Wild plums, wild heart
POLEMONIUMS: The slender-stemmed Polemoniums (8 inches to 4 feet high) grow in cool open woods or on moist slopes, mainly in the West. The bell-shaped funnel-like flowers have 5 petals, which fuse into a shallow tube. They range from blue to light violet and grow in loose, arched, or nodding clusters. The divided leaves alternate on the stem. The fruit is a dry capsule. One of the Polemoniums, called Jacob’s Ladder, is common in the Northwest. — Spring and summer. Phlox family.
~ FLOWERS by Dr. Herbert Zim and Dr. Alexander Martin
My son turns six months old on this May full flower moon. The day encompassed the whole spectrum of motherhood so far. Crying while cleaning bottles, laughing as we looked in the mirror at each other, holding him tight as I could while we went about our chores, hoping to bottle some of this love and beauty and growing pains for future reflection. How can I possibly hold all of this blossoming wildness and heartbreaking devotion?
It felt fitting to visit the wild plums on this special celestial moment. All of the flowering trees are putting on their best dresses, but the plums are unmatched in their fragrance. Their grape-like sweetness lures me past the cherry and apple blossoms to a scraggly overlooked grove with moonlight hanging from their twisted branches, tiny white blooms that seem more of the stars than of the earth.
