The other day, one of my girlfriends shared with me her angst over not having planted her spring flowers yet. To her, this was just as bad as celebrating Christmas without a Christmas tree.
OK, so, I just don't get it. I have a lot of friends who absolutely revel in planting their spring garden. They just can't wait to experience the feeling of all that nice dirt under their nails. They know the names of every plant in their yard, the difference between a perennial and an annual, what the bunnies will eat and what they will not, what will bloom when, how much water and sun is needed - they even know what to plant so that their yards will be a beautiful rainbow of color year round. Wow.
Don't get me wrong - I LOVE to buy flats of flowers. I love it when my yard is neat and pretty - grass cut, flowers in bloom and no weeds. The problem is I would like it if someone else made it that way for me. But, if I am going to have flowers, I have to plant all those flats of flowers that I bought - before they die.
Today, I planted marigolds - too many to count. I worked for two and a half hours and I'm pretty sure that I may not ever be able to stand up straight again. We have 120 feet of split rail fence at the back of our yard. It felt more like 120 MILES as I plodded along, weeding the bed, digging the holes and planting the flowers. I thought I would never get to the end. However, every time I was ready to give up, I found that if I looked back at the lovely orange flowers planted neatly in a row instead of ahead at the weeds yet to be pulled I kept on plugging. After all, how silly would my garden look if I left it only half planted? And what I'd already done was a beautiful reflection of my hard work.
As the summer progresses, I realize that I will need to regularly water and weed my flower bed - but it will be worth it as I enjoy the fruits of my labor through the summer and well into the fall.
What will your business `garden' look like at the end of the summer? Will it look well tended, manicured and full of beautiful flowers - the result of your consistent attention? Or, will you begin the fall with nothing but weeds - a garden that looks as though you were out of town all summer?
While it can be tempting to close your business down in the summer months because the business road ahead seems filled with weeds. It may seem more appealing to just relax and take it easy. But, I encourage you to look back at all the fruits of your labor so far this year. Do you really want to leave your garden half planted?
Occasionally, we all have times when we wish someone else would work in our garden for us. Certainly it would be much easier if someone else would be willing to get the dirt under their nails and we could just sit back and collect our check. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. So, even if the labor is back breaking at times we must forge ahead. The rewards in the fall will be sweet and it is much easier to continue on the journey you have begun than it is to have to start all over from the beginning again in the fall.
Happy planting!
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