Problem-solving and Celebration!
Photo Credit: Emily Giacomini
Some of you have asked about the native garden I planted last August. It’s thriving! It has also required much more work than I expected for two narrow tranches of earth lining the back patio.
At some point I saw that one type of plant was being eaten, with holes appearing in the leaves. Dutifully, I documented the phenomenon in photos and trekked to the garden store for input. Worms were the culprit, crawling up along the stalks to the juicy leaves and I bought a pricey package of pellets to scatter around the base of the plants every few weeks to discourage the invaders. It was gratifying to pull off the ones I discovered lurking on the underside of the leaves, caught in the act. They were lucky I walked them across the street to the unwieldy bamboo lining the edge of the development, relocating them to munch foliage there.
Another plant developed what looked like mold on its leaves, circles of grayish white. Again I noted the symptoms and sought input from the experts who this time declared it to be a fungus. Who knew so much could go wrong in such a tiny garden! They sold me a copper solution to spray every so often (and again after rains) to prevent the start of new mold growth on additional leaves.
Watering the garden every other day in the heat of summer became a morning ritual, along with weeding and experimenting with how best to stake some of the taller plants to support their weight. I managed to divide and replant a few of the flowers to fill in some empty spots and had the pleasure of watching them take hold and grow.
The reward for all this problem-solving and labor is the joy of resting in my garden to read or enjoy a meal and inviting friends to admire the blossoming fireworks of color. It makes me feel I’m playing a small part to benefit the larger ecosystem to see various kinds of bees come to enjoy the flowers’ pollen and I’m grateful they prefer it to me! I remind myself often that sitting to relish the festival of hues that light up the patio is itself the celebration of a year’s worth of investment of money, time and energy and it makes my soul smile.
Leaders- what does it look like to continue problem-solving as new challenges crop up on your team? What’s the fertilizer that the players need as a cultural base to thrive and what kind of special care might benefit some of them as they face specific hurdles? Who serves as a mentor when you encounter a sticky patch? How do you as a team celebrate when the crescendo of strengths and progress over time culminates in an incredible result?
May you find ways to pause and honor your efforts as you celebrate the momentous fruits of lyour abor!