....as if they know

Yogis,
It’s like the plants know. As December arrives with its northerly winds and lack of light, hard frosts finally turn any remaining green a brittle brown. I look out the back windows to watch my garden enter her period of deep, well-deserved rest.

I too get a rest when the garden sleeps. Nothing to weed or water. My garden tools stored neatly in the garage as there is no need to check on everyone each day, or prune or even clean up. Dried seeds and berries left to hang from bent stems offer needed nourishment for birds and deer as the snows arrive.

No growth. No color. No scents. Quiet.

Yet at the same time my indoor plants are watching out my south facing windows at their ice covered friends. It’s as if they talk amongst themselves and decide it is now their time to shine. One by one they stir.

Christmas cactus is always first. Solid green all year, the ends or her leaves become adorned with bright red shoots. When they all open, she is transformed to a thing of beauty.

Next, I notice a new stem of one of the orchids peeking out from the leaves. Quickly it arches toward the light and sends out tight buds. The other orchid, not to be outdone, sends up her new growth, blooming first in deep magenta. Her white cohort moves more slowly, spreading out the winter show.

Last winter a friend gave me a plant covered in gorgeous orange blooms. Lovely…..yet I knew that often a gifted plant never blooms again…..and I am ok with that. I kept watching with a tinge of hope though, because you never know. Well, about to give up I glanced over to find buds everywhere. She is now again in full bloom!

My studio dotted with purples, reds and orange, while the outer world sleeps.

Yet only days from now, my Lenten Rose buried beneath snow in the front yard will offer a spark of pink to the barren landscape and start the process all over again.

Continually awed,
SARAH