Replanting and "Letting Go"

Last Friday, June 23rd, I finally paid attention to an area of the Prospect Gardens affects by our mild winter. The lack of a lasting snow cover and freezing and thawing took a toll. Even the life cycles of some of the hardy grasses ended.

I pleasurably traveled to The Flower Factory, near Oregon, on this sunny summer day with blue skies and gentle breezes. A perfect day for gardening and for just being alive. I always enjoy visiting The Flower Factory, which I consider to be the mecca of greenhouses.  I was anticipating buying Poppy Mallow, pictured to the right.  It's a great ground cover with striking purple flowers and spreads rapidly. Perfect.

After arriving at The Flower Factory and locating the Poppy Mallow, my hopes were dashed as I examined the remaining half dozen plants. The specimens were scrawny and with many leaves missing. The plants were the last ones and no more would be ordered, according to the salesperson.

The salesperson pointed out an alternative. Letting go of my desire for Poppy Mallows, I followed her suggestion and selected another ground cover, Blue Bells (Campanula rotundifoila - wild type). One is in the center of the picture to the left, surrounded by grasses. I purchased several grasses and transplanted a few from other sections of the Gardens.  



Here's a picture of another Blue Bells, nestled between rocks. With some luck and care, the Blue Bells should grow to 8 inches and bloom until September.  I like the delicate blue color. Now I will wait patiently to see if they will spread like the prolific Poppy Mallow. I envision a gentle blue wave spreading across the involved area.












This Ivory sedge caught my attention. I couldn't resist the deep green and fuzzy appearance. In short, the plant spoke to me, saying "take me with you."

Replanting reminds me of the unpredictability of gardening  accompanied by the joy of selecting replacements.  Replanting also is a lesson of "letting go". There is no guarantee that the replacements will survive. One must let go of any expected outcome.

Likewise, letting go is an important life skill. The following  e. e. cummings' poem expresses a benefit of "letting go."  

let it go - the

smashed word broken

open vow or

the oath cracked length

wise - let it go it

was sworn to

go

let them go - the

truthful liars and

the false fair friends

and the boths and

neithers - you must let them go they

were born

to go

let all go - the

big small middling

tall bigger really

the biggest and all

things - let all go

dear

so comes love

~ e. e. cummings ~

(Complete Poems 1904-1962)