Watching the Flowers Grow

“Can we just sit down and watch the flowers grow?”

My young son asked that poignant question almost 20 years ago, although it seems like just yesterday. That simple thought changed the way I looked at life. Watching flowers grow became a beautiful representation of a slower paced life. Life with purpose, casting off the burdens and thorns that seem to weigh us down. For many, a frantic quest to create meaning, life becomes packed full of an endless list of to-do’s. Life becomes too hurried to simply sit and watch a flower grow. Let’s face it…flower watching doesn’t quite pay the bills. In a hurried attempt to create meaning, it is easy to lose sight of the bloom.

Heirloom Bulbs are unique compared to many other flowers in the garden. Most of these beautiful bulbs bloom just one time a year.
Just once.

Imagine if you miss it….

I have learned a lot from these old gals. Heirloom Bulbs keep my eyes upon the beauty that could be blooming each new day. I have learned to discard quick fads and hold true to heirloom truths. I have learned to nurture something that others cannot see, frequently referred to as “just weeds”. I have learned to rejoice in the day that my flowers bloom, patiently waiting sometimes for years.

Watching flowers grow can also be a bit painful. Droughts and floods come and go. Extreme temperatures can kill precious plants. Deer enjoy eating the delicious buds of a blooming bulb, especially in seasons of drought. Gophers chew on roots under the earth, and wreak havoc on the garden. Bulbs can also sulk and decide to just not bloom, for no apparent reason other than sheer stubbornness. In spite of it all, watching flowers during the hard seasons of life is still extremely important. Hope in the beauty of tomorrow is a quality that our world desperately needs. Walking alongside something (or someone) during all the different seasons is a gift. Although it is easier to just give up and drive to the nearest big box store to purchase some cheap, mass-produced quick color…..but what’s the fun in that?! You will ever see the beautiful redemptive spirit of the Oxblood Lily, or experience the inherent beauty of a field of Rain Lilies after a long season of drought.

Today, I’m going to take the advice of my son and sit, and just watch my flowers. ….and then get to work with the long list of garden chores. 🙂
Happy Gardening, my friends!
Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl