Ah, sweet summer! A time of fun in the sun, relaxation, sea shores, sight seeing and throwing away all your cares, right? Well one can dream, perhaps. I bought someone a hand exerciser once that says, “Wish, Dream, Do!” You see, that person always dreamed of doing fun things but never actually does them. ”Someday, I will…” You fill in the blanks. That person is always too busy doing for others. My answer is always, “Today is the day”, “Now is the time”!
What does this have to do with Bonsai? You see, it is too easy to think, I will do that ’thing’ tomorrow or the next day or the next week. And before you know it, the season is over and it is too late! Now you may have to wait until next year. I look outside and see all the ‘tasks’ that need to be done and most days, I do them in order of urgency and importance. Rarely do I get everything done that I want but there are results. Some days it is hard to keep up with just watering, other days real progress is made. Some days, life gets in the way.
When the tree trimmers came because the oak tree was growing into the electric lines, I was annoyed. But afterwards I was thankful and happy because frankly, the area had gotten overgrown. I seized the opportunity to trim and care for everything in that area. The cuttings, pre-bonsai and bonsai there now look so good. It motivated me to move on to the next area… Do you have an area that you keep really good care of (your pride and joy bonsai) and then a corner of the yard that people don’t notice that isn’t paid enough attention? Hats off to you if all your bonsai look pristine and show-ready!
Yesterday, I watered everything and defoliated a Buttonwood. When I watered it this morning, it looked so good (even leafless) I beamed with pride even though I was alone. That was all I had time for yesterday but today is a new day! I noticed the palm tree dropped a frond and is pushing down on my Ficus Phillipensis – unacceptable. A Mulberry needs spraying because it has mealy bugs – it’s in the hospital area now. The penjing Ficus Nerifolia has grass weeds growing in it. Tropicals need repotting before the summer is over. I think of it all and just smile, because “Today is the day” and “Now is the time”! What’s going on in your garden? Whether it’s 10 minutes or 2 hours… just do something, and when you are done, your reward could be a smile, a lemonade, an easy chair in the air conditioning, a walk on the beach, spending time with family or maybe an adventure you’ve been putting off too long.
A special thanks to Wayne for watering all the bonsai and to Wayne and Mom for taking care of Kiwi, the Bonsai guardian cat, while we were away on ‘vacation’. You’re the greatest!
