Worth the Wait

Some things take time. It’s been three years since I planted an Oriental Poppy. We had received some honeycomb planters from my dad’s friend, Joel, who has an amazing, beautiful park like setting amidst a stand of ancient Oaks in the Middle of Nowhere, IL. It was an especially thoughtful gift, as my husband raises bees. The planters were lovingly painted and placed near our bee hives and soon filled with bee loving plants—with whose flowers our sweet bees would love to work their magic. 

New planter with bee loving perennials

All but a few of these plants have produced abundant flowers for our bees, except for the poppy. Last

spring, I noticed one bloom just beginning to form, but to my dismay, it ended up growing disfigured rather quickly, long before any chance a flower might burst forth. But this year there were signs of hope when I noticed ALL kinds of buds forming. 

I’ve been checking every day for a few weeks. First thing this morning...after a gentle, extended period of rain in the wee hours, I went out to check and low and behold!

Notice those papery petals with the creases still showing. 

Things take time. Don’t be discouraged. A small, tender gift may be forming in the tightest and darkest of places, just waiting for the right opportunity to present itself to the world.