Good things come to those who wait

Patience has never been one of my strong suits – when I make a decision, I want it done yesterday. It means I tend to worry unnecessarily, working myself into a frenzy over something that usually sorts itself out in (agonising!) time. Ever since I made the decision to move to another hemisphere, I’ve been learning lessons in patience. I’m a slow learner on this score, but the last few weeks have reminded me that accepting a situation and putting it to rest in your mind, rather than wrestling with it, is the perfect way to allow the universe to act on your behalf.

And so, in honour of that sentiment, I’m going to set myself another lesson in patience. Summer is waning here in England and as the temperatures plummet, spring and all its colourful glory feels further and further away. But instead of wallowing, I’m going to lay the groundwork for those first breaths of warm air by planting humble, onion-like spring bulbs. All you need to do is bury them in bare pots of dirt or poke them into garden beds and… forget. Don’t try to remember what you’ve planted, don’t dig them up to check if they’re alright. Just imagine the reward, months down the track, when you feel as though the creeping chill will never lift…

Budding bulbs (image: Keiko Oikawa)



Hyacinths (image: Design Sponge)



Forced paperwhites in bloom (image: Design Sponge)

Happy spring, Australia.