Flowering Fridays: Hollyhocks

Hollyhock in my garden, taken in August 2008

This summer I was delighted when the hollyhocks bloomed so beautifully for much of the summer. (As a biennial plant, it lay dormant summer 2007.) This summer, the hollyhocks were tall (over six feet), profuse with their blooms and painted with the most beautiful pastel colors. 

When I went out this past August to take some flower close-ups (close-ups being my new favorite way to take pictures), I found that I was just as entranced with its seed pods as I was with the blooms. Large disks all nestled in a doughnut ring around the edges of the pod; so perfectly aligned and slotted and so perfectly held.

Hollyhock seed pod, August 2008

This is how the hollyhock ensures its legacy, dropping many large seeds which grow wherever they are dropped. 

I love this idea of dropping many large seeds, as a kind of insurance that certainly some (if not many of them) will germinate and take root. 

I've been casting a lot of seeds lately. Trying out new workshops and new ways of teaching. Stretching my offerings into new areas (art play, conscious creation, coaching, fairy tales). Exploring ways of expressing myself (this blog, photographs, poems). Looking for my next book project. Wondering if I should look at becoming an employee again with an organization that is a good match for my talents. 

Sometimes I feel a bit lost in this swirl of possibilities. Which is the "right" seed to cast?, I wonder. Which seed will take root? And am I putting out too many seeds at one time?

Right now, I'm not sure of the answer to these questions. Literally and metaphorically, I feel I'm in a wintering of dormancy, feeling a bit stuck in some of the mud and waiting to see which seeds sprout up once the weather warms up. 

But even I as I listen for the answers to emerge. I know this much is true for me:  This time calls for trust, reflection, noticing and focusing inward.

And while I'm not yet sure which of these seeds will germinate into larger plants, I know that certainly one or two of them (with time, attention and regular watering) will take root.

Tell me, what seeds are you sowing in your life?

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Flowering Fridays is a weekly look at flowers through the lens of what they have to teach us about flowering fully in our life. Past editions are here.

Inspiring quote: You as Gardener

flower growing in my garden

"Think of yourself as a gardener. You have been given some seeds. You don't actually grow them. You merely provide the conditions in which they can thrive and then tend them with curiosity and kindness as they grow themselves. You don't explain to the apple tree that it shouldn't be shedding leaves now, or that it should be producing pears instead, or that its flowers are excessive for the amount of fruit necessary for regeneration. A gardener cultivates a tree by acting on its essential behalf, by making sure it has the spaciousness and support necessary to find opportunities for growth in both darkness and light." — Dawna Markova in her book, "Wide Open"

(Quote found on this blog http://www.mybloominglife.com/ Of course, I love her blog name and flowering emphasis.)

Tell me, how do you tend your garden?

Flowering Fridays: Sedum Autumn Joy

I love fall. The crispness in the air. The radiant colors. The chance to wear a wool sweater and a scarf. But I also go through a bit of grieving for the passing of summer, saying goodbye to my beloved garden and all my outside flower friends that were cultivated this year. 

But really there are many flowers to celebrate in fall: the chrysthanemums, for one. And these sedums, which I only recently learned were called (what else?) autumn joy. 

I am slowly but surely learning that every season has its gifts, its special treasures and its unique offerings.

Of course, I'm not only speaking about the actual seasons, but the seasons of my life. The times when things are busy, and the times when things are slow. The times when I feel ripe with ideas and the times when my ideas resemble a barren field. 

My opportunity is to remember to pause and ask: Where is the joy in this? What about this moment can I celebrate? What is there for me to learn?

Right here, right now. Exactly as it is. 

When I can pause and ask myself such an expansive question, I find that I do find the joy in the moment, I do find much to celebrate and I do find important learnings for my development.

There is a Gary Zukav quote that I like that speaks to the power of what you are choosing to see:  “Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends upon what we look for. What we look for depends upon what we think. What we think depends upon what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality.”

Tell me, where is the joy, the celebration and the learning in the season you are in, right now, exactly as it is? 

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Flowering Fridays is a weekly look at flowers through the lens of what they have to teach us about flowering fully in our life. Past editions are here.