There is hope yet.
My friend Nick gave me a whole bag of sweet mandarins from his tree which mum tasted and said, wow what kind of mandarin is this? They are really tasty and juicy. We should have one. So I asked Nick and he said it was a mandarin tangerine hybrid sweet kiwi citrus.
I say there is hope because, mum had told me before I was not to plant any more trees. And she even meant fruit trees. But maybe, just maybe, she will make an exception for this one, if ever I can find it? Or alternatively, I could try planting the seeds from the fruit and wait a few years but if it's a hybrid it probably won't grow true to seed. But it might...still end up with tasty fruit.
I planted garlic in hope that it will grow into more cloves. I planted those leucodendron and proteas in hope they will a source of cut flowers. I hoped for a compost bin and now I have one (thanks Eco Matters!) for the church garden plus even offered free compost! Yes. Although hope now seems dashed for the cut flower shrubs since I discovered their mashed remains on the verge on Sunday. But I do hope whoever did this reimburses what they destroyed. Sevenfold.
I hope to get my level 2 small machines module signed off that I can now officially operate a lawn mower, blower and weedeater without hurting anyone. I hope to be able to go on this Taranaki Garden Festival Road trip in November. I hope to learn more about flower arranging at a workshop this Saturday. I hope all the gardeners will want to come and have lunch together this month after working bee. I hope I will be able to pot up some peace lilies for church. I hope the spanish shawl groundcover I scattered will take root and cover my bare ground. I hope the elders will say yes to more flowering plants around the church. I hope, I hope.
Gardening is an endeavour that runs on hope. From a small seed in the ground to a giant tree (or sunflower) we gardeners live in hope. From bare soil to a flourishing garden, what you see now will not be the same in three months time. But in the meantime, how does a gardener work. We not only live in hope but we work or walk by faith knowing what we hope will happen, WILL indeed happen.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen, says the Bible. We are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what we can already see?
I am waiting in hope for a miracle to happen before my eyes. And mum will say yes to growing a new fruit tree in the garden.
