Lessons from My Garden

I’ve definitely learned some interesting lessons from my garden this year. In fact, I almost gave up on it, threw in the towel and accepted that I wouldn’t have homegrown veggies this year. 

But I didn’t and I’m glad. 
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So as I sit here surrounded by my growing veggies, I thought I’d share some thoughts with you.

​Four Lessons from My Garden
(that apply to life and business too!)

​#1:  Start from where you are NOW.

This year I was traveling in the early spring so my garden starts were started a few weeks later than normal. They were itty, bitty babies by the time the seedling sale was happening at our local food co-op. The plants there dwarfed my pinky-sized seedlings. 

But - I did start them and they did grow. Enough so that I was able to put them in my Earthboxes and get excited for another beautiful, bountiful garden. It may have been a late start, but they were in and ready to grow.

The lesson - start from where you are now and just take action.

Which brings me to lesson #2.

#2:  Expect Bumps in the Road

I’ve been lucky over the years as I haven’t had to deal with too many critters, hornworms aside. They are my nemesis. But that’s another story. 

This year turned out to be a bit different. After finally getting the little starts in the ground, it turns out I was up against a new, formidable foe.

The first night my garden went in, I lost four plants. Tops gone with nothing above the soil left. The second day I lost two more plants and by the third night all the little seedlings were destroyed or consumed. Empty boxes. No garden.

Who was this foe? 

I planted round two with the rest of my reserve starts and a few that I bought only to have it happen again.

So I gave up on a garden this year. I truly did and was super bummed.

You see, I hadn’t expected this bump in the road. I planted my garden as in years past - albeit very late - and I was ready to sit back and watch it grow.

The lesson: Remember, what worked in the past may not work today. Expect there to be bumps in the road.

Which brings me to lesson #3.

#3:  Keep Trying - Keep Planting

After giving up and “resigning” myself to a summer of farmer’s market goodness I was out shopping and noticed a clearance sale on the last of the baby starts at a local store.  What the heck?, I thought. Let’s try it one more time. I bought enough to fill most of my boxes and set up watch.

The first night only one went down and the second day I saw the culprit! I chubby squirrel up on it’s hind legs with a limb of my tomato plant between it’s two front paws - just chowing down.

I took to Google, pulled out all the stops, made a homemade pepper spray and went to town spraying my plants. I set up vigil and shooed it off when it returned. And my plants grew!

The lesson: Don’t give up.

Keep planting those seeds and watering your big dream. Often the moment you are ready to give up is the moment you are in the process of breaking through.

​I’m now sitting on my deck surrounded by my plants that are just beginning to produce and I am happy. It’s not as big, beautiful and full as in year’s past, but it’s my garden nonetheless.

So lesson #4?

​#4:  Celebrate.

Celebrate the wins along the way as you work toward your goals in life and in business. Take a lesson from my garden here and keep going. Keep planting, watering and tending the soil. Watch out for the bumps in the road and take action to move beyond them.

Be patient with the process and remember to enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

​I’d love to hear from you gardener’s out there. Share in the comments below: 

What life lesson have you learned from gardening?
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