Fourth Form of Madness

My mother is an amazing gardener.  She could make anything grow and thrive even in the most challenging soils.  This gift seems to have skipped a generation as I am of the gardened challenged variety. Many a pot plant has met an early grave in my household including a few cactus which is quite the achievement.  But recently I have started to re-engage with the garden and nature.  I think I kind of shut down there for a while and lived in a kind of denial but what is the point of living a life you weren’t meant to live? So I asked for my mothers help and she was only to ready and willing to assist.

On a recent weekend when she was staying with me I came home to find my veggie garden, previously overgrown and wild, all fenced in with freshly laid wire and weeded so I could once again see the vegetable plants and soil.  It was beautiful.  Tomato plants which had survived the dark ages of my gardening skills were staked and standing tall.

The next time my mother stayed with me, I came home to find all my empty pot plants filled with succulents of all shades and shapes.  I loved them on sight and felt connected to them right away.  Encouraged by the fact I only needed to remember to water them once a week, I commenced my journey into gardening.  Each week I have seen them thrive and grow in all dimensions.  Something from nothing.  It still amazes me every time.  I think perhaps the best cure for lack of amazement in life is to watch the progress of a tiny seed into a plant.

And then came my favourite gardening discovery.  Suddenly I have a plum tree!  I had another tree in my back yard that has beautiful purple leaves and occasionally pink blossom but no fruit.  About 3 years ago another little tree shot up from the ground and I never wanted to pull it out as I appreciated it’s plight.  I thought it’s leaves would turn purple too and I would have another beautiful little purple tree.  But the other day as I was having my morning coffee and a walk around my garden with my dog, I noticed three plump red fruits on the little green tree.  A taste test established these as plums.  Plums out of no where, how incredibly amazing.  Okay so not totally out of no-where – it must have been part of the root stock of the little purple tree but to me, it’s still a very gratefully received gift from the garden.

This beautiful plum tree graciously bearing it’s fruit, for no other reason than it is a plum tree, still brings a smile to my face and an example of how to live my life.  Thank you little spontaneous and miraculous plum tree.