Bite sized wisdom: The Garden Edition

Hello there!

Have you ever tried gardening? I haven’t, but my desire to turn a grey deck into a green paradise meant that I had to learn. With a few trips to a local Home Depot, I had several pots of plants adorning my balcony.

Thanks to a bit of love, lots of sunshine and few occasional rain showers, signs of green started showing. Small seeds burst open, new sprouts grew upwards crowning themselves with flowers, until crowns got heavier and bore fruit. Thanks to the variety of plants, I learned the struggle of each one and realized they all had a different path to follow.

The few weeks spent in the garden have taught me some wisdom and I’d like to share these life lessons with you.

1. “We’re all wired differently.”

In the garden I had a variety of food: tomatoes, strawberries, mint, basil, and even lavender for nice aroma.
The first to blossom were the herbs and lavender, the fruits came last. Of them, the strawberry bloomed from different sides, the flowers transforming into sweet red fruits. The tomato bloomed and bore fruit in a bunch, but it took weeks before they ripened. We all have different paths to follow. For some the journey is long, but we’ll all get there eventually.

2. “Take time, but don’t take too long.”

The first strawberry to appear on the plant was nice and large (not the store kind of large, but more of the organic type you’d expect the strawberry to be). For days it was basking in the sun, getting sweeter and more ripe. One day I had a feeling that it was time to delight in what the plant had to share. To keep the moment special I thought I’d wait to have some friends around. That evening I came home to find that a crow had gotten to the fruit first. It was disappointing, but that’s the truth. Things take time to mature, so give it time, but don’t take too long, or you’ll miss your chance.

3. “What blossoms withers, but the roots can bring it back.”

I’ve seen many flowers bloom and wither in my neighborhood. On my deck, that’s no exception. Flowers that bring color, sweetness and decorate a grey deck with life are all here for a short time. Once they’ve bloomed and bore fruit they wither away. It’s sad, but it’s the cycle of life. What’s important to remember though is that the roots of the plants are safely in the ground, and when the time comes, the flowers will bloom again. Same applies to love, friendships and everything else in life. Each has its own cycle, there are ups and downs, and even when something seems to be dying, if the bond is strong, it can withstand almost anything! Just because something seems to be ending doesn’t mean it will be gone forever.