i have a friend who years ago made up a story about rosa and suzie. rosa was for a rose and suzie for a black eyed susan. friends would meet over the garden gate. one with a rose garden, one with a wild flower garden. rosa was me. suzie was her.
i thought of the story again this week as i was observing my very wild garden. full of all kinds of plants. perennials, annuals that go to seed, sunflowers, even mint and strawberries, vines, bulbs, hollyhocks, daisies, cone flowers, peonies and yes, roses. but the roses don't really thrive in a regular garden to begin with. they take time to get established. they do much better in a garden of their own. but, i like the look of them mixed in. so....i leave them be and let them work it out in time. and it does take time. there is one that i wasn't sure was going to bother to come back this year. i spent time and nurtured it a bit. cut the intruders back and gave it a little breathing room....for awhile. and, what do you know? it's growing. getting taller. even has some late summer buds for the first year ever. first time it has ever made flowers.
and the roses in my garden and the long ago story got me to thinking about how i am. i am very much the rose in the garden. it's so hard for me. most people have no idea. it takes a lot for me to grow. to be nurtured. to fit in within the crowd. with a few, i'm good. and given time, i'm good too. but i'm not like the daisies that just go everywhere. nor like the mint that will take over. no, i'm pretty settled in and take time to grow. but, there's still beauty in me. still ways to make more beauty...though it's harder with a rose than with a clematis. it takes planning.
yes, i am much like a rose.
who's a friend with lots of other beautiful flowers. who fit in and grow and are ever so much more quick to grow accustomed to a crowded garden.
and perhaps that's one of the reasons i struggle in these days. overshadowed a bit. but, i'm still there. just takes me time. and nobody can rush it. even me. i can't will myself to be a daisy. or mint. or delphinium. though i appreciate them all. i am....just me. trying to find my place in the garden. and the garden is full of beauty already. so, sometimes it doesn't seem like it much matters if i produce my few little flowers in the midst of the massive displays of the other flowers.
but it is important. because each one has a purpose.
the bees. and butterflies. and hummingbirds. and wasps. and flies. and earwigs. and toads. and caterpillars. and sparrows. and blue jays. and mockingbirds. and doves. and......so many living creatures need my garden. and they don't all need the same kinds of things! and that's how it is with me. i might not be like the sunflower that feeds all of those sweet red headed sparrows and the jays. and i might not be the lillies or geraniums that draw the butterflies and hummingbirds. but, i still have a purpose that is uniquely mine. i forget that sometimes. i don't forget it in my garden with my flowers. i marvel at it every single day. i watch all of the life. it's totally wonderful.
i need to remember. i'm rosa. and suzie and rosa meet over the garden gate and enjoy each other's gardens...and over time....their gardens spread through the fence and intertwine and create an even more abundant and beautiful garden.
blessings.
i thought of the story again this week as i was observing my very wild garden. full of all kinds of plants. perennials, annuals that go to seed, sunflowers, even mint and strawberries, vines, bulbs, hollyhocks, daisies, cone flowers, peonies and yes, roses. but the roses don't really thrive in a regular garden to begin with. they take time to get established. they do much better in a garden of their own. but, i like the look of them mixed in. so....i leave them be and let them work it out in time. and it does take time. there is one that i wasn't sure was going to bother to come back this year. i spent time and nurtured it a bit. cut the intruders back and gave it a little breathing room....for awhile. and, what do you know? it's growing. getting taller. even has some late summer buds for the first year ever. first time it has ever made flowers.
and the roses in my garden and the long ago story got me to thinking about how i am. i am very much the rose in the garden. it's so hard for me. most people have no idea. it takes a lot for me to grow. to be nurtured. to fit in within the crowd. with a few, i'm good. and given time, i'm good too. but i'm not like the daisies that just go everywhere. nor like the mint that will take over. no, i'm pretty settled in and take time to grow. but, there's still beauty in me. still ways to make more beauty...though it's harder with a rose than with a clematis. it takes planning.
yes, i am much like a rose.
who's a friend with lots of other beautiful flowers. who fit in and grow and are ever so much more quick to grow accustomed to a crowded garden.
and perhaps that's one of the reasons i struggle in these days. overshadowed a bit. but, i'm still there. just takes me time. and nobody can rush it. even me. i can't will myself to be a daisy. or mint. or delphinium. though i appreciate them all. i am....just me. trying to find my place in the garden. and the garden is full of beauty already. so, sometimes it doesn't seem like it much matters if i produce my few little flowers in the midst of the massive displays of the other flowers.
but it is important. because each one has a purpose.
the bees. and butterflies. and hummingbirds. and wasps. and flies. and earwigs. and toads. and caterpillars. and sparrows. and blue jays. and mockingbirds. and doves. and......so many living creatures need my garden. and they don't all need the same kinds of things! and that's how it is with me. i might not be like the sunflower that feeds all of those sweet red headed sparrows and the jays. and i might not be the lillies or geraniums that draw the butterflies and hummingbirds. but, i still have a purpose that is uniquely mine. i forget that sometimes. i don't forget it in my garden with my flowers. i marvel at it every single day. i watch all of the life. it's totally wonderful.
i need to remember. i'm rosa. and suzie and rosa meet over the garden gate and enjoy each other's gardens...and over time....their gardens spread through the fence and intertwine and create an even more abundant and beautiful garden.
blessings.
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