Bloom Where You're Planted

You've probably heard this quote before. 

Several years ago, I mistakenly planted two Knockout Roses under a small tree in our backyard.  I thought the tree would continue to grow taller and the roses stay relatively small.  Unfortunately neither of these happened and what we ended up with was a mess.  Prior to planting those knockouts, I had also planted a tea rose and a miniature rose in the same bed. 

 

 

After two or three years, the knockouts had completely taken over, crowding my pretty pink tea rose so much, it barely bloomed and you could only see it's "little efforts" from the back of the bed. 
I actually forgot about the miniature rose bush. 

(This photo shows the knockouts (dark pink) crowding the small tree.  The miniature rose is to the right.  Good luck finding the tea rose!)
 

When rose pruning season arrived this February, Wonderful Hubby and I decided to take out those knockouts.  I planned to add some colorful annuals under the little tree.  After I trimmed and he dug, we removed the overgrown bushes and were happily surprised to find both of the original rose bushes still hanging on! 

 

 

I fertilized and watered and encouraged those little bushes until recently, IN FULL GLORY, my little tea rose bloomed again.  This time, those lovely blooms could be see from our kitchen window, not from an odd angle.  It was almost like that little rose was saying, "Ah, now that's more like it!"

 

 

Don't get me wrong, Knockout Roses are wonderful - in the right place.  And they really need to be managed yearly to stay the appropriate size.  It was my mistake to place them where I did.  Live and learn.  I'm just glad my little roses stayed the coarse and continued to survive. 

 

Sometimes, we have to do the same.  The circumstances we're experiencing may be unexpected or unpleasant.  But if we just continue to 'bloom' our best, God leads us through it, helps us learn from it and lets us shine in our way. 

 

I just love lessons from the garden!

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