Learning to See | I Beg Your Pardon

I planted my first David Austin roses in the spring of 2015, and over the years they have provided me with lots of joy and photographic inspiration. And like every gardening adventure, growing roses has had its share of ups and downs. The downs mostly due to the unpredictable (and sometimes destructive) nature of Oklahoma’s weather.

The latter is the theme of today’s post that I originally shared back in May of 2017 after a particularly stormy stretch of weather. A valuable lesson from my garden and important reminder that life isn’t always about me.

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I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, there’s gotta be a little rain sometime.

Joe South

These were the song lyrics I was singing in my head when I cut off all the flowers on my David Austin roses. 

The previous week’s storms had really done a number on my roses. Between the high winds and torrential rain, all of the roses that were in bloom were reduced to stubs…a carpet of rose petal confetti was all that was left. And then, on the buds that were about to open, it seemed as if the petals had been glued together so the blooms couldn’t fully expand. And those that did manage to open were really sad looking. 

‘Bedraggled’ as my mom would say.

With another round of storms and heavy rains in the forecast, I decided to cut any of the remaining buds and blooms and bring them inside. Which in hindsight was a pretty good idea if I do say so myself. Felt like I was totally winning at life with that decision.

As I was playing around and photographing my roses, I got to thinking how silly it was to be annoyed with the rain. First of all, I have zero control over the weather, so really…what good does it do.

Then secondly, as someone who lives in a state that has been suffering from some degree of drought for the past several years, the rain is actually a really good thing. Barring the damage from flood waters of course, farmers are reporting that their ponds are full for the first time in years. Rivers and lakes that have been below normal levels are now overflowing.

Obviously, floods have devastating effects and I am not minimizing or romanticizing the damage or the suffering that those affected are having to endure. What I am suggesting, however, is that what is a minor annoyance or frustration for me might be beneficial to someone else.

That it’s not always about me.

Trust me when I tell you how embarrassed I am at how often I have to be reminded of this.

As I sit here typing this post, the second round of storms have passed through my area. The strong winds that often come in behind these storms is starting to dry things out a bit. And my roses are strong and green and covered in tiny little buds. Life goes on.

As always, my garden teaches me so much about life and the nature of things. And I am grateful for its lessons.

Thank you for letting me share them with you.