Report From An Opinionated Gardener – September 29
I was talking to a friend recently who said that I must have felt overwhelmed when we moved to Poison Ivy Acres…dealing with a blank slate and all. As I look at what we’ve done in just three years, it is pretty astounding.
Some of the gardens were planned out, more or less, but most of them have just evolved as I balanced what the lay of the land demanded with my own desires. I’ve already started moving things around and correcting mistakes.
Do most of us approach our lives in much the same way? We make general plans, and do what we can with what we’re given, right? After that it’s a matter of correcting mistakes and rearranging what is less than successful. And we hope that as time goes on we’re able to design for success more often.
In and out of the garden, there are no guarantees and no matter how much we plan, there are always unexpected dilemmas. There are also unplanned delights. In between these lows and highs there are the mysteries, miracles and let’s-just-get-through-this of day-to-day life.
When I find myself wanting a sure thing in my writing, speaking or other areas of life, my garden reminds me that no matter if my plans succeed or not, growth continues.
Here is how the front yard looked three years ago.
And here is how the same area looks today. There's still work to be done, but it's come a long way.
