What My Garden Showed Me

I was out visiting my little garden this afternoon and found that it had all kinds of things to share with me.  Here is some of what I heard as I looked through the lens of my camera.

Enjoy each day as a fleeting bloom

Each day holds sweetness and beauty like a flower does.  To be able to recognize what exactly that is may not always be easy to do, but often is best seen as the flower of that day fades away and we remember.

Farewell sweet fragrance

The fragrance of friendship is not something that fades and is forgotten, but is forever remembered and at the slightest hint of its perfume, our hearts are filled up by the beauty of the memory of it.

Some times its the smallest things in the craziness

The Veronica flowers delight me as they peek out from an otherwise chaotic spot near the driveway gate.  Without them this spot is overlooked as a weedy spot.  With them it becomes delight-filled.  Its the smallest things, in the most unusual places, that sometimes lift my heart.

Always keep a sweet welcome at the gate

I mourned for a moment the Valerian, blown over by the wind at our front gate until I noticed how it is now in perfect pose for a welcome sniff from friends and strangers as they pass by our way.  May they feel the friendship of this place as they drink in its perfume.

Friendships have seasons

Like this ephemeral bulb gathered from a friend's garden before they moved across the country, friendships have seasons.  Some full and lively, bright and vibrant, and at other times we are apart for long seasons, our hearts longing to see our dear ones.  When this flower blooms it reminds me of my dear friend Jeni and her family.  As I saw it today I longed to chat with her like we used to over coffee and spend time in the midst of her family.  Lord willing we may get that opportunity again one day.

The beauty of flowers once gone is the fruit that follows

Our Quince tree is such a delight to me when in full bloom, with its soft pink flowers that sit along the very tips of the branches, looking very much like pink marshmallows.  I moaned a bit today when I saw they were nearly all fading, but only for a moment, until I see the downy baby fruits beginning to grow.  I am reminded that even though delightful things in my life begin to fade as change happens, I need to watch for the fruit that will follow, which in itself is a delight.

Friends and help come in many forms

So many people are afraid of honey bees.  I was too until I lived next door to a bee keeper who taught me that they are really gentle, helpful creatures.  Sometimes we can react to people the same way we do bees because of a lack of understanding of who they really are.  My 8th grade Geography teacher was such a person to me.  She was someone who challenged us, who laid down the law for us and who delighted in us.  We, like children afraid of bees, didn't see the single woman standing before us, who always longed for children of her own and had none, and how she instead had adopted each one us into her heart.

New blooms following faded flowers

In the garden, when one flower fades, another soon takes the stage to delight and fill the void left behind by its predecessor.  Crocus, daffodils, tulips, iris and others, like a parade of color after a long winter lift our spirits from winters darkness.  Friends do the same in our lives, each in their own season, beauty and sweetness, touching our hearts to encourage and lift us at just that right moment as only they can with their unique beauty and gifts.

And there will be gloves for foxes

Life is serious business sometimes, but it also is delightful business if we look for those moments of whimsy and delight in each day.  As I passed by this Foxglove flower stem I thought to myself, "And there will be gloves for foxes.  That will make them so happy."  We know foxes don't wear flowers on their paws, but that doesn't matter, what matters is that there was a little moment of delight brought into my day because of the thought of foxes wearing flowers on their paws.

Your garden is talking...listen...can you hear it?


Copyright © 2011 by Patty Hicks
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