--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always wondered why you planted your…" description: "\"“I always wondered why you planted your roses outside the wall.\" (Ted) \"I didn't. Momma put 'em there before Daddy built the wall.\" (Myrtle) \"You're ki..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/michael-knost-69937_flowers_i-always-wondered-why-you-planted-your-r_2783321.jpg" --- # I always wondered why you planted your roses outside the… ![“I always wondered why you planted your roses outside the wall." (Ted) "I didn't. Momma put 'em there before Daddy built the wall." (Myrtle) "You're kidding? How long have they been there?" "My guess would be 'round eighty years." Her eyes brightened. "The key is plenty of watering, pruning, and…” quote by Michael Knost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/michael-knost-69937_flowers_i-always-wondered-why-you-planted-your-r_2783321.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/michael-knost-69937_flowers_i-always-wondered-why-you-planted-your-r_2783321.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/michael-knost-69937_flowers_i-always-wondered-why-you-planted-your-r_2783321.jpg) > ““I always wondered why you planted your roses outside the wall." (Ted) "I didn't. Momma put 'em there before Daddy built the wall." (Myrtle) "You're kidding? How long have they been there?" "My guess would be 'round eighty years." Her eyes brightened. "The key is plenty of watering, pruning, and mulching." "Oh, I know the hours you've spent with them." " Cultivating relationships, Momma called it." Her smile widened. "They're like old friends.”” [Michael Knost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-knost/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nurturing relationships requires consistent care, patience, and effort, much like tending a garden. **In simple terms:** Relationships need regular attention and patience. Key Takeaway Invest time and care to grow lasting bonds. Themes relationships care patience growth maintenance Mood warm nostalgic thoughtful Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - friendships - family ties - team dynamics - community building Key Concepts gardening metaphor emotional labor interpersonal connection Questions to Reflect On - What daily habits sustain your relationships? - How do you balance giving and receiving care? A Different Perspective Neglecting personal boundaries can lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Old friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-friends/) [Planted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planted/) [Planted Roses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planted-roses-3327166/) [Roses Outside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roses-outside-3327167/) [Spent Cultivating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spent-cultivating-3327169/) [Wondered Planted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wondered-planted-3327168/) ## Related quotes > [We just planted our 21st church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hunt/we-just-planted-our-21st-church/) [Johnny Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hunt/) > [We planted bugs, microphones, in premises which interested us in the West. We weren't too successful - I would have said unfortunately in former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-wolf/we-planted-bugs-microphones-in-premises-which-interested-us-in-the/) [Markus Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-wolf/) > [From a production point of view, I still have one foot firmly planted in the independent film world, and much of the shooting on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/from-a-production-point-of-view-i-still-have-one-foot-firmly-planted/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [You can bloom wherever you're planted, if you put enough effort into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/you-can-bloom-wherever-you-re-planted-if-you-put-enough-effort-into-it/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I have planted over 6,000 trees at home in Scotland, some of them oak. I'd like my children to be able to watch them grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-have-planted-over-6-000-trees-at-home-in-scotland-some-of-them-oak/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I felt the Lord at a young age. And it was one of those things where that seed was planted, you know, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-hudson/i-felt-the-lord-at-a-young-age-and-it-was-one-of-those-things-where/) [Tim Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-hudson/) > [New planted Colonies are generally attended with a Force and Necessity of Planting the known and approved Staple and Product of the Country, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lawson/new-planted-colonies-are-generally-attended-with-a-force-and/) [John Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lawson/) > [Hope, how she had grown to hate the word. It was an insideious seed planted inside a person's soul, surviving covertly on little tending,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/hope-how-she-had-grown-to-hate-the-word-it-was-an-insideious-seed/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [I never went to college. But the structure I grew up with was planted so deep that when it came to doing business, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-f-beiler/i-never-went-to-college-but-the-structure-i-grew-up-with-was-planted/) [Anne F. Beiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-f-beiler/) > [“I don't buy 'regret' idea. I need life's good lesson.