I have been thinking a lot about gardens recently. Maybe due to the amazing winter sunshine we have in Perth this year, perfect for mild-weathered gardening. Maybe it is because we have been in this house for almost three years now, and we are finally turning our attention to the overgrown garden.
Maybe it’s because Mr bought me a garden consultation for my birthday, and I now have a plan. And maybe it is because the girls are of an age to not exactly assist, but not actively hinder our attempts either.
So we have been pulling out the unwanted plants, sometimes laboriously digging out the roots so they don’t regrow, selecting and purchasing new plants, and finally planting and watering.
And then the wait.
I am a cook, I am used to putting a fair amount of effort in, but at the end of the day I have a beautiful product to enjoy. Gardening has a different time frame to cooking. It’s so much slower, the end product takes many months to be fully realised.
So we wait.
Today, my garden looks good, it is slowly looking better and less overgrown than it was, but it is not yet at its full beauty. The new plants need to be established and then grow, the new shoots (that let’s face it I look for everyday) don’t miraculously become fully fledged plants overnight.
So we wait.
And as I adjust my time frame I am learning that sometimes doing the hard work is not all that’s needed, sometimes the waiting is part of the process too.