I’ve been thinking a great deal about my flower garden lately. This is the first summer in many years that I’ve been home to really appreciate my yard and to realize that it’s sort of a mess.

Over the years I have added a flower or two here and there, creating flower beds that have a kind of cottagey, messy feel. This used to suit my tastes but it feels like change is needed.

I would like to rearrange some things into masses and to create greater order. Not only will it look better but masses of flowers are easier to keep weeded. There’s research to be done so I can understand how best to accomplish this goal and, plainly put, I just need a plan.

Meanwhile, I’m mainly observing and trying to get my head in the right spot to cause so much upheaval in my yard. I’m not ready yet.

There’s a lot to be learned from nature and from your flowers and many of these lessons can be applied to your own life. For example, some things are most striking just before they bloom.

I absolutely love the colors and shapes of the buds on this Hosta. When the buds open, the flower is delicate and yet sturdy and strong.

 

 

 

Some flowers are beautiful, not for their perfections but for the damage caused by conditions such as bugs and heat. They are survivors.

Others are beautiful for the way they reach to the heavens. None do so with such enthusiasm as my Rose of Sharon which are loaded down with blooms and growing so fast they’re officially taller than the house.

Some things are most beautiful only in the right light while others may share their secrets and become transparent in that same light.

And sometimes you stumble into something in the garden that isn’t quite what it seems. This dragonfly is made of old utensils. Cute, right?

I like the way that flowers work together, side by side, and without worry that they’re a different color or shape or from different places.

I like the way that they create beauty where there is none. Such as in this vintage peanut can turned flower pot. The phrase “bloom where you’re planted” comes to mind.

I appreciate resilience and strength in the face of adversity. Between the torrential rains, extreme heat, deer and insects, my flowers have shown their will to live this year.

I also appreciate these qualities in people.

Life is hard and sometimes it feels like the people around us work to make it harder. People don’t like someone for the color of their skin or push political views on others who are literally harmed by these views and actions. People are judged for their personal choices or made to feel inadequate because they don’t have enough money or the right house or because they love the wrong person. They don’t dress correctly or they simply don’t fit the mold of what society says is right.

Many people aren’t nice anymore. They seem to have forgotten the Golden Rule. Just as bad – they teach their own children to bully and name call. Never in my life has it been ok to call another person names and now I know people who think it’s cute when they’re tween calls someone a libtard.

And for what?  Why do people try so hard to make life more challenging for others and, sometimes, for themselves? I can’t answer that question and lack the energy to try today. Instead, I’m going to focus on the things I do know to be true and the things I can control.

I’m going to take note of some things my flowers have taught me – try to get along, find beauty where you can and bloom where you’re planted. Also, understand that sometimes a weed will appear but if you’re lucky – it’s not a weed – it’s just something you didn’t plan for like this pretty daylily that I don’t recall planting.

 

And when in doubt, just keep trucking. Because, unlike flowers which must bloom where they’re planted, human beings have choices to make and can move along if they’re not happy where they are in life.

I sat down to write a short post about flowers and not to publish a diatribe on what’s wrong with society. So here are a few more pretty pictures to brighten your day. I hope you make it a good one.