Hope

This yellow daisy is the last plant to flower anywhere around my house in the country. It is not in my flower garden - it is actually a "volunteer", a plant that has gone wild and seeded itself down in the front yard. I have enjoyed its bright cheery colour at this increasingly dark and cold time of the year. I took this picture of it on Sunday to record the last gasp of autumn.

It is always hard to say goodbye to all the flowering plants in my garden. But I have certain rituals that help me. Last weekend, I spent a lot of time digging up the flower beds, pulling out weeds, cutting back perennials, turning over the soil, preparing for the months ahead. 

This is the part I like the best - planting bulbs for the spring. I dug several holes after turning over the soil and placed the bulbs in groups at the bottom. 

Then I covered them over with earth saying, bye for now - go to sleep - see you in six months. I planted about 40 of them on Sunday.

During the coldest and most brutal part of the winter, it is comforting to think that the bulbs I planted last fall will be coming up in a couple of months and blooming - as they did last spring when I took this picture of some of the tulips in my garden. I look upon this as an investment in the future, my annual ritual of Hope.