Wednesday, September 3, 2014

A Gentle Reminder From The Geraniums

 Cades Cove - Great Smoky Mountains National Park
August 14, 2014 

I am no gardener!  I absolutely LOVE flowers and want my house/yard filled with them, but I want someone else to take care of them.  It just isn’t something I enjoy.  (I feel the same way about cooking!  LOL!)  Thankfully, I am married to someone who does.  Tending to our flowers gives Bill great joy and he is very committed to the task.  He was rushed this morning as he left for school and didn’t feel his best either, so he asked if I would prune and water the geraniums.  In the cool of the morning as I did just that, the geraniums thanked me by their beauty and reminded me of two things I needed to internalize!


The Geraniums on April 20, 2014 shortly after we bought them!

The Geraniums on September 2, 2014 after SIGNIFICANT pruning!

I'm no photographer either and wish I'd taken pictures before I did the pruning, but I hope you can see the amount of overall growth PLUS the huge number of blooms waiting to burst forth.  Two things came to mind:
                                                          
1)   Growth requires pruning.  In order for a steady rate of overall growth to occur,   the dying/dead/past their prime flowers have to go.
2)    In the right place, under the right conditions, these geraniums will continue to flourish. 

We’ve always enjoyed geraniums in the summer, but these have been stronger and more beautiful than any we ever had in the fifteen years we lived at our other house. We can only conclude that they are now in a location more conducive to perfect growth conditions for geraniums. 

You can draw your own conclusions from this silly analogy.  I feel as if I’ve been “pruned” to death over the last year, but in retrospect, can see how beneficial it has been.  In spite of the painful pruning, overall growth has occurred and WOW, can I ever see all sorts of new blooms just waiting to burst forth.  I must be in the right place and at the right time.  I can’t wait to see what’s in store.

August flew by in a haze of heat and humidity here in East Tennessee.  I did manage one perfect day at a lovely spot by the river in Cades Cove.  It was one of the first days after Bill returned to school and I spent it reading, reflecting and pondering.  It was a very good day indeed!

 A little river gazing..............

 A little lunch...............

 A little reading.........

Rest assured there are many more days like this one coming up.


I am so excited!  I just confirmed a Blogger friend meetup for Thursday and have my first solo roadtrip in over a year planned for later this month (also with a now IRL friend I met through this blog)!  You'll be hearing plenty about both these adventures.

Have you been "pruned" lately?  I'd love to hear about it.



14 comments:

  1. Love your analogy.... YES, we do get pruned --but as you know, sometimes we NEED it.... We grow after being pruned... (You know about that also.)

    We all have our passions and talents.. I enjoy gardening (our flowers) --but do not enjoy the HEAT of summer. I enjoy Photography --but don't go to extremes trying to find that 'perfect' photo... I just enjoy it. I enjoy hiking and being in the mountains --but enjoy short hikes much more than long hikes (which become a chore to me instead of enjoyment).

    Hope tomorrow turns out perfectly--and cannot wait to hear about your next road trip... Going back to Maggie?

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. Roses benefit even more from pruning. Same with closets...and most aspects of our lives. Even marriages need a little pruning/cleaning up. ;)

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  3. That does look like a lovely spot for a picnic!

    I feel like I have been pruned a bit this year with the whole house thing and work. Stress pruned me quite a bit. I don't think I needed that type of pruning LOL!

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  4. I love geraniums too. And I just happened to find the perfect spot for them in the first place I put them, so I get a few every year to put in the pots. Unfortunately, they are an annual here. Where my mom lives, they are perennials!!

    Personally, I prefer the gentle pruning of flower removal, compared to the lopping off of whole branches like some of my trees have gotten this year… :)

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  5. I feel like I've had excess pruning over the last two years and I'm hanging on for dear life. There is such a thing as too much pruning. That cuts the life force out of the plant. Your pictures from Cades Cove were good for my soul. I am so happy to hear about your upcoming rendezvous and am looking forward to hearing about them. What is IRL??

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  6. I don't like gardening either. It's not one of my talents. It's not one of my husband's either... we should probably live on a rock. :)

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  7. Some pruning is necessary and we usually appreciate the results.

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  8. Glad I'm "IRL"...Wayne and I had to look that up online, ya know!

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  9. Pruning can be both painful and beneficial, you are right.

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  10. Hi Sharon, I popped over here from Betsy's post where she met and introduced you to us. I like you analogy about pruning. I constantly need to be pruned by the Great Pruner, so that the dead and not-so-good bits are lopped off to make way for new growth. Great post. Greetings Jo (Tanzania)

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  11. Me too, I came over with Jo from Betsy's blog. It must have been fun meeting a blogger friend. Thanks for the tip about pruning geraniums and the analogy. My brain needs pruning so new bits grow and remember better.

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  12. What a wonderful post Sharon. I am so glad you are Bill are doing well. Hope that road trip went well!

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  13. Been thinking of you, Sharon. Hope all is well.

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  14. Nice to meet you, Sharon. Oh yes, I've been pruned substantially for the past year and a half. My husband has pancreatic cancer. I'm so sorry that you have been on a cancer roller coaster too, but it sounds like you are able to step off the crazy ride now. Best wishes to you and your husband for his continued health improvement.

    It looks like you live in Farragut, where we used to live a couple of decades ago. We live out in Hardin Valley now. We enjoy the countryside, yet the Turkey Creek shopping district is only minutes away. It is so convenient!

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