Division, Daylilies and Dancing Princesses

"When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other." Chinese Proverb

Dividing to grow, dividing to conquer, or both?

Dividing to grow. Most of our perennials are beginning to reach through the softening earth, sending their roots deeper into the ground, and their leaves and branches toward the sun. And each passing year they grow into an ever widening clump. If we don't divide, they begin to die out in the center. If we do divide, we have healthier, longer living plants, and some to give away. Two to five years is a good rule of thumb for division. A good sign that it is time to divide is when the plant has exceeded it's space.

I have been amazed at how aggressively an amateur gardener can divide--jamming a shovel through the heart of the root structure -- and voila -- you have two or three or more plants ready to go back into the ground.

Today we have started to divide the daylilies. Some have history -- given from friends and neighbors and fellow gardeners. And now we pass them again to our children and other friends. And the more we divide, the more we have to divide. Over the past several years, lilies from our garden have been divided and given to 25 or 30 other gardens. I just wish we were more careful about labeling what we plant and where we plant it. When asked what variety, I can only say, it's a daylily. And I really should know more than that.

And so the beauty of this garden metaphor is, well, obvious. If we divide and share what we have, we are healthier in all ways. The best way for us to grow is to divide? I believe that this is so. When we collect, we rot. When we share, we grow.

Dividing to conquer. The other division that is wonderful is division of labor, a great way to conquer any work project. Saturday was spent cleaning and clearing and planting and mulching. Ed, our family's lead gardener, had help from two wonderful young high school students. (Thanks, guys) The yard and gardens are beginning to take shape. The sharing of the work makes it so much more productive and enjoyable than doing it alone.

Division is really addition, don't you think?

Me -- I spent the weekend with three of my four wonderful nieces, and together we watched the children's play The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Which led to a discussion of their three favorite flowers -- the rose, the lily and the snapdragon. In their honor, I am thinking about planting a bed with these flowers this year -- just for them. I might call it the Dancing Princess Garden. And since they are curious about the blog, I promised that I would mention them in my next entry. So here it is, girls.

Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Luke 12:27