There are times when we need to speak up, be bold, suggest new approaches and plant differently. It’s not always appreciated, welcomed or accepted. Oh well. When the boat rocking becomes stabilized we often find that what has taken root grows into something even more interesting, useful and beautiful….to combine land and sea metaphors.

Plant tall plants in front of shorter ones. Use orange and pink flowers together. Season your tofu with pesto and use Asian spices on your pasta. Listen to a radio station you’ve never spent time with before. Make new connections in your community. Be willing to suggest improvements…and work toward their implementation.

Let’s all stay willing to shake things up.

Last winter instead of doing the usual evergreens or cut branches in these large troughs, I top-dressed them with a variety of pinecones. In the early spring I loved the contrast between last year’s cones and the tips of the bulbs that were emerging.

Many would plant these large troughs by the size of the flowers, moving from short on the outside to tall in the center. I decided to shake things up by planting them en masse… the short hyacinths are intermixed with taller tulips and alliums. The alliums might not even come into flower when the rest of the bulbs are blooming…I might even pull all of them out before the alliums bloom. Shake it up. Rock the boat.

Words to live by.