What You Focus On Grows!
This is the title of a great new song by my best English friend Stephen Russell ( the one with the jacket and pink guitar) aka Barefoot Doctor, and Leakster. You can see and hear “Get Spanky!” on Youtube,
you can buy it on i-store, and you can utterly enjoy it: it’s really uplifting music that makes your heart happy, your eyes bright and your body moving!
As I have told you I “lost” my garden when we moved to Berlin - but I gained a wonderful city, so: no complaining about that, especially as our beautiful flat has a large balcony – where “Gardening in High Heels” is so much easier. :-)
We moved in the middle of November 2010, and you can imagine that I had other things to do than garnish my balcony. But while unpacking many chests, I dreamed of spring and summer.
What you focus on grows.
At least: it hibernated. On my balcony stood some refugees from Hamburg: five pots with roses, and clematis, lavender, catmint and Cranesbills. In the cold, cold winter my fugitives shivered in ice and snow. I protected them with that air-cushioned foil nervous people like to crush between their fingers – we had lots and lots of it from padding the moving chests.
All winter I doodled plans of what I would plant on my balcony – till Husband reminded me gently that once in a while he wanted to sit on the balcony too, without using a machete to chop through the roses. I, sleeping beauty, refused to lend my ear. But I threw out the over-dimensioned teak-table we had imported from our terrace in Hamburg. I changed it by mere wishcraft: I detected it in a shop-window of the KaDeWe: an unusual oblong white French table – “No, sorry, Love: this is not to be sold – it is decoration!”
So I focused on it – every time I passed the shop windows. And by chance (and courage and persistency) I got it: What you focus on grows!
The first new plant on it was a pot of beautiful horned violets that Stephen bought me on the farmers market at the Winterfeldplatz. It was very early in March – but: What you focus on grows.
And then the roses started to grow leaves, “Gertrude Jekyll”, “Abraham Darby”, “New Dawn” “Auguste Luise”, and a dark red Austin-rose just start to bloom!
That proves it: What you focus on grows!