I loved spring in my garden beds. It brought a little more fullness to the boxwood we were pruning in the Japanese cloud style. Blue delphinium, blue cranesbill geranium, pink clematis, pink and creamy English roses came into play all at the same time under the snowy watch of blooming white redbuds.
It was a time of high interest and discovery of what lived through the winter and what died back, what would clearly thrive in a new season…of mysterious new life in new places from seeds we didn’t plant…seeds dropped there to surprise and mostly delight. I loved everything about the wild strawberry…in its first season.
Today I’m learning to garden on a two-level terrace and falling in love with the way of the petunias, shrubs in whiskey barrels, honeysuckle’s reluctance to climb a brick wall and the quirkiness of our flapjack succulent.
It occurred to me in a reunion with a friend this week that she brings this same vibrant interest to the people in her life winter to spring. She is lifegiving in her sincere curiosity and elephant memory about everything that matters…husband, children, parents, home, business, upcoming life events. And she is the first to help if she sees you need a patient gardener to come alongside something important in life or work.
I passionately believe interest in others is something worth cultivating and love how uniquely it can come up through the ground of our relationships.
