Patience in the Garden
Posted on December 1, 2015 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
I grew up in New England and I remember my Grandpa putting a trowel in my hand for the first time when I was three years old, because I wanted so badly to help him. I was blessed that he was retired and willing to spend his days with an adoring granddaughter. Our backyards joined at the back of our lots so my mother never worried when I would run out the back door in the morning yelling that I was going to “dig in the dirt.” 
Don’t I remember those endless questions Grandpa would kindly answer for me? “Grandpa, when will the apples be ripe enough to eat? When will it be time for me to help Grandma pick the currants? Can I help you pick the little tomatoes?” I was always ready to do these things, but it was not always the right time to do them. Grandpa would gently tell me things would be ready in God’s own time – not mine – no matter how badly I wanted them.
Twenty years ago I saw a picture of an Amazon Lily in a Wayside Gardens catalogue. I thought it was lovely and immediately ordered it. When the plant came in the mail, there was only a huge bare root in a plastic bag. I planted it according to the directions – another of Grandpa’s lessons – and waited and waited and waited.
I waited 14 long years, as the lily slowly grew in my Orchid house, in the dappled sunshine of the Florida woods. For all those years there was never any more to the plant than five or six bright, shiny leaves. I cannot tell you how many times I nearly tossed that plant right out the door because I was so tired of waiting, but its beautiful, shiny leaves – sparse as they were – always stopped me. Throughout that time I kept hearing my dear Grandpa’s voice saying, “Patience, Cheri.”
One day, all of a sudden, the lily just woke up. It started growing by leaps and bounds and in no time at all I had my first flower stalk with its cluster of five blooms. They looked like flattened white daffodils and carried a delicate smell.
Finally, a long seventeen years after I had first planted that root, the lily began to produce blooms. Today it fills the corner of my living room – heaven help me if it gets much bigger – and blooms several times a year.
My Grandpa’s admonition, “Patience, Cheri,” was right on the mark.
Cheri Youngblood, a Master Gardener in the Capital City Master Gardener Association since 2014, lives in Montgomery. For more information on becoming a master gardener, visit our web site, www.capcitymga.org or email capcitymga@gmail.com.
FREE LUNCH & LEARN
Dec. 2 Noon – 1:00 P.M. Armory Learning Arts Center, 1018 Madison Ave., Montgomery.
“Succulents are Addictive”
Bring sack lunch, drinks provided
For more information, contact the Montgomery County Extension Office (334) 270-4133.
Master Gardener Classes — Apply now at the Montgomery Co. Extension Office in Eastmont Shopping Center — 5340 Atlanta Hwy.
Classes: Each Thursday
Dates: February 18th – May 5th
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Light lunch provided.
Fee: $150.00, paid after acceptance.
Hosted by Capital City Master Gardener Association. For more information, call 334-270-4133, visit www.capcitymga.org or email capcitymga@gmail.com.
