The Redemptive Power of Spring

This is my favorite time of the year for so many reasons!

As a child, the end of spring and start of the summer meant school was out and long days with lots of fun began! We were sent to Virginia many summers from the day after school ended until the day before it began in September. These summers were spent running and playing and shucking corn and snapping beans and spending time with my favorite aunt, my grandfather, and cousins.

This time of year also means everything around me is visibly growing…the dormancy and cold of winter has been shaken off and new opportunities for new growth in ways unimaginable have emerged.

Y’all, some of these hunnidmillion plants of mine looked like it was over, but I remembered the power of rainwater and sun.

So, the Ruby ficus tieneke, which I paid too damned much for at a farmers market in Durham was knocking at the doors of the compost bin…but something told me to put it outside and look at God!!! That Ruby red leaf is beautiful!!! And my prized Alocasia Polly which I proudly photographed for the ‘gram last summer shed every last one of its leaves sometime in March/April. I cut it back and prayed and watered and prayed some more…there are three strong shoots emerging now.

And babayyyyy….the finicky fiddle leaf that I put in the driveway in February because it had spider mites is emerging as a superstar! This plant endured below freezing temps and had not one leaf…but I kept it outside and kept an eye on it…slowly new growth appeared!

I am also thrilled by the shoot from the whale fin and my starfish sanseveria plants. These are slow growers but their growth excites me, nevertheless.

No matter how long I have had plants or tended to my garden, the redemptive and restorative power of nature always amazes and inspires me!!! It reminds me of the importance of life and death and the power in rebirth.

What inspires you?