The quintessential optimist

Julia ♦ May 3, 2025 ♦ Leave a comment

“The gardener is the quintessential optimist. Not only does he believe that the future will bear out the fruits of his efforts, he believes in the future.” – Joyce Carol Oates

Maybe this quote explains why I love few activities as much as taking a walk in a beautiful garden setting. It’s hard to feel negative for very long when surrounded by shades of green with touches of brilliant color here and there. I’ve never met the landscape artists who have given me so much joy in my lifetime, but I’m so grateful to them!

My own gardening efforts definitely require great optimism, since I tend to bat about .300 at best. Still, the joy of having something come alive against all the odds can be reason enough to keep trying. So I always do, hoping for fresh joys each year.

I planted some more (expensive) tulip bulbs again hoping they’d surprise me this spring, but they didn’t come up, and most were not stolen by critters as in past years. Instead, when I dug them up to see why they were not blooming, I found they had rotted in the carefully prepared soil where I planted them in large containers on my deck last fall. I’m batting .000 with tulips, going back many years and trying different types. Maybe it’s time to give up on growing them.

Still, the cherry blossoms, irises, daffodils, wisteria, columbine, periwinkle, sedum, azaleas, rhododendron, hydrangeas, gladiolus and peonies show up reliably each year. A bleeding heart plant I thought long gone made a surprise reappearance recently. And when summer comes, we’ll have the hardy, low-maintenance flowering crape myrtles. So how can I complain?

I wish you a spring and summer resplendent with the fruits of your own gardening, or that of your neighbors and local landscape artists. Our world needs the optimism they provide.