Looking out at the garden this morning I was conscious that so many of the plants are beginning to show signs of decay – tidying up needs doing – and the all important job of pruning may soon need to be tackled.

As I pondered about the process of pruning I recalled basic information from years ago – that ‘pruning had to be done either in the late Autumn – or in the early Spring’.

Much as I love gardens and gardening – I am only an amateur gardener and have to confess that I hadn’t really looked further – so decided that – easy as it is in these days of technology – I would check first to see what was recommended.

I’m so glad I did – before I got out my pruning shears! It seems there is a right time to prune – different plants and flowers requiring different treatment – at different times – so instead of rushing to get out those shears – I will check carefully at what each plant and flower needs in order to allow it to grow and flourish at it’s best.

Pruning done correctly – and at the right time has more to do with ‘life’ – than it has to do with death. Plants and trees well pruned will bring forth more and better growth in the seasons to follow. If some of the old and sometimes diseased bits are not  cut off – then in the long run the plant suffers – pruning not only gets rid of what is not heathy – but makes room for light and space – so beneficial to new growth.

So – as I plan to tidy up the garden – research when I will need to do that all important job of pruning – I concentrate – not on the winter to come – seeing it as a ‘dead’ time – but rather as that time that allows plants flowers and trees a rest – a time to replenish – to prepare for that new growth that I will so enjoy and appreciate in the spring and summer seasons.

And as I seek to learn – to treat each flower and plant individually – in order to give them the best chance of more abundance – a chance to be stronger – more productive – I recognise there are areas in my life that need pruning too – when I need to allow the Master Gardener to cut away those things no longer needed – get rid of ‘diseased branches’ – and thin out areas in my life that have become entangled.

He knows exactly where I need His help in each season of my life – He works with care – in His love and wisdom – in order for me to grow well – to be productive and to give joy to all around.