A Year of Gratitude – June 24, 2024

Today I found myself grateful for the ability to change and grow, for the capacity of living things to adapt and find a way to find a new way forward. That might seem like a big message to take from a few tiny buds on a hydrangea, but that’s exactly where I found it.

Our hydrangeas didn’t bloom much last year. It wasn’t from a lack of care. We tended to them in the same way we always have.

They usually reward us with a long season of beautiful blooms. But not last year. Instead, they produced lush foliage but hardly any blooms to enjoy.

This year, their branches are heavy with buds. I have every gardener’s hope that those buds will become blooms for us to enjoy from now until fall. I love hydrangeas and we have more than a dozen of them here in our gardens in a rainbow of colors. Their blooms are so long lasting unlike the peonies, iris, and lilies we grow. It’s so nice when they bloom and add color to the summer garden.

I can only suppose that they didn’t bloom well last year because of the weather. Our growing season has changed so much in the 18 years we have called this farm home. The summers are warmer and longer. The rain is heavy and damaging and the winds are much more forceful.

These hydrangeas have been asked to adjust rapidly to weather far different than the conditions we experienced when we planted them here. I like to think that they have indeed adapted a bit, that they have found a new way forward in the new conditions.

It’s a good reminder that I can do the same. I can adapt to changes around me. Life is full of them and they won’t stop coming. So, I might as well take a deep breath, adjust my sails, and find a new path forward. With any luck, there will be abundant hydrangea blooms to brighten that path.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.