The Dahlia you brought to our isle


Your praises forever shall speak

‘Mid gardens as sweet as your smile


And colour as bright as your cheek.

–Lord Holland (1773–1840)

Dear Dahlia,

I know it is winter and the snow is falling outside. Life must be difficult at times being a flower bulb. You are uprooted and you find yourself away from your garden, away from the other flowers you spent the summer with. Life deals out what it does, and yours has been a life as a bulb. I am writing you, at this time, for a reason. I want you to remember the warm sunny days and know that that time will come again when you will be shining with all your brilliance and bursting with your vibrancy for all to see, experience, and love. You have it in you. It hasn’t gone away. You are just in the time when you are a bulb in a cool, dry, dim place… Life is cyclical and now is the time for reflection, an understanding for what has been, and then gratitude for what is to come. This winter has been tough and cold as sometimes winters go.  Often times through the most difficult of seasons we can learn the most about nature and life. Hold fast, dear dahlia bulb, there is hope and renewal and warmth headed your way, don’t give up. Know that the sun will once again shine warmly upon your beautiful petals, the raindrops will sustain you, and the soil will feed you all that you need.  Life will begin again.