Pruning My Butterfly Bush and Me

The dead blooms are beginning to overshadow the vibrant purple ones -again!

Didn’t I just prune this bush last week? Well, maybe it was two weeks ago. It seems like the more I prune it, the more it grows.

I’m tempted to save every little bud I see forming, gently removing  just the tips of the spent blooms. My reward for this careful pruning : tiny new flowers.

However, when I really prune it hard, back to the strong main branch, it might take a little longer for a new bloom to appear, but when it does, it is showy and large, and the bees and butterflies flock to it.

 

So why do I keep trying to save the little buds? Because I see their potential and I don’t like to wait. Why destroy something that’s already starting? It might be really pretty. But I know from experience that this isn’t the best choice.

It seems that I garden much like I manage my own life. Even when I can see the beautiful growth that comes from serious and purposeful pruning, I still try to keep all those little “buds”.  The more I prune, the more ideas keep popping up. My tendency is to treat each idea as equally important instead of pruning them down and focusing on the main ones that will produce the most fruit or the most beautiful flowers. It’s so hard to let go of what could be, maybe.

A few large, beautiful blooms or lots of tiny ones that never amount to much. Guess it’s time for some more pruning.

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