Sunday 1 January 2012

Happy New Year!


An exuberant burst of wild flowers to wish you Happy New Year - pure as fresh snow, new as the year. May all your hopes and dreams come true or, perhaps more realistically for most of us, may patience and hard work bring just rewards.

Funnily enough, I'd been saving this photo for a time when it seemed right to look forward to Spring. It was growing on scrub in the garden in Provence, and all last year I tried to find out what exactly it was. No mention in my wild flower books. Nothing to match it on the internet. I was going to ask if anyone knew, but then - a few moments ago - I thought I'd just try again, and lo and behold Google images came up with a match. You may well know this lovely flower already; if not, I can now tell you that it's Star of Bethlehem. I'd heard of the plant, but never realised this was it.

It's officially classed as a weed, but even the entry in the Plant and Pest Digital Library (link here) admits it is pretty and suggests tolerance rather than destruction. We could all take something from that, not least in how we view bald classifications that consign us to think in empty black and white terms like good and bad, the expected and the unexpected, and even success and failure. In creative endeavour, the rewards so often come in the process rather than the end result judged by others.

26 comments:

angel011 said...

Weed or not, it sure is pretty. Happy New year!

Kelly Hashway said...

Why is it that some weeds are just as pretty if not prettier than flowers?

Lynne Rees said...

That's a good insight to carry into the new year. Thank you. Have a shiny, happy 2012, Deborah. x

Kenza said...

Chère Deborah,
Je te souhaite une bonne et heureuse année 2012!
Bisous, premiers bisous de l'année

PS: Mon anglais n'est pas assez au point, alors je me ferai un plaisir de lire ton roman lorsqu'il sera traduit en français...

Bunched Undies said...

Wonderful post Deborah.
"In creative endeavour, the rewards so often come in the process rather than the end result judged by others. " So true.

And I have often found that weeds produce the prettiest flowers...hence our flower bed is overcome with primroses, but they are beautiful in bloom.

Happy 2012!

K said...

Whether the flower in your photos are a weed or not, it's still lovely.

Happy New Year Deborah. I hope that 2012 brings many words to the pages of your new book!

Sam (Tiny Library) said...

Happy New Year to you as well! Hope everything is going well with your new book :)

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, Deborah. Wishing you every (continued) success with your writing in 2012.

Harvee (Book Dilettante) said...

I would love to have that "weed" in my garden borders! Happy New Year!

Cornflower said...

Happy new year, Deborah!

Maureen said...

Wishing you much continued writing success in this new year.

James Kiester said...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elizabeth Young said...

I took this to heart today Deborah, I am such a black and white thinker! Beautiful plant with wonderful meaning...
Happy New Year to you and your family also!

litlove said...

Happy happy New Year, Deborah! I love your message in this post and agree with it completely. Definitely something to take into 2012. I always dread the start of the year as I can't bear to think about all the things that could go wrong in a whole 365 days (new years just bring out my black side!). But of course, some of the best things spring from the worst times - you just can't judge that way, and it's a huge support, not a hindrance, to know that.

Sacha said...

I wish you a wonderful and happy new year!
Sacha

Lynne with an e said...

A perfect metaphor for tolerance, for finding beauty and understanding of what others might perceive as worthless or wanting or somehow "wrong."

I wish you infettered enjoyment of process and an inspiring year ahead!

Lynne with an e said...

PS. By "infettered" I, of course, mean "unfettered."
Wishing you all the best, with a minimum of typos, for 2012!

Unknown said...

Happy New Year, Deborah. Wishing you and your family all the best for 2012.

Forest Dream Weaver said...

Wishing you a happy and creative new Year!

Freda said...

I've been having fun deciding on my word for 2012 (it's 'lighter'), but 'tolerance' would be a lovely word to signify one's 2012.
Am so pleased to have discovered your blog today!

la fourchette said...

Hello, hello! Hopefully this year will hold a bit more wiggle room for me to get out and about in the blog world and stop in at one of my favorite places more often: chez toi (at least 'chez ton blog'!)

In the meantime, I'm sending you all good wishes for a beautiful new year. May it be abundant with success, prosperity and peace on all levels!

Très belle année, Deborah!

Adiante said...

Bonne année Déborah et bonne inspiration !!!

aguja said...

Thank you! I know of the 'Star of Bethlehem' but have never seen it ... and this is a superb photograph. I do like weeds, well, wild flowers as I would call them, and I always stand aside for them. In our garden there is little else to be done as the mountainside just creeps on in to display its scents and colour.
Happy New Year Deborah!

Unknown said...

Happy New Year Deborah! That's some beautiful weed!

Muriel said...

Happy new year Deborah! So, when are you getting your French passport?

BookGeek said...

I hope your new year is already treating you right! Thanks for stopping by :)

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