Every good gardener knows that after several years there are places in our garden that need ripping out and replaced or replanted. Some need dead portions pruned back to encourage new growth and some need to be pulled out and replaced altogether with a totally new and more hardy, loyal species.
Sometimes we get tired of the way our garden is growing and developing. The flowers and plants just don’t seem to be responding to our loving care and nurturing the way used to, and we realize they may need a change as much as we do.
Several years ago I wrote a post called “My Garden of Friends” which described six special friends I had at the time. I re-read it a few weeks ago, and decided it was time to update that particular post, with the changes that have since taken place in my life, or shall I refer to it once again as my garden?
My orange day lily is no longer there, nor is my purple tulip. They’ve gone their own way, not together, but certainly no longer in my garden. And most likely never to be re-planted here. Obviously, they were not the long blooming perennials that once promised to be faithful spots of color to always brighten my day.
My once beautiful pink rose has now withered away, the blossoms no longer the smiling faces I used to see on an almost daily basis. And no matter how hard I try, that rose just won’t bloom for me as she once did. Oh, the bush itself is still there, but now contributes nothing of the beauty it once was. This fall it’s being pulled out entirely to make room for more faithful flowers.
My gardenia has since decided to leave my garden in search of more favorable soil, where she can (hopefully in her mind, at least) be the most popular flower among all the others. May she find what she needs in that new garden.
My lily of the valley is still blooming regularly, although from afar, and sending me her delicate bells of laughter and joy when I need them the most. She brings me joy every time I hear from her, and especially the not-often-enough times we can actually be together.
My sunflower, however, continues to grow and bloom, with a vibrant sturdiness that makes her a flower that can always bring me love and support, no matter how I’m feeling. I do the same for her, because I am also planted in her garden. We share a special bond that onlly continues to grow.
So like the good gardener I try to be, I’ve now almost totally re-designed my garden with an abundance of new flowers and some flowering bushes and trees.
I now have bright blue hydrangeas, sturdy, beautiful, and faithful. Flowering bushes that produce large blossoms which remain bright for months, and come back faithfully each spring. Always there, always welcome.
There are now dozens of colorful yellow day lilies, who brighten both our front and back yards. Loyal flowers who withstand whatever comes against them, and keep on blooming.
And there’s a delicate mimosa tree, whose delicate pink blossoms shoot into bloom almost overnight, so it seems. It’s an old-fashioned yet sturdy and dependable blooming tree that has withstood the test of time and is always a source of beauty and friendship. What started from a small sapling is now a 10-15 foot spectacular tree, still delicate looking, but always faithful.
Then there are the camellia bushes, scattered through the yard, blooming at various times of the year with delicate yet bright blooms even withstanding the winter snow. And I can always count on them being there.
Yes, my garden has now been re-designed, not necessarily all by my own hand, but by the hands of other flowers who felt the need for change and a different growth pattern, or for a new space altogether.
And I must say, I like the look of my new garden, although I’m sure it will change again, it probably not as drastic. But it’s peaceful, and easy to maintain.
Just like life should be.