Whenever I read a quote about growth, I make a connection to gardening. The greatest lessons I have learned have come to me when I am gardening- doin’ yard work. A good garden is always changing, growing – a living thing.. Gardening is like dealing with the Devil and touching the Hem of God’s Garment.

When my garden and I started out, I had dreams for it; some have come true.

• I wanted roses spilling over a white picket fence, I wanted my grandmother’s Spiderwort and her Hosta to thrive.
• I wanted heirloom peonies to pass along to the next generation.
• I wanted a couple of magnolia trees and a gardenia that knocked my socks off with it’s white blooms and heavy scent.
• I wanted big blue Mop Head Hydrangeas by the dozens.
• I wanted to look out of every window and see something growing.
• I wanted an old gardener’s bulbs and irises to spring up every year and greet me.

I’ve gotten all of that and more. I still have to fight weeds- I still have to prune and vigorously cut back new growth. My best laid plans have been interrupted; I’ve even loved and lost-

My herb garden had to be torn up because of a structural issue. I mourned the loss, I resisted the change. Nature doesn’t seem to resist change– but eases gently, gracefully through the seasons. Plants do not seem to be alarmed or depressed when they are pruned- they just up and put on new growth. There is a quiet wisdom impressed upon me when I garden, nature is a patient teacher. She calmly points out the splendor of the sunshine, the peaceful necessity of a gentle rain and the blinking lights of  fireflies-then, quietly points her finger toward the stars without worry or anxiety about tomorrow..Gardening points me to my higher self-it brings out the dreamer in me. I love this quote by Harriet Tubman:

‘Every dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.’

Gardening helps me believe that within the personality of God, there is an unruffled calm, a perennial pace to life, an order and higher purpose in my life. My doubts and anxieties about aging are overcome when I see a sunset. A Sunset is proof that Nature really does save the best for last. Before the curtains close -She waltzes out, shows off her most glorious colors- spreads her skirts and takes a graceful bow- then tosses out a handful of stars!

‘Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from the morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress.’ Charles Dickens

It’s such a treat for me to share some lessons from my garden. I hope your gardens and your lives are abundant and changing ever so gently. I hope there are still stars in your eyes and dreams in your hearts.

Love y’all, Camellia

*image from http://www.quotesgram.com

quotes from ‘The Dictionary of Thoughts’ published in 1959 by Standard Book Company

Find more gardening inspiration on Amazon.com