I remember how I helped my mother and loved working in the garden with her as a young child. It gave us time together. As we worked, she always told a story. I guess what I didn't realize then, was the way she was teaching me life's lessons, in parables.

All plants need pruning. Sometimes I thought she was wrong when she cut off first blossoms and extra foliage.

"Why do you take off the nicest parts?" I continually asked.

Her answer was always the same: "Because I love them. And I want them to be strong and get firmly rooted." She patiently showed me where to trim so the main stem would not...