Welcome to my Garden

I have taken up gardening as a hobby. This recent interest requires time and a great amount of patience.

As an encouragement, Zinnia bought me a few gardening books. I've also gone to the library to read up more about gardening.

Honestly, I find the gardening experience very therapeutic.

Among some of the flowering plants I have tried my hands on growing included the red ixora, the yellow hibiscus and the multicolor lantana.

Someone once said that plants grow best when we pay attention to them. This means watering, touching them and putting them in places where they will receive good light. They need people around them to notice if the leaves are drooping and discolored or looking particularly happy in the sunlight. The more attention a plant receives, the better it will grow!
One of the things that I've learned to do in gardening is pruning the plants. To prune simply means to cut and trim. There is a scissor-like tool used for pruning, called the pruning shear.
I have some Bougainvillea that requires pruning from time to time. Bougainvillea (also known as "bunga kertas" in the Malay language) is one of those strong and hardy plants that can grow all over the place and in any direction if left to themselves.



The first goal of pruning is to control the plant size - to keep the plant to a required height and size. Some plants tend to grow out of proportion with their surroundings and cause the place to look messy.

Secondly, pruning cuts away withered or diseased leaves and broken or dead branches - so that they will not affect the overall health of the plant.

Thirdly, pruning encourages flowering. if I cut away the excess leaves and branches of flowering shrubs, it would not only keep the plant neat, but also encourages flowering.

Pruning is not only done on plants - the Bible speaks of the "pruning" that is needed in one's life. There are some areas in our lives that require pruning - such as bad habits & attitudes, wrong relationships, wrong priorities and anything that is inconsistent with the Christian values.

God is the one who prunes our life; and often He does it through our teachers, mentors, parents and those who genuinely love us and care for us.

Whenever I try my hands on pruning the plant, I can't help wondering if I had actually hurt the plant by cutting off the branches and leaves. I wonder if they feel any pain.

I'm not sure about plants - but I'm sure the pruning process in our lives can be at times painful and uncomfortable. We may have become too comfortable with certain habits that we do not want to let go. Change makes us uncomfortable.

However, just as pruning brings out the best in a plant, the pruning in our lives helps build our character.

Just as pruning produces flowers in a plant, the pruning in our lives makes us fruitful and productive, and helps us to blossom into a better person!