Where our hearts bloom.

“Surround yourself with people who allow you to blossom.”

Cute Flower Quote

Once upon a time there was an old lady who adored flowers. Such was her love that she had her own small and beautiful garden in the front of her house. She looked after it herself, she watered the flowers very often and she pruned them when the time came. The result was magnificent; the garden flowers bloomed and thrived on her love and care.

She had a small variety of flowers in her garden; roses, carnations, daisies, orchids, geraniums, sunflowers and lilies. She looked after them every day without fail. She even spoke to them with wonderful and heartfelt words.

She went to the roses.

“My beautiful roses, how lovely you are! What a lovely scent you’ve got. I love you very much.”

Then she went to the carnations.

“My wonderful carnations, how much you’ve grown! I love your scent and your colourful flowers.”

Next to the carnations were the daisies.

“Hello, my loves! I love you so much! You so attractive that you make my heart sing when I look at you.”

Then she approached the orchids.

“My exotic ones! What nice colours you’ve got!”

Then came the geraniums.

“Good morning, my wonderful geraniums! How lovely you are!”

It was time for the sunflowers.

“Good morning my wonderful sunflowers! What an amazing colour you have! How much I love you!”

And last, but not least, were the lilies.

“Hello, my wonderful lilies! How much you’ve grown! What nice flowers you have! How much I adore you!”  

It was such a beautiful garden that all the people in her neighbourhood envied her for it. “She has green fingers,” said and laughed sarcastically. “She has time to waste,” said the more practical. But the garden grew more and more, and so did the neighbour’s envy.

The flowers in her garden were exquisite, especially in the spring, when they were in full bloom. As a result, a small war was waging in the garden. The flowers were very proud of themselves and constantly fought with one another.

“Look at us,” said the roses. “We are so elegant, with wonderful big red pedals! And our scent is unforgettable! No wonder we are the most beautiful flowers in the garden.”

“You may be elegant, but your stem has thorns.” answered the carnations. “Whoever touches you bleeds. We are the most beautiful flowers in the garden and our scent is the best.”

“You may be nice, but we are better than you,” said the daisies. “People love us for our pedals, and lovers count them eagerly. We are the most beautiful flowers in the garden.”

“No,” said the sunflowers, “you are short. We are taller, we are the most beautiful flowers in the garden.”

The orchids protested: “None of you is like us. We are so exotic, we are the most beautiful flowers in the garden.”

“Absolutely not.” Said the lilies. “We are the best flowers in the garden.” And the fight went on and on.

The old woman loved them all equally and looked after them the same, unaware of the competition among them. They were her family, her children. She did her best to see them grow and flourish. She was so happy with the result. Of course, she ignored the neighbours who looked at her with envy and jealousy. She loved her little garden infinitely and unconditionally.

All the nature loved the old lady’s unique garden.

The birds told the sun: “We know of a wonderful garden, with the most amazing flowers. Go have a look.”

The sun looked at the garden from above, and admired its beauty. It sent its rays to the flowers and warmed them up.

Then the sun said the clouds: “I’ve seen a stunning garden. Go have a look.”

The clouds looked in awe, and tears fell from their eyes. The tears helped the garden grow.

The clouds spoke to the wind: “We’ve found an awesome garden. Go have a look.”

The wind was so impressed, that he softly touched their buds and leaves, for fear of destroying them.

But all this happiness was about to end. One day the old lady got sick. There was nothing the doctors could do to save her. Eventually, she passed away, quietly and gently, as she had lived all her life. But now there was no one to look after the plants. No one to water them, to fertilize them and to prune them. There was no one to give them love and attention, to greet them in the morning, to kiss their leaves goodnight. The garden fell into a state of neglect. Weeds grew and took over the garden. The sun and the rain alone weren’t enough to keep the plants alive.

Now the plants were silent. They didn’t have the energy and the power to fight. No one was more beautiful than the other. They were all neglected, thirsty, hungry, with weeds  all around them.  

Little by little the plants withered and started to die. The garden was ugly now, a miserable sight. Soon the people of the neighbourhood avoided looking at it. And they forgot about the flowers that once were there blooming. Nobody cared to look after them. They were a nuisance, a dirty patch of land nobody cared to look at. Nobody wanted to look after it. Soon it was a forgotten part of an old house an old lady used to live once.   

“Have you heard the news?” said the birds to the sun. “The old lady’s garden is falling from grace.”

“Clouds, have you heard the news? The old lady’s garden isn’t awesome any more,” said the sun to the clouds.

And the clouds spoke to the wind. “Have you heard the news, wind? The old lady’s garden is neglected. The flowers are dying.”

The Mother Nature felt sorry for the poor plants. And took the flowers with her. She took them in the woods, near the rivers and lakes, or in the mountains. She would protect them Herself. And they would thrive. But not as they thrived in the old lady’s garden.