Pulling Weeds

Japanese Painted Fern with blue hosta and yellow lamium

I did some weeding in my garden over the weekend. Earlier this year, my neighbor took down most of the trees in his back yard, turning my back yard -- which used to be a shade garden -- into an afternoon from hell. The late day sun pours in now. Add better than average rainfall and months of neglect and what do you get? Weeds! A wide assortment of weeds. Even some wild black locust trees (yes, trees!) have sprung up. So I decided it was time to take back my garden. A weedy garden can be overwhelming. But like any other daunting task, you just have to begin. And so I began. Pulling one weed, vine, tree, at a time. Pretty soon I had a pile of weeds bigger than Melvin. And that's when I noticed it -- the Japanese Painted Fern that I planted several years ago. This beautiful fern has striking gray-green foliage with reddish-purple accents. I love this plant! But the weeds had overtaken it, and I had forgotten all about it. What a happy surprise to reclaim it.

Gardening is a perfect metaphor for my life right now. I'm weeding out what doesn't belong. I'm pruning back what's overgrown. I'm uncovering forgotten treasures. I'm planting anew. I'm reclaiming my life, and I'm excited to see what can grow here now.