Winter Flowers

I used to dread winter.

Plants have always been a source of wonder and fascination but it wasn’t until I started to tend my own garden did the dread of winter go away. I like to imagine a secret world underground, dark and warm, a place where root systems are hard at work, rejuvenating, resting, plotting for a magnificent return above ground.

Of course not all sleep during those chilly months. Some thrive out in the cold, and some can be nudged into blooming indoors with a small effort. While my imagined world is comforting, alluring even (who doesn’t long to hibernate during those dreary short days?) it is the brave souls that dare to emerge with so much enthusiasm and so little light that remind me to notice the beauty of winter and to look forward to what is to come.