You Can’t Grow Roses Here…and other things you shouldn’t listen to.
by Kumari Mullin   

My favorite aunt’s memorial is today, and I wanted to give something meaningfully special to my cousins’ teenage girls who just lost their grandma.  Quite recently I had begun to make little sachets filled with peach, red and coral rose petals from my garden. But I worried, though the potpourri is very special to me, the teens will probably just throw it in their intimates’ drawer without another thought.  And why not?  I needed to explain the full story with them of why these tiny rose petals represented such a triumph to me…so I wrote this short story to include with the home-made potpourri:

When I moved to Florida from Philly/DC/New York one of the first things I did was check out the gardens.  At first blush it seemed I had moved to a tropical paradise.  However, on closer inspection, I was saddened to find that many of my favorite flowering plants and bushes did not grow here.  

 I clearly recall being very excited to get a tour of a new friend’s gorgeous home.  She was an avid gardener so I was thrilled to learn first-hand her Martha Stuart secrets.  She pointed toward a shady row along a fence line, and though there were several rose bushes, none of them were thriving.  She said emphatically, “You can’t grow roses here in Florida!  Don’t even try, as I have tried for years, but the soil is piss-poor, the temperature way too hot, it’s either too wet or too dry, and the bugs and diseases are so rampant you have to use loads of chemicals.  Nope, you just can’t grow roses here.”

She was so emphatic, and very knowledgeable it seemed.  I heard this from many others as well, and though I still couldn’t resist planting a few over the years, I never had much luck either. I dearly missed them however, and I kept dreaming of a glorious rose-filled Garden of Eden.  Somewhere, someday…

In the same vein, years later I was telling some friends that I was going to once again start a full time energy healing practice, here in a very small town in Florida.  And I told them what I charged.  They all advised strongly against it, saying “you can’t have a healing practice here!” Some of them were massage therapists, who had been struggling along for years.  “No one here gets it, and they certainly won’t pay you THAT for anything as esoteric as reiki!  No, you will never make it.  Take my word. I am just trying to help you and save you the disappointment and defeat.”

Right then and there, I decided not to listen.  I knew what I had to offer, and I knew what I had to do.  I had to hold my own vision for my practice, know my own value for my offerings, and not waiver.  Mostly, I had to stop listening to any naysayers.  I also knew I needed to expand my horizons, and I focused on distance healing that I could offer to anyone anywhere around the globe.  At the time I had no distant clients, but I had a vision that made me extraordinarily happy when I thought of it. 

I meditated about my future one afternoon, and asked for guidance.  I received a picture of myself with a headset, (which I didn’t even own at the time), on a portable phone, sending healing energy to clients anywhere in the world, while I was out in my lovely garden!  It made me smile every time.  I could feel the joy and the freedom of working in such a lovely natural setting, out of my home.  

About a year later, I was out on my screen porch, surrounded by orchids, my Suki doggie curled up next to me “assisting” in the healing session.  I was on the phone with a headset, sending energy to a client in Germany, and I suddenly realized I was living my vision!  

That simple but palpably powerful vision carried me through several years of slow but steady progress toward having a thriving, prosperous energy healing practice from a podunk, ultra conservative town.  I have been able to do what I love, in a lovely natural home environment, in a way that feels authentic, and help thousands of people and animals live richer, healthier and happier lives. 

Oh, and I now have rockin’ rose gardens all around my home.  I found a rose guru who also had a dream of growing her beloved roses in Florida.  She researched everywhere in the tropics to find varieties that were disease resistant, and could tolerate the extreme heat.  Mostly they were the older heirloom varieties that were much hardier than the newer stock.  

She showed me how to prepare the soil, and how deep they needed to be planted.  They definitely required extra effort and some special handling at first.  Yet now, I have delicious rose scents wafting through the summer air, and my favorite morning ritual is filling small vases around the house with my Florida grown against-all-odds roses.  

When the petals begin to fall, I save and dry them for creating my own potpourri sachets that I make with so much love and gratitude for this new gift of precious roses.  And Vision.  And Tenacity in the face of obstacles.  And dreams that do come true…if you just stop listening to everyone who says you can’t do that here!!!


Kumari is an internationally recognized intuitive coach, master healer, spiritual visionary, best-selling author and animal mystic. Kumari empowers healers, coaches, conscious entrepreneurs, and animal and health care professionals to unwrap their intuitive, healing and manifesting gifts.

Visit www.KumariHealing.com for FREE audio for greater Clarity, Ease and Empowerment.