As a gardener, I am more often than not a little sad when the cooler months of autumn appear. My garden begins to slow down in preparation for its winter rest.
The evidence is everywhere. The hostas have retreated, my African fern is beginning to turn brown, our annuals have stopped blooming, and my roses are putting out their final blooms of the year. As I look back on this gardening year, I find myself thankful for many little blessings. So many things come to mind. These days I have very little down time and my early mornings in the garden, sipping coffee and admiring the roses is a precious gift that I have come to cherish.
I am equally grateful for those of you who support what I do. To those of you who have reached out to me through e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter and Instagram, to those I have met this year while traveling the United States speaking and educating folks on basic rose care, I cannot tell you what your words of wisdom and encouragement have meant to me. I cannot express how wonderful it is to hear how gardening has touched your life and it is a great joy to hear from people locally as well as from as far away as Malaysia and Ukraine. Your hospitality, advice, and kind words have enriched my soul far beyond what I can express.
It is also a time to reflect on lessons learned from the garden. One big lesson was patience. Picture this: one January, I needed to apply a dormant spray to my roses. It was below freezing, and the roses were dormant. It seemed like the perfect time… so I thought. It was a Monday; I was already late for the office and was dressed in a suit. I thought, “I’ll just do this on my way out the door.” Well, my sprayer clogged and I ended up spraying myself instead of the roses. Despite a vigorous scrub with soap and water, no one wanted to sit next to me in meetings that day. My roses and my co-workers deserve better. HA!
Even as I reflect on this past season of gardening life, I am beginning to contemplate the coming spring. While the garden sleeps, I plan. By mid-January, our mailbox will be full of seed and flower catalogs and the process begins again.
The evidence is everywhere. The hostas have retreated, my African fern is beginning to turn brown, our annuals have stopped blooming, and my roses are putting out their final blooms of the year. As I look back on this gardening year, I find myself thankful for many little blessings. So many things come to mind. These days I have very little down time and my early mornings in the garden, sipping coffee and admiring the roses is a precious gift that I have come to cherish.
I am equally grateful for those of you who support what I do. To those of you who have reached out to me through e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter and Instagram, to those I have met this year while traveling the United States speaking and educating folks on basic rose care, I cannot tell you what your words of wisdom and encouragement have meant to me. I cannot express how wonderful it is to hear how gardening has touched your life and it is a great joy to hear from people locally as well as from as far away as Malaysia and Ukraine. Your hospitality, advice, and kind words have enriched my soul far beyond what I can express.
It is also a time to reflect on lessons learned from the garden. One big lesson was patience. Picture this: one January, I needed to apply a dormant spray to my roses. It was below freezing, and the roses were dormant. It seemed like the perfect time… so I thought. It was a Monday; I was already late for the office and was dressed in a suit. I thought, “I’ll just do this on my way out the door.” Well, my sprayer clogged and I ended up spraying myself instead of the roses. Despite a vigorous scrub with soap and water, no one wanted to sit next to me in meetings that day. My roses and my co-workers deserve better. HA!
Even as I reflect on this past season of gardening life, I am beginning to contemplate the coming spring. While the garden sleeps, I plan. By mid-January, our mailbox will be full of seed and flower catalogs and the process begins again.
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