Pruning

It's officially spring, but in Redding, it seems as though we never had winter. We bought our home in November and the roses were blooming then. As everything started to come to life in January and February, we could see that our yard was going to get out of hand. We have 10 rose bushes, all of different varieties, lavender, daffodils, iris,tulips, lilacs, grapes, a fig tree, an orange tree and 2 other trees, yet to be identified.  And grass that has had to be mowed 3 times already.  

I was out mowing the grass and pulling weeds last weekend, when my neighbor stopped by.  He said the only way to tame the roses was to cut them back.  When you think you've cut enough, cut some more.  "You just can't kill 'em," he said.  I've learned that pruning a rose bush, or any other plant, can actually make it stronger and healthier.  

I think we all see the analogy coming.  

When our family moved to Redding from Estes Park, it was painful. Branches were being cut off left and right. Ripped off. Hacked. Torn. It wasn't pretty. What had been a large, healthy bush was reduced to a few bare branches.  I felt like  a lot of me had died.   Hopes, dreams, realities--everything looked different.  After a while, though, the feeling started to come back.   Some green began to appear. New life was happening.  These new branches are a little stronger, and overall, the bush is healthier.

After hours of yard work, I ended the day by pruning the largest of our roses.  Cutting, snipping. Poking myself in the process. Although this bush was quite tall and growing quickly, it didn't have very many blooms. As I cut back a few more branches, I spotted a beautiful red rose deep inside the bush. I hadn't even seen it before. What beauty we can find when we do the sometimes painful work of pruning.