Late Bloomer

5 years ago we planted an artichoke plant. Last year, we came within 30 seconds of ripping it out and throwing it away. It had yet to produce fruit and was taking up  lots of highly valuable real estate in our garden…all show and no substance. As my husband went to rip it out he yelled, “We’ve finally got one!!”

After that discovery last spring we had not just one, but dozens of homegrown, fresh, organic artichokes. So many that we were giving them away! But before the discovery that it is was producing fruit, I gave up. I lost my patience.

I think it was parenting author Jim Stetson who, when asked what the single common thread of the most successful families seemed to be in his experience working with a wide variety families and his answer was so simple: They didn’t give up. Gardening yields a lot of life lessons and the appearance of our new crop of artichokes is a great reminder that we must be patient with our families, friends, children and ourselves.