Lessons for Gardens and Life

How does your garden grow?

As I created a mental list of gardening chores for today, a nursery rhyme popped into my head:

Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

That took me down a rabbit trail of thoughts about how we use planting seeds, tending the soil, and gardening as a metaphor for life and personal development. I found 10 lessons that apply to growing things and life.

Lessons for gardens and life . . .

Create a vision. Before you begin your garden, know what you want to grow and why. A little planning can save you money and disappointment.
Prioritize. You can’t plant or tend everything. We must make choices.
Prepare. Without good soil, knowledge, and skills, you leave the garden’s fruits to chance, never reaching their full potential.
Plant. If you don’t put the seeds or plants in the ground, they sit withering along with your vision and hopes.
Do the work. Dreaming and imagining alone won’t grow flowers or tomatoes. Progress requires consistent and persistent effort.
Work together. You can certainly go it alone, but finding someone to share the load makes life and gardening more fun.
Be patient. You can’t fast-forward seeds or plants. We tend to want things right away, but plants follow processes, such as photosynthesis, pollination, and ripening. You can’t skip a step and have a harvest.
Assess progress. Every day you check the soil for moisture, the leaves for insects, and blights. Then you act on that new information, add water, or research those weird spots to find out what to do next.
Let go. You can’t control the weather. Hailstorms, wind, drought, and torrential rains don’t respond to our pleas. We do everything we can, but at some point, we must let go.
Be grateful. No matter what grows and flourishes in your garden, enjoy and appreciate the beauty and the gift of a deep red rose or a luscious, sweet tomato.