My neighbor let her dog use my lawn as a toilet every morning for six months and never cleaned up once — I stayed polite until she made one comment I couldn’t forget, and by the next morning I’d taught her a lesson without raising my voice once.

entire time.

Even when that voice happened to take the form of six very carefully arranged reminders on decorative paving stones.

By spring, the garden looked better than ever.

Maybe that’s coincidence.

Maybe not.

I sometimes think gardens reflect the person tending them.

That year, I had finally stopped swallowing something that needed to be addressed.

My children had their lawn back.

I had my peace back.

And the hydrangeas were incredible.

All nine bushes bloomed.

Even the two I had propagated myself finally produced flowers.

One afternoon in June,