The other day I was returning from my morning run and I happened to look up towards the chimney. Something bright caught my eye and what I saw was truly remarkable. Growing from a tiny crevice in the mortar between the bricks was a yellow daisy, fully in bloom as it reached for the sun. Amazingly, from a sheer vertical face, one little seed had made its way into a crack that had just enough essential elements to get this little guy off to the right start.
How it got there, I’ll never know but I suspect either a bird or the wind as the primary suspects. Either way, it was yet another reminder to me at how amazing…and really how simple gardening can be. Everything that seed needed to grow into a plant was already there. Sure, there’s plenty to know if you really want to be an expert but sometimes we over-complicate the issue too. Mother Nature does a fine job of providing everything that’s needed. Sometimes we get in the way more than we help. Over-watering comes to mind as an example of how we often love our plants and lawns to death.
Another example of a similar moment happened one day as I was taking pictures for one of my books. Ironically, I was looking for chimneys to photograph. But this time it wasn’t something growing from it. Instead, my eye was drawn to a plant nearby. What made the scene so unusual was that this was a mature tomato plant, bearing fruit and growing merely from a small crack in the driveway. Once again, a seed had found just enough of the right conditions to set roots and reach for the sky. The homeowners had thought so much of this plant’s unique achievement that they provided the mulch to protect its roots while giving plenty of room to allow it to continue growing. They even parked their brand new car on the street so as not to disturb this determined tomato that was growing in the same spot their new car would have been occupying.
My take from these observations was a reminder that we too should grow to the best of our ability wherever we’re planted. Even though the conditions may not seem ideal at the time, with the right attitude and determination, its amazing what can be accomplished and who knows what kind of inspiration we might be along the way.
JL