Simulations With You
Between Overwhelming Beauty and Small Discoveries
Stories about gardens are everywhere. A quick internet search reveals countless resources—from elaborate gardening tips to expert advice. Social media feeds overflow with pictures of perfectly manicured gardens.
I love those sights too. Especially when a single type of flower fills an entire space, my heart swells with emotion. Think of the annual tulip festivals. Thousands upon thousands of tulips blanketing fields. Red, yellow, pink, and white blooms stretching endlessly before you. That spectacle is truly overwhelming.
Cherry blossoms are the same. Visit a famous cherry blossom spot and you'll find the sky filled with pink petals. Flower petals dancing in the wind like a scene from a movie. The magnificence created by hundreds of cherry trees naturally makes you reach for your camera.
But Here's the Thing
One day, a thought suddenly occurred to me. Those overwhelming scenes are undoubtedly beautiful, but perhaps what truly touches the deepest part of our hearts is a different kind of flower altogether.
On my commute to work, walking through a subway platform, I discovered something unexpected. Between the gray concrete walls, in a tiny crack, bloomed a nameless wildflower. A small flower with about five yellow petals. It wasn't in a planter, no one had planted it—just a seed that had somehow found its way there and taken root.
Strangely, that single small flower stayed in my mind all day. It was a different kind of emotion from seeing tens of thousands of tulips. The tulip festival elicited a "Wow, beautiful!" exclamation, while that small wildflower left behind a kind of inexplicable warmth.
Small Gardens in Everyday Life
After that, I began observing my surroundings more carefully. To my surprise, flowers were blooming in unexpected places everywhere.
Wild violets growing from cracks in an old alley wall. No one planted them or watered them, yet somehow they'd taken root and produced small purple blooms. Looking at them, I thought: this little flower didn't wait for perfect conditions. It bloomed doing its best with what it was given.
A dandelion near a bus stop, pushing up through the pavement blocks. Withstanding countless footsteps, it grew resilient and produced a yellow flower. It seemed to shine brighter than any dandelion in a planned garden.
An unknown white flower I found in a cracked asphalt seam next to a park bench. No bigger than a fingernail, yet its face turned toward the sun looked more confident than any rose.
Why Do These Flowers Stay With Us?
I pondered this. Why does a wildflower in a concrete crack linger in memory longer than the splendor of a tulip festival?
Perhaps it's the vitality discovered in unexpected places. The flowers at tulip festivals are undoubtedly beautiful, but their beauty is somewhat predictable. They're the result of people carefully planting, maintaining, and creating perfect environments.
Vitality Despite Everything
But the wildflower in the platform crack is different. No one expected a flower to bloom there. It wasn't planned, wasn't prepared for, and the environment was far from perfect. Yet the flower bloomed anyway. It's precisely that "despite everything" that moves our hearts.
More Small Discoveries
Since then, my daily routine has changed slightly. I walk the same paths, but what I see has transformed.
Passing by the back alley of a neighborhood supermarket, I discovered a scene. A small vine had wrapped itself around a rusty iron gate handle, and at its tip bloomed a white flower no bigger than a thumbnail. No one would have planted it there—how did it even climb that high?
On my morning commute, waiting at a crosswalk, I happened to glance down. In the corner of a sidewalk block, in a small space filled with dust, a green sprout was emerging. Not yet in bloom, but that tiny life force gave me energy to start the day.
On a rainy day, walking under my umbrella, I found something else. A purple flower blooming near a roadside drain where rainwater had pooled. People just passed by, but I stood there watching for a while. That small flower holding its head up in the rain looked so brave.
Gardens That Don't Need to Be Perfect
These days, social media is full of perfect garden photos. Professionally arranged flower beds, perfect lighting, ideal layouts. Seeing such photos can make me envious and sometimes make my own space seem shabby.
But remembering the platform wildflower changes my perspective. Flowers bloom even without perfect environments. They bloom without flower beds, fertilizer, or gardeners. What matters isn't environmental perfection but the will of life itself.
One day, visiting a friend's place, something happened. My friend showed me their balcony plants and apologized. "Sorry, I've been too busy to care for them properly. It's a bit messy, isn't it?"
But to my eyes, that "messy" balcony looked beautiful. Some pots had plants growing lopsided, some leaves showed insect damage. It wasn't perfect, but that made it feel more alive. There was a comfort in that unpredictable naturalness that planned perfection couldn't provide.
The Value of Small Things
We often pursue "more, bigger, more spectacular." Gardens are no exception. We want larger beds, more flowers, more exotic varieties.
But sometimes one small thing is worth more than a hundred big things. Just as a single wildflower in a platform crack stays in memory longer than tens of thousands of tulips at a festival.
Living daily life, we pass by countless "small things." Caught up in busy routines, we often lack the leisure to lift our heads and look around. But if we pause for a moment to observe our surroundings, we can discover small joys blooming in unexpected places.
Creating Your Own Garden
Gardens don't need to be grand. A wide yard, expensive tools, and expert knowledge aren't essential.
Even one small pot on a desk can be a garden. A succulent on a windowsill is enough. An herb pot in a corner of the balcony works too. What matters isn't size or form, but the small joys discovered within.
Try This: A Small Experiment
Recently, I tried a small experiment. I bought a small basil seedling from the supermarket. Without any special plan, I just placed it by the window next to my desk.
The first few days brought no noticeable changes. But about a week later, I noticed new leaves sprouting. Watching those small green leaves gradually unfurl gave me a peculiar joy. I hadn't done anything special—just watered it—yet the basil was growing on its own.
After that, checking on the basil each morning became a small habit. Looking to see if it had grown more than yesterday, if new leaves had appeared. That brief moment became a small ritual to start my day.
I didn't pursue perfection. Some days I forgot to water it, and once the sunlight was too strong and burned some leaves. But the basil grew despite it all. That sight reminded me of the wildflower in the platform crack.
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Visit Living GardenBlooming in Daily Life
Ultimately, gardening resembles our attitude toward life.
Rather than waiting for perfect conditions, start with what you can do in your current environment. Rather than grand plans, continue small practices consistently. Rather than perfect results, focus on the small pleasures discovered in the process.
The wildflower in the platform crack didn't wait for perfect conditions. Right there, in that moment, it bloomed doing its absolute best. And the message that sight conveys to us is clear.
You too, right where you stand, just as you are, can bloom beautifully enough.
In Closing
Tulip festivals remain beautiful. Cherry blossom spots will continue to captivate many people. Those overwhelming spectacles have value in themselves.
But next time you walk to work, wait for a bus, or pass through an alley, pause and look around. Look for the small flowers blooming in concrete cracks, wall corners, and between pavement blocks.
Feel the warmth that small discovery brings. The joy of a single bloom in an unexpected place. That's the small magic that makes daily life richer.
And try growing your own small garden. Size doesn't matter. Whether it's a small pot by the window or a corner of the balcony. What matters are the small joys discovered within, the unexpected moments, and the stories of life quietly blooming.
Even today, somewhere, in a place no one notices, a small flower is quietly blooming. Those who discover that flower are fortunate. And that fortune comes to those who look at their surroundings with just a bit more attention.