My garden struggling beautifully

There are days when Im at the most peace with my life. I see the world in pleasantries. Im comfortable in my surroundings and accept things just as they are. I love those days. So here are my thoughts on one such days analogy.

Life as you may have heard me say is about struggling beautifully. We are not suppose to expect complete order in surroundings and people we cannot control. The very expectation is the promise of disaray in our mental status. What could it possibly take from us to arrive at perfection in this life and then try to sustain it . Surely that is the work of a more exalted being.

I love my yard because it is a constant reminder of the struggling beautifully principle. The first 3 years we lived here in Spanish Fork I could not get past the misery and embaressment of dirt. All around me neighbors had created visable by my eye "perfect" Garden of Edens, and I was banished from the garden to wallow in the dust. I hated it! Every day I looked at the tv screen sprayed with particles of dirt or I drove into the neighborhood arrived home and only saw the ugly.

When we got grass I went crazy in my euphoria of lushness. I had edging for massive flower gardens placed everywhere. We planted some of the space with smaller more affordable tress and shrubs. Then I proceeded to weed and weed and weed for hours. Every weekend you could find me digging and pulling, with my sweaty wet hair and face sliding off into my shirt . I had so much to do trying to keep up I didnt take time to really enjoy it. I had what I said I wanted but I exceeded my capability.

Now, some things are more established in the yard and well... I have more grounded expectations. I have been surprised each new summer to see what returns and what doesnt. Sometimes things like a mandaville that should never return do and sometimes I kill off a whole bush of shasta daiseys. This year we got all the sprinklers running, paid for chem lawn and we watered to a beautiful lush green. Then over night the lawn started to turn brown in patches. I turned to google and diagnosed a fungus and Shawn treated it and Im excited to watch the grass slowly restoreing itself.

Taylor turned a 5 year weed patch into a whole new flowerbed last week. It doesnt look like the extravagance I had planned in my head and if I had to wait for it to be extravagent it would have been 5 more years . Tay removed rocks, tilled, added dirt and planted little tiny flowers that he picked out (after I drug him to home depot. ) It will take years for the space to fill in so Im back to square one weeding and watching it evolve.

My gardens remind me of people I love. Taylor likes delphiniums and bright annual flowers, Becca loves the smell of a lilac and we have a lilac actually named the Katherine Havemeyer that she picked out to remind her of her sister. Kate chose foxglove and bought me a clematis and a hasta for a birthday present. Shawn has planted the japanese and the October glory maple trees for my anniversary's . Gabby rolls her eyes at the thought of a flower garden that she might have to be involved ins up keep. She did plant 4 different Martha Stewart pumkins for a young womens 10 hour project last year, and not a one bloomed after all her hard work. I have trees and decorations that were gifts from family. I have one very lovely bird house I admire on the kitchen counter that may wait till next year for a home, and Im ok with that. I love the hard earned rewards that usually come in full color . Tullips short stay , swaying iceland poppys, drooping hostas, fragrant lavender, huge tolerant yarrow, delicate oriental lilies, endless purple verbena, bright double pink cone flowers and bushy bright dahlias. All of my yards success is uncertain but promising. It is however garunteed to be struggling beautifully.

Note to Amy I could not add Michael Maclane music to this sappy post. "It is what it is"