A Cool, Misty Sunday

The neighborhood air is scented by fresh buds of jasmine. At the plant store, gardenia bushes too have begun to bloom.

Arriving back home, the rose bushes are a riot of blossoms. Maggie, my climber and the one with the strongest perfume, also displays the most vivid color. Deep fuchsia.

After I nestle the lantana into their ceramic pots, I discover that my gardenias, planted last fall, in fact survived February’s hard freeze. Tiny shoots curl at the base of stems turned brown by prolonged cold.

Sometimes new life springs from what appears dead.