Hi, I’m Laura. And I hate gardening.
At least, I did.
This one I can pretty much blame on my parents. Back in the day when their yard was bigger than their grocery budget, they planted a humongous garden every spring. And of course, my siblings and I were the ones to begrudgingly weed it. This was, hands down, my least favorite chore of all time. No matter how many back-breaking hours we spent digging in the dirt, those darn weeds kept cropping back up again and again. For years, I couldn’t smell tomato vines or freshly picked string beans without shuddering at the memory of all that weeding.
As an adult, I tried to keep houseplants for a while because I read they were natural air purifiers. Didn’t take long for me to kill every single one — even a cactus, once, which I hear is actually really difficult to do.
By the grace of God, the original owners of our home invested in some hardy landscaping that is rain-, drought- and even Laura-proof, for the most part. Still, I managed to annihilate some of the more tender rosebushes and shrubs within a few years here. I also decimated several attempts at indoor herbs and outdoor planter gardens.
It’s only been within the last two years or so that I’ve started to figure things out. The essential elements for growing plants are basic sunlight, enough water and an appropriately sized container. I was royally messing up all three. With the help of Google and a generous neighbor (whose plants I water when she, in turn, goes out of town), I was able to keep flowers and a small cherry tomato plant alive for an entire season. Last year, I added more house plants and some herbs. *Some* of them are still hanging on, even now.
When I started working again as a copy editor in October, one of my weekly assignments was editing a gardening column written by a local nature photographer. Getting his weekly dose of inspiration — even in the winter months when all but the Christmas trees lose their color — has caused me to want to do more with my plants and my patio. This year, I bought an array of flowers as well as a tomato plant, basil, rosemary, cilantro and Mojito mint. And I haven’t killed anything yet.
Further, I’m actually starting to look forward to spending time with my plants. Not long ago, the idea would have seemed ludicrous to look forward to watering and weeding a flower bed. Now it is one of my most enjoyable activities of the day.
There’s an analogy for life in gardening. Put in the time, the research, the proper materials and the essential elements, and more than likely you’ll wind up with success. Bugs, storms and drought might derail your plans, but if you’re lucky, there’ll be a new season next year to plant again.
I’d like to say the same about writing. Your work is not going to flourish and flower without the essential elements of hard work, patience and persistence. Weeds might crop up; hell, your whole pot might tip over and spill to the ground. But a devoted writer, just like a dedicated gardener, will scoop the mess back up and painstakingly begin again.