Time….There is a season for everything.

As The Byrds song, “Turn, Turn, Turn” goes, there is a season for everything.

“A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep.”

A time for everything.

It is that time of year when all the kids go back to school. I have never been one of those moms who was excited for the kids to start back to school. I was always sad to see them get on the school bus for a brand new school year full of experiences and a little sad to watch them get older. During those early years and later when they were in the difficult years of middle and high school, I longed for yesteryear when I could hold them in my arms and protect them from this crazy world of ours. If only I could shield them from harsh words they might hear at school, twisting the way they think about themselves. “Why are you so slow? Your hair is so stringy. Why are you even trying out for cheerleading?”.

I longed for the days when I could just snuggle and they thought mom knew all the answers and could keep the monsters away. My youngest of six just left for his senior year of college and boy…was I feeling sad to see him go. He recently turned 21 and to me, that felt like my “official” mom job was over. He may not return home next summer and since I have five others who have moved away, I know that is a possibility. I must admit that for the first several days, I was pretty bummed out. I missed his presence.

For a while now, I have been consciously trying to live in the moment and find the positive in each moment, not focusing on the negative. I am trying to be excited about and live in the present moment. I do try. I remind myself that there is beauty in the present moment. I just need to find it. It is up to me.

Early this morning before my photography workday began, I decided to go out to the flower field and work. Someone had asked us to cut a bunch of flowers for a bridal shower this weekend because they ran out of time. I didn’t mind because I love spending time out there when the sun is coming up and when the sun is going down. It is a beautiful time to pray, reflect upon the day as it begins or ends and also to reflect on life. While I was out there cutting stems and stripping the leaves off, throwing them on the ground, it made me think.

Stripping the leaves off of the stems is recommended to each person who comes to our flower farm to pick their own bouquets. The leaves are what turn the water moldy, making the flowers die quicker. We suggest cutting the bottoms off of the stems every few days and giving them fresh water so it will prolong their vitality. I tell them to just gently squeeze the top of the stem to strip all the leaves and throw them on the ground. I have had several people say they feel bad about making a mess with the leaves which is funny to me because our flowers are surrounded by greenery…other flowers and leaves, grass, lots of weeds, but also a lot of ugly too. I am realizing that maybe that is ok…dead leaves, flowers that have come and gone, overgrown paths. You see, a garden is forever changing. Some people might walk into our flower field and only see the negative, the ugly, the brown, like I did this morning.

Gardening Teaches Patience

Gardening can teach you so much. Kevin and I have been learning from our garden adventures for the last 20 years. whether it was at one of our houses, studios or the community garden. We often talk about how gardening teaches us patience. Sure, we can check our soil, amend it, fertilize and water. We can even talk to the plants but…it will not make them grow any faster. They will grow in their own time, as tall as they want and as beautiful as they want. Sometimes, you can do everything that you know to do and yet, nothing happens. We used to get so impatient during the waiting but now, we are learning to enjoy it. Enjoy the process. There is a season for everything and trust me, there is also always something to do.

Gardening Teaches Perseverance

More than patience, gardening teaches us perseverance. Perseverance reflects the determination to keep going, even when progress isn’t visible or when things aren’t going as planned. It’s about maintaining effort and commitment, trusting that growth and success often take time. Actually, it may not always be immediately apparent or even come at all. Gardening teaches us to not give up even when you feel like there is no reason to continue.

Kevin and I are usually running around so much between our jobs, the flower farm, visiting one of the kids, or squeezing in some fun that we don’t have much time to sit and chat. The other night, we sat down to talk and for an hour, we reminisced about what our garden has taught us these last two seasons. So many plants that should have come up…well, they just didn’t. We planted and cared for them by the book? Or by the online flower farming class I should say. Nothing. No larkspur. No sweet peas. Not one. Our Bachelor Buttons only produced a few sparse periwinkle-colored flowers, but the rest of the row was bare. Yes, an entire row dedicated to the flowers I loved. We could allow that to discourage us like it has in the past but if we let that stop us, we probably wouldn’t continue. We need to keep our focus on what is blooming and the beauty there. The beauty in the flower itself, but also in the lovely people we meet each day. People who come to pick flowers and share the same desire for a little bit of peace and beauty in their day.

This morning as I first got out to the flower field to pick blooms, my eyes went straight to the “ugly” parts of the field. I only saw the work that needed to be done, the flowers that needed to be deadheaded so they would bloom again, the flowers that were completely finished and needed to be pulled, the weeds…As I did a quick scan looking around, I couldn’t even focus on the stunning new dahlias that had opened overnight, the little yellow birds enjoying seeds on the gigantic sunflowers, the butterflies soaring past me, all the mixed colors surrounding me…just the bad, the work. I quickly began pulling the sunflowers out and made a pile. Then, I remembered. I stopped and decided to take photos of the beautiful dying mess around me because there was beauty there too but I just hadn’t seen it.

Remember, Debbie…Find the beauty in the moment. Find the positive part of this. All the joy that these flowers brought to so many people, butterflies and birds. It made me think about how negative I have been instead of looking for the positive, even in my thoughts about back-to-school time or my kids growing up and leaving the nest.

Gardening Teaches Us How to Let Go

That is when I realized that gardening has taught me how to let go. Yes, there is obvious beauty in the blooms, but there is also beauty in the entire process from beginning to end. These sunflowers put on an incredible show. From the time they were tiny little sprouts in my greenhouse back in the winter giving me hope for a new spring to showing their glorious beauty leaning towards the sunshine to the way they die on the stem in a dramatic and lovely way.

I need to be thankful for the beauty of each moment, the good and the “not as good”. I can find beauty in each moment right here and right now. I can live in the present moment and have gratitude for what it gives me. Pulling up those sunflower stalks gives me space to plant more. Sending my youngest off to college is creating a young man who I love to spend time with instead of taking care of.

Yes, gardening has taught me many things but today, it taught me something new. Gardening taught me that everything has a season and it is up to me to recognize and celebrate the beauty in each season. Gardening taught me that letting go creates space for something else beautiful IF I let it. Holding onto the past, clenching my fist together…well, when I do that there is no room to grasp the next beautiful thing coming my way, like the next bloom.

Come visit us on the farm to see the good, the bad and the ugly. Maybe you will discover something in your moments of peace too.

See more about the flower farm here: https://cedarhillstudios.com/flower-farm-details