Someday I'm going to write a book called "I Learned It in the Garden." One of the great things about doing yard work is that it doesn't usually require a lot of thought or problem solving, so the mind is free to concentrate on other things, or to simply wander. When I was younger and able to do so, I spent a lot of time in my yard digging, planting, pruning, landscaping, weeding, etc., etc. I did it not only because I loved the results, but also because it was a great antidote for stress.
Once I planted strawberries and nurtured them for a year. Then, because of illness, I neglected them for a year, and no one cared for them in my absence. When I was able to return to the patch, I was anxious to see what was left of it. It was overrun with weeds, of course, but there were surviving strawberries among them. In spite of the neglect, the intrusion of weeds, and the death of many plants, some held on through the trials and continued to produce fruit. There's a parable in there someplace.
Just the other day I pruned my Butterfly Bushes. They are lovely plants which produce purple flower cones with a delicate scent. They entice butterflies and humming birds. They grow fast and very tall. Their wood is soft and pithy, a result of the rapid growth of the branches which produce the blooms. In spite of (or maybe because of?) an earlier pruning, these had become overgrown to the point where I almost couldn't walk down the path to my garden. It was time to prune them again, so I did. In fact I cut them more than halfway down, maybe too much. I don't want to destroy them.
I thought of the scripture which says, "Reproving betimes with sharpness ... then showing forth afterwards an increase of love ..." (D&C 121:43) I had just reproved those shrubs with the sharpest pruners I have, and it was time to show forth an increase of love, so I turned on the sprinkler. I knew it would refresh them and give them strength to recover from the pruning shock. Then I realized that they had outgrown their space. They had fit there very nicely when they were young plants, but now they are mature and need to be moved. If they stay where they are, I will have to keep pruning them to fit my needs, and they won't be allowed to reach their full potential. They will be moved before winter.
Is this parable about raising children? There are times when they need a good 'pruning,' too, followed up by whatever they need to continue growing as they should. The time comes when they need to be planted someplace else, a place where they can develop to their full measure of beauty and production. If we have done our early 'gardening' well, the transplant will be the logical step in their continued growth.
(The photo shows my garden path with the pruned bushes in the right, just behind the swan. On the other side of the gate you can see the un-pruned branches next to the wall, almost reaching to the roof. Beyond the butterfly bushes is a Lilac.)
