Thursday, February 5, 2009

The suspense is killing me.

On Friday of last week, I submitted a proposal for a project I really want to get. The suspense is killing me.

I've got seeds I collected from a buddelia "White Profussion" that have germinated in the basement. I'm not sure they will come true since I have other butterfly bushes as well and cross-pollination does happen. The suspense is killing me.

I've got rooted willow cuttings in the basement that are starting to put out leaves. I know these plants have an extremely fast growth rate, but I wonder how fast they will grow this year. The suspense is killing me.

I've got brugmansia in the basement that I purchased or received as a gift and through trades. I've never grown these before. The suspense is killing me.

I've got rooted cuttings of salvia "Blue Spires" from my one plant this summer. When I bought it from the clearance rack, it was nearly dead. By the first frost, it had grown almost 4 feet tall and was covered with beautiful purplish blue flowers. I want to know if the cuttings hold the same potential. The suspense is killing me.

It's 12 degrees. It's sunny. The weatherman has promised us temperatures in the upper 60s starting on Saturday. The suspense is killing me.

As a gardener, I must learn to have patience. I don't. I never have. I want it bigger, better, faster, and I will find ways to make it happen. I either fertilize too heavy or not enough. I water too often. I sow too soon. I plant out too early. The suspense, it kills my plants.

Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism once wrote, "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." He taught that we should not work against the nature of things. When we try to go against the natural order of events, it is not only counterintuitive, but counterproductive as well. When we try to hurry, we make a mess. When we try to force nature to do our bidding, we reward ourselves with failure too many times. We make too many mistakes. We need to just let it be and it will happen. It's a great philosophy for lazy people. Do nothing and everything will be done. Yeah, that's great buddy, but in the meantime, the suspense is killing me.

Now where did I put my tomato seeds?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

This is great, Tom. I chuckled because I KNOW the feeling. My way to cope with it is to have lots and lots and LOTS of plants in the garden so if something is slow developing, I have plenty of things to distract me from the suspense-maker. This works for about four years, after which time I threaten the recalcitrant plant with composting if it doesn't perform.

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

I had that problem with my azaleas last summer. I bought 50 of them when they were on sale for $2 each. I watered all summer to keep them alive. They dropped leaves the whole time. In Sept, we had a talk. I told them they were on their own. By the end of the month, they were blooming again. They weren't encores either, just the garden variety. I don't know what to think about that. I have no patience with misbehaving plants.

Unknown said...

I think suspense this time of the year is getting to all of us for one reason or another. Can't wait for you to pull out your cuttings and seedlings to share what comes of them.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

What a great post!! I loved reading it. Good luck on your project proposal, I hope you get it.

Anna/Flowergardengirl said...

Good luck with the proposal--and I admmire all those goodies you have planted up. Your place is going to be even more beautiful than it is now.