Reflections

The shortest day of the year, winter solstice, has come and gone. As a gardener, I find the very phrase smacks of turning, the rhythm of the cosmos driving us all, plants and people alike. In Arizona, the event was celebrated with full moon solstice hikes. Daylight may be beginning to lengthen but cactus out at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix---another of my favorite gardens, ever---will be getting their winter 'hats' to cope with possible frost. Freezing rain on the East Coast and less than ideal weather in the Upper Midwest make the passing of the year equally fraught. For everything its season, I tell myself. The desert will bloom. The gold of the palo verde and bottle brush will paint wide swaths across the landscape. Trillium will carpet the woods of Northern Michigan in a magical white. An old year is ending, a new one coming.