Natural solace

I am not a dedicated gardener, but I like to have flowers in the yard. At the end of May I went to a local garden shop and bought a bunch of things to plant in window boxes and containers. A nice young woman helped me select the flowers. I wanted some hanging plants but something different than potato vine or ivy. So she suggested these and I went along with the idea, probably not paying too much attention to her description other than it was a full-sun plant and drought resistant.

I made a happy discovery in early July when these plants began to bloom. The tiny little red flowers are perfection. How could I not be delighted with them?

So in these past few weeks, when the news of the world has brought me down, when I cannot understand the reasoning of some of my fellow humans, when I despair at the mess we’re leaving for our children, I can go out on my deck and find a little bloom of solace.  In this instance, nature does not disappoint.

I’ve since looked up the name of these plants: Aptenia lancifolia.

I planned to post this blog earlier in the week but my site was hacked, which gave me another reason to go visit my flowers.

Peace, love and solace — may you bloom also