Instant Gardens?

As I walk though the new landscape at Poison Ivy Acres, I’m seeing what is there, but I’m also looking into the future. I notice the blue spruce, Rhododendrons, and Hollywood juniper we planted on the property line. It will be wonderful when those Rhododendrons are large and block the neighbor’s driveway, and is there, perhaps, space for a Chamaecyparis or two? I imagine with pleasure how all these plants will fill the space when they’ve been there for six or seven years.

Part of me wants to see things larger now. I want the privacy, I want to harvest the greens in the winter, and I want to appreciate mature specimen plants. At the same time I enjoy the process, and am grateful to be able to witness the progression from small plant to large.

Truthfully, the me that imagines how it will all look years from now seems to be prevailing.

Why is it so hard for humans to want what we already have? Why is it difficult to let our lives and gardens just take their course? Landscapes are constantly evolving…even those “instant gardens” that are started with larger plants. Although landscapers can plant a property so that the gardens immediately look mature, such landscapes change like all others, and often need to be re-worked because things are too crowded.

Be it a garden, a career or another aspect of life, we are frequently in a hurry to arrive. Once there, however, we realize that the garden, the career, and yes, the life, keeps on growing and we haven’t arrived at all.