In a quiet neighborhood, there were two neighbors: Mr Indigo and Mrs Bloom.
Mr Indigo opted for a perfectly average garden —tidy hedges, a lawn, and some basic flower beds. He believed in simplicity and low maintenance. Mrs Bloom, whose beauty was matched by her ambition, dreamed of creating a beautiful, vibrant garden for her family to enjoy.
In the first couple of years, only some of Mrs Bloom’s plants became established, while others failed to thrive, or even withered in the dirt. Mr Indigo would occasionally reflect that Mrs Bloom’s garden seemed like a lot of work, for too little reward. Mrs Bloom would look over at Mr Indigo’s tidy, almost uniform, low-maintenance plot and feel pangs of inadequacy.
Slowly but surely, through trial and error, Mrs Bloom’s skills improved. When plants struggled, she’d remove them and try new varieties in their place. She learned what flourished in her soil and how to nurture the successful stock properly.
Most importantly, she never cut down her flowers.
When a particularly vigorous grower escaped the bounds of the garden bed, she let it take over the path. When a young sapling started to grow in a permanent lean, sympathetic to prevailing winds, she let it. Over in Mrs Gray’s garden, the hedges were trimmed, and nary a blossom grew out of place.
After five years, Mrs Bloom’s garden began to take a glorious, languid, flowing, multicolour form. Vibrant blooms in every colour exploded across the space, filling the air with inebriating scents. Lush greenery provided cool shade. Walkers would pause to bathe in the biodiversity, when they passed by, since the garden now boasted many peculiar species not often seen and even more rarely recognised.
By now, Mrs Bloom no longer felt inadequate.
In fact, her delight had only just begun.
After 10 years, a veritable wonderland emerged. Fruiting mulberries towered over coppiced apricots that were sweeter than honey. Wild vines of mysterious origin twisted in a double helix out of sight. An Angel’s Trumpet welcomed visitors.
In the end, Mrs Bloom’s garden thrived, provided, and delighted her.
