Growing Deeper, Not Taller

The weekend allows me the opportunity to have my favorite morning ritual with sunlight! Inspecting my beds and checking on my flowers (children). Conducting this ritual before work, and before sunrise, involves a headlamp. It’s good to keep the neighbors entertained. It finally feels like fall here, and the combination of crisp air and bright sun is delightful. Combined the ginger cookies at one of my favorite local cafes being back (Bakery by Textbook, go check them out!)Today was off to a strong start. 

I’ll get back to the growing update now. My flowers aren’t growing taller, and that’s exciting. They are growing deeper. Like the commonly used iceberg metaphor reminds me, what I see above ground is merely the tip. Healthy root systems are traveling and anchoring deep into the soil, not only feeding the stem about it, but feeding the soil ecosystem. I should do a separate post on soil being an ecosystem- but for now that’s what we’ll call it- an interconnected web of producers and consumers. 

Like any of us, I dream of spring and next year’s blooms. Knowing that so much is happening below the soil surface fills me with a grounded happiness. It’s like seeing someone enjoy the cookies you’ve baked. Or that steady feeling you get after a hug from someone who means it. 

My flowers will be nourished by weekly organic kelp fertilizer. Other than that, I am simply the facilitator. Mother nature provides the cool temperatures and time to grow deep.