This is our VERY established, already here when we moved here dogwood tree that's in one of our front beds. It is coming out of the blooming stage, and is COVERED with flowers and leaves.
This is our dogwood tree that we planted in May of 2008. It was given to us by one of Matt's dad's coworkers after Gabe died. It has hardly any blooms left but is full and green.
And this poor, pitiful sight is the dogwood I refer to as Gabe's Tree. My siblings picked it out and planted it for me the weekend of Gabe's funeral. It is a sad little sight to see. But it is still alive. Jonah and I walked out there and prayed over it last week (when it looked even more bare than this).
And here it is up close. Right on the verge of blooming.
And it really makes me question why this little dogwood is SO far behind all the others? It was actually planted earlier than the other two non-established dogwoods in our yard. It has gotten the most attention and TLC. It has the prettiest shape and, good grief, we even looked up instructions on the Internet before planting as to how EXACTLY to plant it and how much to water it. Theoretically, it should be the best growing, most beautiful dogwood in all the land. So WHY is it lagging behind?
And I wonder if maybe, just maybe, it's not waiting until next week to bloom. Just in time for Gabe's Day. Maybe it's just God giving me a little gift to make me feel like Gabe is right here with us.
Maybe God has made this sweet little tree "late" completely on purpose. It really would not surprise me in the least. Come soon, Sweet Gabe. We can't wait to see your flowers.
22 comments:
That is a really lovely thought.
How wonderful that will be to have blooms on Gabe's day!
It sounds like a Divinely good plan to me!
That's it! That's awesome.
God makes ALL things beautiful in HIS time!
I'm not sure, but it could be a Kousa dogwood, which blooms later and looks a little different (the blooms kind of sit on top of the branches).
I love your theory though!
That makes perfect sense to me! (and made my a little teary eyed too)
Such a sweet and perfect way to think of it. I hope it blooms full of hope and wonderment next week.
~Cheryl
Sweet post...but OH the pressure! I remember how we were so darn persnickety about how to plant it. I hope it does bloom lovely sweet blooms for Gabe's day. So appropriate.
My MIL has Easter lillies planted in her back flower bed that were given to her by her dad the year before he died. They bloom every year when her mom comes to visit...no matter when she comes. Crazy! I think God does these things on purpose to make us smile :)
Whenever I would ask my Dad about some plant or other that was acting up, his answer was always: Fertilize it! So that is always the first thing I think of, and it always works. Worth a try, anyway!
karen in clemmons
I'd clip off a piece of a twig and take it to a garden center and have them diagnose the type of dogwood it is and whether or not it needs fertilizer.
When Weston was born, Chris planted two crepe myrtles in the backyard. Crepe myrtles would always be blooming all over town, but not ours. Ours would bloom in August and that's when Weston's birthday is!! So I believe that you may be right!
I can't wait to see what God has in store with Gabe's tree. It's awesome how He works like that isn't it? I'll be praying for your family on Gabe's upcoming day.
"The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all."
— Walt Disney Company (Mulan)
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I believe you may be right..those blooms are almost there & so is Gabe's day. I pray that you find peach & comfort this upcoming week.
Please, please ask Jonah to find room on his calendar for me to come visit!!!! That picture of him on Twitter is so precious...I think maybe he is trying to find room for you to go shopping since he has NO toys....(ha)
Love & prayers
Aww, I hope your tree blooms for Gabe! Last year, I tried for the first time to grow a tomato plant. On the one-year anniversary of my grandfather (an avid gardener's) death, I got my first bloom on my tomato plant. So I hope your get your message from Gabe too!
(Also, in reply to your tweet: Do you think eating sweets bothers his teeth? If he has any tooth sensitivity the sugar might hurt his mouth?)
I think your right on the money!
My mom planted a dogwood tree in my front yard when I bought first house. Do you know how long it took that thing to grow and to finally bloom? Darn near 5 or 6 years! Poor pitiful thing. But it looks lovely now. Now that I don't live there anymore. LOL Guess it just had to grow on its own time.
We just bought two dogwood trees to plant in our backyard yesterday. It is a Milky Way variety and it says it does not bloom until June. Maybe that tree is just a different variety!!
They are just beautiful trees. We have a Golden Raindrop Crab Apple Tree that we planted when my first grandson passed away. We call it Ethan's Tree and it is in very full bloom now. We planted it eight years ago this month!
That is such a positive and Godly thought. I just know that this is the reason that the little tree is waiting to bloom.
I hope the tree is full of blooms on Gabe's Day!!
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