Tag Archives: flowers

Roses and the lesson of preparedness

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For the amount of times I seem to write a post about gardening, you’d think I was the owner and sustainer of a prize winning garden! Those of you who have ever come to my house, know this to be quite opposite to the truth.

My husband and I have a rather bad habit when it comes to plants.

Conversations go like this:

(At home)

Me: I really like those ‘such and such’ plants.

Him: Yes, they’re nice. Where would we put it?

Me: Mmmmm, not sure.

(At the nursery)

Him: Oh these are lovely!

Me: Yes, lets get them and some of the other ones and some veggies and….

And so that’s how we end up bringing home a heap of plants.

Now the problem is we haven’t prepared. We have no idea where they are going to go, what position they need, whether the soil is right or how big they will grow. Sure, we read the label when we’re at the nursery but, at the nursery, we are invincible garden wizards with not just green thumbs, but green hands!

We have killed more plants through lack of planning that I care to remember.

And so what did my lovely husband bring home the other day? Two rose plants. Where are we putting those, I asked. Yeah, dunno, he replied. That was about a week ago and they are still sitting on the outside table in their bag. We are so keen to have lovely flowers or fresh veggies that we put the cart before the horse, or in this case, the plants before the prep!

Made me think about how often we do that in life.

Are you trying to hurry up something because you know it’s going to be great and you just can’t wait?

I know I am. I complained to the same rose-buying husband about one area in particular and this is what he said (nicely of course).

“Just because you have swum one lap of a backyard pool does not mean you are ready for the Olympics.”

Yes, sometimes I just have to admit he knows some stuff and take it on the chin.

There is much to be said about preparing and doing the hard yards of checking soil ph levels, and positions in the garden. Less plants, and dreams, die that way.

Survival

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For Christmas, my husband gave me five rose bushes. Since moving from our previous house, where I had rose bushes, I have missed having these beautiful flowers to cut and bring inside or give to others. As you know, it rained a little bit over the Christmas/January break. Roses aren’t too fond of copious amounts of water, so we weren’t surprised when we had a casualty.

It makes me think about how some things/people survive adverse circumstances and some don’t. All the rose bushes had the same amount of rain during that time, all were healthy and all were treated to the same planting technique. Yet, they didn’t all respond the same way.

A bit like us. We can go through the same thing as others, yet it can take a bigger toll on us and vice versa. For some of us, when we go through tough times, a little bit of us dies; we harden our hearts, make resolves that may or may not be healthy, we shut a little part of us away to avoid future pain. All natural, normal responses to trying circumstances.

And sometimes the losses are more tangible than that. Sometimes we lose businesses, relationships, friends. And some of us will shrivel up and die inside, while others will pick themselves up and move forward.

Often, if we allow it, something new will be born to replace what we have lost. And sometimes that new thing is wonderful and glorious. And sometimes, it’s risky. Risky to open up to someone after being hurt; risky to keep going with your dream in the face of criticism; risky to start up a new business when the floods swept the last one away.

Recently, we purchased a replacement rose bush to join the little collection that is now thriving in our garden. Here is the first bloom from Rose Valencia.
Beautiful, isn’t it? We could have just left the space where the first rose bush was, empty. We could have just settled for having one less. But we didn’t, we took a chance that even this late in the season, a new rose would flourish and survive.

Look what we would have missed out on, if we hadn’t taken that chance.

How do you smell?

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On Friday,  I received a surprise bouquet of flowers. Given that my husband and I both work from home, the added touch of the flowers being delivered to our door by the florist, made the gesture even more significant.

The flowers are beautiful. And fragrant. The scent meanders its way throughout our living/dining/kitchen area.

On Friday, I also received a small bunch of home-grown jasmine from a dear friend. As we all know, the scent of jasmine is rich and sweet. Deciding that the big bunch were exuding enough fragrance for one area, I placed the little bunch of jasmine on my desk in our office.

Now, just about everywhere I go, I can smell flowers, reminding me of the love of the two people who gave them to me. Their scent follows me from room to room, enveloping me in ‘warm fuzzies’ wherever I am.

It has made me think about smells. They get in everywhere, don’t they? Good or bad, smells permeate the air and either bring pleasure or discomfort (anyone who has accidentally had a used nappy left in an inconspicuous spot for a few days knows the joys of that particular type of smell!)

It reminds me of people. Some people bring joy to my life just by being in it. People whose fragrant personalities make me feel good, make me feel loved. People with qualities that add a sweetness to my day and enhance its beauty.

And then there is the other sort of person, the ones who leave their metaphorical bad smell lingering behind them wherever they go. And, like a smelly nappy left behind, make the atmosphere around them, hard to handle. People whose irritability makes my day dull and heavy, whose negativity makes me try not to breathe in, lest it pervades my life too.

So, do you fill the room with a sweet scent, making people want to breathe deeply when you are close to them? Or are those around you plugging their noses and politely looking for the nearest exit?

How do you smell?