LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn

There’s something about flowers that seem to take my breath away. Their unique ability to brighten a room. Their vibrant color, texture, and fragrance. Flowers fill our senses. Sometimes flowers can fill in the gap where words are not enough.  Like music, they are a universal language that we share around the globe.  

It’s no wonder flowers are present for life’s most significant moments. Held in a tight bundle on your wedding day. Brought to a friend who’s lost a loved one. Or, my personal favorite, just because. Whether they are picked straight from the garden or ordered from a florist, the gesture of a bouquet makes us all feel remembered.

The scent and sight of a bouquet can bring back memories that perhaps don't live in our everyday thoughts. Bright pink azaleas blooming takes me right back to my childhood in Augusta. The sight of tulips make me smile and think of my childhood friend, Christine. They have always been her favorite! Calla lilies carried by my bridesmaids. The big bouquet in 1996 that I carried in my wedding.

Studies have shown that flowers can actually impact happiness by increasing feelings of kindness and compassion. Flowers have the power to lift moods and decrease depression.  Flowers teach us so much about life. They teach us patience. A lot of time passes from the time a seed is planted until you see the first bloom. The flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of today. They don’t compete with other flowers. They just bloom.

This season, as the flowers begin to bloom all around us, I encourage you to remember the lessons that the flowers teach us. May it prompt you to reach out to a childhood friend, someone who has recently lost a loved one, or just someone you love for no other reason than just because. Usher in this season of new growth and new life with intentionality and thoughtfulness.