* "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow."
* "A bamboo tree takes years to establish its roots, but then grows tall very quickly."
* "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."
* "Rome wasn't built in a day." (While not directly about plants, it conveys the same message.)
* "Slow and steady wins the race." (Again, broader, but applicable.)
* "Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace." -May Sarton.
Emphasis on Effort/Cultivation:
* "Gardens are not made by singing 'Oh, how beautiful,' and sitting in the shade." -Rudyard Kipling
* "What you plant now, you will harvest later."
* "He who plants a garden, plants happiness."
* "To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow."
* "If you want to reap financial blessings, you have to sow financial blessings."
* "One must cultivate one's own garden." -Voltaire (Candide)
Emphasis on Natural Process/Time:
* "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." -Lao Tzu
* "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."
* "Even the strongest trees grow from the smallest seeds."
* "A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible." Welsh proverb.
* "The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." -Ralph Waldo Emerson.
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