The last few weeks I have written about blight and bindweed – some of the problematic aspects of gardening. Even though the focus was on a positive word for each post, I realized a gardening newbie might be discouraged. It might seem that it is hard to get anything to grow, especially here in Denver. But gardening, like life, is always a balance of challenges and opportunities. For every plant that is hard to grow, there are others that show up on their own and nurture themselves with little support from me. They are the garden volunteers.
The garden volunteers can also create some challenges as I am faced with decisions about what to do with all of them. Do they stay? Do they go? Should I move them to another place in the yard? Do I pot them and give them away?
As much as I love cosmos, borage, and sunflowers, if they’ve established themselves in a space meant for another plant, some choices need to be made. If I were one of those meticulous gardeners who felt that everything has a place, and everything must be in its place, I would just yank them out. That’s not really my style.
Last week, as my grandson Leo was weeding his garden bed, I was fascinated by how easily he pulled out the cosmos that were uninvited. And I started to think about why it’s a challenge for me. I realized that I deeply appreciate volunteers. If it is an annual that has seeded itself, I know the plant is super strong. It’s made it through a frigid Denver winter, germinated, and is now flourishing in the blazing Denver sun. To just pull it out when it has come so far seems cruel.
I have perennials that have spread out as well. The strawberries continuously escape their beds and make their way onto paths and into the vegetables. If I had pulled out all the strawberry plants that were out of place, I wouldn’t be eating hundreds of berries right now.
Understanding my reluctance to pull volunteers and send them to the compost shines a light on my own values. It’s not that one or the other choice is necessarily wrong. But they do lead to different outcomes. When we mindfully explore our choice-making, we begin to understand not only why some choices are easier than others, but more about ourselves. Of course, this can be applied to the larger world outside of the garden.
Making Choices is this week’s mindfulness focus, inspired by garden volunteers. We can intentionally bring our awareness to the choices we make and why, moving them from automatic to informed and mindful.
If you’d like more information on weekly mindfulness focus words click here.
Information on Volunteers and Cosmos
Garden Volunteers – From Mother Earth News
An article from the Old Farmer’s Almanac on Caring for Cosmos – really they care for themselves.
