[2021-05-10] Planting day

One of my nieces―an incredibly artistic and generous soul―gifted me seedlings and seeds for my garden, some saved from her own garden last year. The harvested seeds were lovingly packaged in homemade cardboard envelopes, onto which my niece had carefully written the name of the seeds as well as instructions for growing them. I was touched and impressed.

Today, I planted the seedlings and seeds. It might be a bit early for some plants, but the weather forecast for the next 15 days shows no sign of frost in my area. So I threw caution to the wind and plunged seedlings and seeds into soft, black earth in various planters.

Gardening is, after all, one grand experiment. It's also a fitting metaphor for life. We plant seeds today, hoping to reap their bounty in the future. We may want to hurry them along but, for the most part, they will take the time they take to grow and mature. Weeds will inevitably grow in our garden, requiring that we pull them out to leave room for tender vegetables and flowers to flourish. Sometimes we over-plant, leaving insufficient space for each plant to develop, in a form of biting off more than we can chew.

Gardening reminds me to:
  • invest my time, attention and love in others, for that investment will be returned many times over,
  • be patient, for some of the best things in life come only with time and often when we need them most,
  • recognize that life comes with both good and bad, and
  • strive for balance so that I'm not overextended.
These lessons seem more relevant now than ever. I am more keenly aware of the importance of really being with the people I love―not just there in body, but there in spirit too. I have learned that I don't have all the answers and perhaps never will, and so patience with myself and others is a necessity. I have accepted the bad and chosen to focus on the good. And I have discovered that there is a limit to my energy, something I often ignored in the past.

I'm excited to watch my garden grow, to see what works and what doesn't. And I look forward to applying the lessons from this year to improving next year's endeavours―be they in my garden or in my life.