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/i-don-t-buy-regret-idea-i-need-life-s-good-lesson/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [There was never a shred, never a hint, never a possibility - not a remote, not a million-, not a billion-to-one possibility - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fuhrman/there-was-never-a-shred-never-a-hint-never-a-possibility-not-a-remote/) [Mark Fuhrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fuhrman/) > [“A tree that bears much fruit honors the one who planted it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-tree-that-bears-much-fruit-honors-the-one-who-planted-it/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [The electronics industry expanded rapidly and the seeds for the semiconductor and software revolution were planted. The postwar period also saw the suburbanization of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/the-electronics-industry-expanded-rapidly-and-the-seeds-for-the/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [“Love is like a plant...; some are planted, while other are germinated...!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudeep-prakash-sdk/love-is-like-a-plant-some-are-planted-while-other-are-germinated/) [Sudeep Prakash Sdk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudeep-prakash-sdk/) > [I'm always just focused on being great where I'm at and blooming where I'm planted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabo-swinney/i-m-always-just-focused-on-being-great-where-i-m-at-and-blooming/) [Dabo Swinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabo-swinney/) ## More by Michael Knost > [“We spend most of our life bleeding from a blade that cuts from the inside out. . . I'm tired of bleeding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-knost/we-spend-most-of-our-life-bleeding-from-a-blade-that-cuts-from-the/) [Michael Knost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-knost/) > [“Have you ever noticed how coal dust makes a man look as though he's frowning. . . There's something about coal dust on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-knost/have-you-ever-noticed-how-coal-dust-makes-a-man-look-as-though-he-s/) [Michael Knost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-knost/) > [“Ted was glad she didn't use the phrase survivor's guilt. He'd heard that so often it made him sick. Yes, he was alive, yes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-knost/ted-was-glad-she-didn-t-use-the-phrase-survivor-s-guilt-he-d-heard/) [Michael Knost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-knost/) [Explore all 4 Michael Knost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-knost/) ## More Flowers quotes > [“On the third day, she smelled the fruit as soon as she came in. She followed the scent to the kitchen, and the peach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/on-the-third-day-she-smelled-the-fruit-as-soon-as-she-came-in-she/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Most girls get flowers or candy. I get a declaration of martial law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shearin/most-girls-get-flowers-or-candy-i-get-a-declaration-of-martial-law/) [Lisa Shearin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shearin/) > [I do whatever entertains me. If it entertains me to throw flowers halfway across the room, then that's what I'll do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-owens/i-do-whatever-entertains-me-if-it-entertains-me-to-throw-flowers/) [Kevin Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-owens/) > [ROSES ARE RED VIOLETS ARE BLUE YOU DID ME WRONG SO GUESS WAT BABE??FUKK YU](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica/roses-are-red-violets-are-blue-you-did-me-wrong-so-guess-wat-babe/) [JESSICA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica/) > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-o-connell/my-days-the-blossom-of-my-youth-and-the-flower-of-my-manhood-have/) [Daniel O'Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-o-connell/) > [Kiss From A Rose There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea. You became the light on the dark side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seal/kiss-from-a-rose-there-used-to-be-a-graying-tower-alone-on-the-sea/) [Seal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seal/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [“Rose is like a woman love;when love odorous but gets offended when bony..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonnaville/rose-is-like-a-woman-love-when-love-odorous-but-gets-offended-when/) [Jonnaville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonnaville/) > [“They basked in the sweet-scented breeze, and felt the sunshine warming their bare heads. Petals drifted from the gnarled apple and cherry trees, creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/they-basked-in-the-sweet-scented-breeze-and-felt-the-sunshine-warming/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [Now that the lilacs are in bloom She has a bowl of lilacs in her room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-that-the-lilacs-are-in-bloom-she-has-a-bowl-of-lilacs-in-her-room/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-sun-a-red-wheel-was-sinking-slowly-in-the-west-besides-being/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“She stroked one of the geranium's petals, inhaling its particular bitter fragrance, which she admired for its bold air of unapology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-airgood/she-stroked-one-of-the-geranium-s-petals-inhaling-its-particular/) [Ellen Airgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-airgood/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [There is sweet music here that softer falls Than petals from blown roses on the grass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/there-is-sweet-music-here-that-softer-falls-than-petals-from-blown/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) [Browse all 4,100 Flowers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I always wondered why you planted your roses outside the wall.\" (Ted) \"I didn't. Momma put 'em there before Daddy built the wall.\" (Myrtle) \"You're kidding? 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