When the Gardens Grow Quiet

Sitting here this morning, I think everything has finally caught up with me.

Yesterday morning, I walked outside to find our beautiful dahlias had finally been touched by the freeze. Just days before, we were out cutting everything we possibly could, with frozen hands, trying to enjoy the last of what had been such an incredible growing season.

My husband had offered to help me cover them, to give us just a little more time. But I decided to let nature take its course. Every growing season eventually gives us that sign that it's time to let go, and this was ours.

As much as I love seeing the gardens full of flowers, I've learned over these past four years that there's a season for everything, including rest.

Of course, rest looks a little different on a flower farm.

We still have plenty of work ahead of us this fall. Digging our dahlias alone will take us a good week, between lifting the tubers, dividing them, labeling everything, and making sure they're properly stored for winter.

We've already started planting the many tulips that will welcome spring, and we'll continue planting as we prepare for another season of flowers.

It's a funny thing about flower farming. While one season is coming to an end, we're already putting the next one into the ground.

And maybe life is a little like that, too.

We spend so much of our time moving from one thing to the next. Taking care of our families, showing up for the people who need us, working, making plans, and trying to keep up with everything life throws our way. Sometimes we don't even realize how tired we are until things finally begin to quiet down.

I think many of us have a hard time giving ourselves permission to rest. There's always something else that needs our attention, another thing on the list, or someone counting on us.

But the gardens remind me every year that nothing is meant to bloom all the time.

The flowers have given everything they had this season. They've weathered the heat, the heavy rains, the wind, and now the frost. And when their time comes, they simply stop. No rushing, no trying to hold on for another week.

Maybe there's something we can learn from that.

Rest doesn't mean we've stopped caring about what we've worked so hard to build. It doesn't mean we're giving up or that there isn't more to accomplish. Sometimes it simply means recognizing how much we've already given.

As we finish our fourth growing season here at Kelly's Flower Brook Farm, I'm feeling a little bit of everything. Tired, grateful, proud, and perhaps a little emotional watching another season come to a close.

There's still work to be done, flowers to arrange, and holidays to prepare for. But for a moment this morning, I'm allowing myself to appreciate what this season has been rather than thinking about everything that still needs to happen.

And wherever life finds you right now, I hope you'll allow yourself that same moment.

Because just like the gardens, we all need a little time to rest before we bloom again.

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