.




"Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed." ...Walt Whitman