This season, my garden is more weeds than blooms. At first, I felt frustrated—like I had somehow failed. I had all these plans for jalapenos, flowers, and herbs. I imagined baskets full of produce and bright blossoms lining the beds. Instead, I walk out there and see stubborn weeds standing tall, thriving in the spaces where I thought my garden would flourish. Here’s my “garden” for this year- nothing but weeds!
But the truth is, weeds grow fast because they’re resilient. They push through poor soil, lack of care, and less-than-perfect conditions. They don’t ask for ideal weather or daily tending—they just keep showing up. And honestly, I can relate.
Right now, I’m juggling a lot: motherhood, ducks and geese that always need fresh water, our Rex rabbit Nutmeg who is settling into his home, and my college coursework that often stretches late into the night. Some days it feels like the weeds—chores, deadlines, dishes, laundry, exhaustion—are outgrowing the flowers I was hoping to see. I want tidy rows and calm routines, but more often than not, it looks like chaos.
Still, I’m learning something from those weeds. They remind me that growth doesn’t always look neat and pretty. Sometimes it looks messy, chaotic, and slower than we want. My days don’t always line up with the picture I had in my head of what homesteading, parenting, or even college would look like. And yet, somehow, things keep moving forward anyway.
The weeds are teaching me patience. They’re showing me that not everything has to bloom at once, and not everything beautiful shows up in the ways we expect. Right now, my “flowers” look more like small wins: a cup of coffee reheated for the third time but finally finished, a duck splashing happily in clean water, my child’s giggles breaking up a study session, or simply finding a quiet moment at the end of the day.
And that’s okay. Because whether it’s the homestead, motherhood, or school—real growth takes patience. The flowers will come, just not always on our timeline. And in the meantime, there’s beauty in the resilience that keeps pushing through the soil, even when it looks like weeds.
The garden will bloom again, but until then, I’ll keep leaning into the small wins and the lessons hidden in the weeds.
Thanks for reading and coming along with us,
~G’s Homestead