Good hands, what will you do
with this new trust rising
out of what looked like failure?Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
This weekend is the inaugural Iris Festival in New Iberia and Lafayette, Louisiana. The festival is celebrating the native blue flag iris that have been planted along the Bayou Teche in New Iberia and in Moncus Park in Lafayette. I’m learning more and more about the native plants in our area and how they are successful because they are planted where they belong.
If you talk to any gardener, they say right spot, right time when it comes to blooming. Last week these lovely blues were not blooming. They looked like failure. Today they are thriving.
The Iris Festival is just another excuse to have a festival. Louisiana is a state of festivals. I sat at the Teche Project booth and talked to friends and passers by while layering jackets and even wrapping myself in a tie-dye table cloth. It was a chilly morning under the oaks.
Sitting in the sun to warm up and enjoy the wild irises, I felt gratitude for the weather, for the planters who trudged into the mud to plant these swamp-loving beauties, and to God for teaching me through nature that I must trust what may look like failure.
What is giving you hope these days?
Reflections on the Teche 
I almost bought irises at the store yesterday for my centerpieces, but stuck to tulips. They’re so beautiful– your post makes me wish I’d gotten both. Spring is a hopeful time. The plants and trees don’t read the papers or watch the news, and I appreciate them!
That’s neat to begin a new festival. Your joy for irises flows through your story. I love irises, too.
“trust what may look like failure” This is such an important outlook. It’s so easy to dismiss something before giving it time to come into bloom. Thanks for that important reminder. PS Those irises are so beautiful and I love that you’re learning more about native plants.
My husband’s favorite spring flower is the purple iris which is why I bought a bunch at Whole Foods to sit on our table this week as a birthday gift. Fun to learn that your town has a festival! And your book arrived!! I love it and can’t wait to read it with Adena and Luca. Over Facetime and then in-person this summer when we all meet up at the beach. Maybe we can write our own version – birds of Den Haag and birds of Virginia! Keep writing! Seems retirement is treating you well!
Margaret, I can see you waving to passersby. I am finding hope in the prevailing message here – about flowers, but really about so much more:
If you talk to any gardener, they say right spot, right time when it comes to blooming. Last week these lovely blues were not blooming. They looked like failure. Today they are thriving.
For me, the flowers represent work and retirement. I’m ready to burst open and bloom and thrive. Thank you for this message of hope!