Taking a few moments to pause our hectic race against our “to do” lists to look at the world around us will reveal the bounty of blessings we receive every day. We live in a time when technology allows us to connect with family and friends who live far away, we enjoy the familiarity of our close-knit neighborhoods, and we are free of the weight of anonymity that plagues larger, “in-town,” communities. We are also fortunate to live in a state where the seasons change, each one bringing new gifts. The shift in the temperature, and the mood that comes with it, breaks the monotony of daily life, such that each morning promises adventures in weather that even the meteorologists can’t predict.
Now that winter
has finally released Maryland from its icy fist, we are free to venture
outdoors without gloves and scarves (or without being chastised for going out
without them) and witness the beauty of rebirth. And there is nothing that says
“spring is in the air” like the sight of the first flowers.
Not Just
for Beauty
Flowers are the
parts of plants that produce seeds that will grow the next generation. Their
pollen contains the genetic information needed to form seeds when shared
between different blossoms. Although many creatures carry the pollen from one
flower to the next, including beetles, bats, butterflies, wasps, and moths,
bees remain responsible for 80 percent of the pollination. Despite being the
bane of our backyards (only mosquitoes maintain a similar status), bees decide
the fate of most natural delicate beauty. Without bees, plant life and,
subsequently, animal life would perish. With their signature low hum and black-and-yellow
bodies they hold the hope for the future.
The same color
scheme is found in Maryland’s state flower, the black-eyed Susan, with its
black center and yellow ray-like petals. Part of the sunflower family, they
grow alongside roads and in open fields, reaching two to three feet in height.
The black-eyed Susan was chosen as our state flower in 1918 mainly because it
matched the black and yellow of Maryland’s state flag, state bird (the oriole),
state insect (the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly), and state cat (the calico)!
Roses Are
Red…
Flowers come in a
kaleidoscope of colors, ranging from white to yellow to pink to black! While
naturally stunning, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. Whereas we can
see red blossoms, bees cannot. Research has shown that bees are colorblind to
red. They can, however, see ultraviolet colors that elude us. A red rose is not
red to a bee, but its beauty is still breathtaking with patterns and highlights
that only bees are aware of.
Each bee visits
over a thousand blossoms every day in search of precious nectar with which to
make honey and sustain the colony for their queen. We can all admire their
diligent work, which has given rise to the idiom “as busy as a bee,” but that
doesn’t mean that we have to admire them up close. One simple way to avoid bees
is to refrain from wearing bright colors that attract them. Bees will not be as
interested in investigating your presence if you wear white or muted colors.
This is no guarantee that they will steer clear, but at least you won’t be giving
them an open invitation to enter your personal space.
The Aroma
of Calm
Advising someone
to “stop and smell the roses’’ means that they should pause their stressful
life and take a break to metally recharge. Researchers from the University of
California have discovered that spending time each day in nature – or at least
looking at items of natural beauty, such as flowers – increases one’s
generosity and creativity as well as reducing stress and attention fatigue.
Ironically, the less we feel we have time to set aside our work, the more we
desperately need to. Part of the daily pause can be used to reflect on our
gifts and how so many things in our lives are meant to give us pleasure.
Blossoms could have appeared gray to us; instead, they are like a rainbow
brought to earth. The fact that such delicate things can push their way through
the hard-packed dirt that would hold them back is deeply inspiring.
There is a
blessing that we recite each spring upon seeing a flowering tree, which praises
Hashem for having “made nothing
lacking in His world, and created in it goodly creatures and goodly trees to
give mankind pleasure.” In short, the flowers are asking us for a favor: that
we recognize the natural world that was created to make us smile and has
everything we need to restore our positive, giving personalities no matter what
the day brings.
A Rose by
any Other Name
Though they are
well-known for their power to prick, not all roses have thorns. The sharp
thorns serve to protect the delicate petals from getting damaged by clumsy
animals passing by. Roses are also famous for their fragrance, each color
having its own distinctive scent. Red and pink flowers win the trophy for the
most “rose-like” smell. Yellow and white ones remind people of lemons, and
orange-colored blossoms are more fruity. Cultivating flowers is no simple
undertaking. It took around 15 years to perfect the Juliet Rose, known for its
large blooms, which sold in 2006 for $15.8 million dollars!
Potpourri
The English name
for dandelion flowers comes from the French words dent de lion, which means lion’s teeth because of the shape of its
leaves. Dandelion seeds can sail up to five miles away and are called “pioneer
plants” because they are often the first to grow after a fire.
You can compliment
someone by telling them they are as fresh as a daisy. The expression comes from
the Old English word for daisies, which was “day’s eye.” The yellow “eye” in
the center of the flower is open only during the day and completely covered at
night. So saying you look as fresh as a daisy means that it looks like you got
a good night’s sleep.
Broccoli,
cauliflower, and artichokes are all known as vegetables, but they are actually
flowers! Orchids don’t need soil to grow because they get all the nutrients
they need from the air. There are some carnivorous plants, too, such as the Venus
fly trap and pitcher plants, which add to their nutrients by devouring insects
and even small animals!
Timing Is
Everything
The hours of warm
sunshine are vitally important to all plants. The heads of sunflowers actually
move throughout the day from east to west to follow the sun’s radiant journey
across the sky. Moonflowers, on the other hand, only bloom at night and remain
tightly closed during the day. Since they are pollinated by nocturnal insects,
they wait exclusively for them and refuse to open until after the last rays of
light have slipped away and their insect helpers are awake. This arrangement
works because the blossoms are not needed for photosynthesis, the process by
which plants produce energy from sunlight, which takes place in the leaves.
Consequently, the flowers don’t need to bask in the sunshine themselves, and
moonflowers have fully embraced their late-night schedule.
Flowers don’t only
vary in when they open up but also in when they emerge. Some last a few months
before they fade away, leaving seeds to carry on their species. These plants
are called annuals and must be replanted each year. Their blooms tend to be
larger and last longer than perennials, which grow back on their own. Because
perennial flowers take up permanent residence in your gardens, they invest
their energy into developing a strong root system instead of producing a large
number of flowers.
There is actually
a third type of plant: a biennial. It lives for two years but only produces
blossoms in the second. The benefits of biennials are that they are more
tolerant of the cold and produce enough seeds that drop to the ground that they
will replenish themselves. All three types of plants add beauty to your scenery
and give pleasure to everyone who passes by.
A Mountain
of Blossoms
It is a momentous
event whenever the Jewish people gather together as one. After being taken out
of Mitzrayim and traveling through the barren desert, klal Yisrael waited at
the base of Har Sinai to receive the Torah. They were in the midst of a vast
wasteland, yet a nes (miracle) occurred:
The Midrash teaches us that the bare mountain became covered in greenery and
flowers.
Today, hundreds of
communities have the custom to decorate their shuls with flowers to honor the
moment that Hashem gave us the Torah. The beauty of the blossoms inspires us to
believe that nothing is out of our reach since even the desert can bloom when
watered with our love for our Creator.
Flowers continued
to be an essential part of our heritage when the mishkan was built. Golden, flower-shaped carvings adorned the
menorah, which was a central part of this Divine dwelling.
The purpose of
flowers is ostensibly to simply perpetuate the species. However, they do so
much more. Flowers are not only for the future; they bring their beauty and
unique gifts to the present to anyone who takes a moment to stop and connect
with the colors of life.
Debbie Glazer lives in Pikesville with her
husband and seven children and teaches Language Arts in Bnos Yisroel High
School. She can often be found either writing or reading and loves to share her
passion for the written word with others.
