A curious paradox
Flowers growing in the city where I grew: Atlanta, March 2014
“There is a curious paradox that no one can explain.
Who understands the secret of the reaping of the grain?
Who understands why Spring is born out of Winter’s laboring pain,
or why we must all die a bit before we grow again.”
— Tom Jones (playwright) from The Fantasticks
Today I send virtual flowers to everyone who has endured an extra measure of “Winter’s laboring pain” this year, literally or figuratively.
May we all grow again this spring, bringing color and joy to our worlds!
One year ago today:
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
Defeat Despair 
Thank you, Julia! We’d had some houseplants out on the deck for the past week or so, and events in Minnesota yesterday distracted me from my plants. I neglected to take them in last night, and it snowed. I’ve never seen a jacaranda in snow before; it looks unhappy. It does look alive, however, and hopefully I can remember to bring the plants in again before the next frost!
Yes, even the phrase “jacaranda in snow” suggests an oxymoron of some kind. I didn’t even realize one could grow them in cold climates. I have always imagined them as a tropical tree, perhaps because I know so little about them.
Well, it’s unusual as a houseplant, too. My initial concept was bonsai, but I don’t know. Maybe I’ll bring it to Florida and “set it free in it’s natural habitat” in my parents’ back yard!
It would be interesting to see how it does there. I have often had the remarkable discovery that moving an ailing plant even a few feet away from its current location makes a HUGE difference. Going to Florida would be a big change, and maybe a helpful one if it survives the transplant.