Parables on Growth
Let The Reader Understand
A garden is a holy place, set apart.
Some weeds are called weeds because they steal nutrients from other plants.
In a garden, some plants are weeds simply because they spread and overrun everything else.
One needs to pull a weed out by its roots, or you will find it again soon. Even if you are thorough, you may find it again soon, but the more vigilant you are, the better your garden will look.
Some weeds do not have deep roots at all. Some are thorny and resistant, and some, like buckthorn, root themselves deep.
Sometimes a shrub may bear fruit, yet it may also bear thorns.
Another may flower beautifully each year, yet is thorny to the touch.
Some flowers only bloom once and never again.
Some, like the tulip, bloom once for a few weeks, and then never againβyet their empty leaves will sprout up again next year, if the bulb is not removed.
The corpse flower only flowers once every seven to ten years, and when it does, it smells like rotten flesh.
The Queen of The Night flowers once a year on one night, is absolutely breathtaking, and then its petals fall before sunrise.
Some flowers, like geraniums, are beautiful, but only last a short time. Then, the old pods must be clipped to make room for next year.
Sometimes cutting a perfectly good zinnea in its prime is the right thing to do, for even in that same season, it will grow an even larger flower to replace it.
After lambβs ear has grown and flowered, if you cut it short once more, its leaves will grow back before autumn, shining like the silvery moon.
Sometimes, a perfectly good branch must be cut to open the path and the line of sight.
Some flowers, like Lantana, produce a sweet aroma.
Some trees are green all through the winter, withstanding the cold, but they bear no fruit.
A juniper bush produces something like berries, but one can only eat of them when they are dark and mature, for otherwise, some are toxic.
Some trees, like the manchineel, bear fruit which is toxic to eat.
Some soil is so dry that it repels both seed and water. One must till the earth if one wishes to grow something there.
An olive tree may take up to twelve years to bear fruit, and requires much help to arrive there, but once it does, it may bear fruit for many generations.
Herbs produce leaves valuable for the healing of disease, or for the flavor of food.
A healthy eucalyptus tree is nearly immune to rot, and its leaves are antiseptic, antiviral, and anti-inflamatory. I think of it like the gold of plantsβincorruptible.
Some fruits fortify against disease.
Some trees produce fruits multiple times a year.
The Glastonbury Thorn flowers both around Easter, and at Christmas, and is the only Hawthorne to do so.
The Tree of Life bears twelve fruits, yielding fruit in every month, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.
Fantastic! I like this style quite a bit