Many a gardener has been seduced by pictures of great swaths of tulips exploding with color and delighting the senses. Many of these same gardeners have felt disappointment, viewing their own garden beds planted full of bulbs the previous fall, now mysteriously devoid of color.
Tulips are like candy to the fauna that frequent our gardens. Chipmunks, squirrels, and voles (among others), are drawn to these delicious morsels we layout as a banquet, seemingly only for their benefit. Very few tulip beds survive the winter, without many precautions, to emerge in spring and fulfill their promise.
That is why this lone tulip captured my attention this morning. Not planted in a bed, nor buried under, or in, a wire mesh. Not surround by moth balls, or protected by any other time tested (or cockamamie) solution. Here this glorious blossom stands, amongst the Lily of the Valley, Multiflora Rose, and Hay-scented Fern. Lost in the dumping area of pruning waste, fall leaves, and brush. A single lone red tulip, lit by the morning sun.
Not planted by this gardener, but perhaps by a short furry, quadraped, of the rodent ilk, stashed away for safe keeping.
It won’t be long before its blossom fades, and it’s swallowed up by the tall weeds and fern that fill this area every summer. But for a brief moment this spring, with a little help from mother nature, this “one lone tulip” arose in the wilderness, its promise fulfilled!
Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Have you discovered an uncut diamond in your garden? If so, I would love to hear about it.
