I Am Not Much Of A Gardener

I am not much of a gardener. I don’t have a great desire to dig in the good earth, to compost, to plant, or to landscape. I have a few, rather sad looking houseplants. I had a hibiscus that bloomed for two years but then inexplicably began to wilt and died. The same happened to my anthurium, and my orchid is about to go as well.

I buy flowerpots every summer – I don’t plant them, just buy whatever arrangements are available. They look lovely for a month and then get leggy. By the time fall comes they are gangly and forlorn.

Don’t get me wrong. I love flowers and plants and trees. I love cavorting in nature. I delight in watching new shoots emerge, seeing buds unfold, admiring full blooms in their splendor, and I always have fresh flowers in my home. I’m just not into planting them myself.

Last December I helped a friend with a nursery errand: she wanted to buy some bulbs to plant as gifts. I felt a stirring when I saw the vibrant photos of the bulbs in bloom, and ended up buying a bunch of tulips, hyacinths, and paperwhites.

Good grief! How was I going to plant them?

My garage used to be a graveyard for dead potted plants. Recently I emptied several containers into the nearby pea patch compost and recycled the plastic pots. Fortunately I was able to scrounge enough soil and two remaining pots for the bulbs. The paperwhites I placed in the kitchen, the hyacinths and tulips by my front door.

Wait, wait. I hardly had to wait at all.

Within a day or two or three, tiny shoots emerged, growing several millimeters every day. How on earth does that tiny bulb have the resources and nutrients to do such marvels? What drive, what fierce intention! The paperwhites bloomed in a couple of weeks – long, leggy, and oh such fragrant beauties. The outside pot is coming along at a slower pace in the frosty cold, but nicely enough. The leaves are fully formed. The tight baby buds are emerging. I delight in checking out the new growth every day.

I am in awe of these bulbs: their resilience, single mindedness, and their persistence. They are fully present to their purpose. They don’t bitch or moan about less than optimal conditions – and I’m sure my planting technique was far from ideal.  

Paperwhites, hyacinths and tulips are my teachers. I am grateful for my tiny foray into gardening.