Sun glints through dangling branches of the weeping willow, and glads bloom in the bright morning on my walk through Cedar Creek Park. Wildflowers are scarce in this well planned and maintained park, and I miss them. But the planted gardens along the creek are cheerful, lush and worth a visit. This morning, the well attended lemon yellow gladiolus call to me. Honestly, planted in a garden like this, glads aren't my favorite flower. A little too tall and orderly for my taste.

But, I fell in love with the long stalked bunches I could buy cheaply at any roadside farm stand I passed when I lived in Tampa Bay. All tight and freshly packed in buds, I would carry a stunningly colored bunch of them to my office where I had my private counseling practice, to stand in a tall vase on a table next to my therapist's chair. Day by day, the glad buds would gradually open as my work week progressed, hour by hour, client by client.

By the end of the week, they bloomed in excessive cheerfulness. I liked to think my ritual with the bountiful, stately and elegant glads, helped the women who sat opposite, to feel safe, cared for and appreciated, and the simple pleasure of experiencing compassion in the presence of tender beauty.

All photos and text copyright Kelly DuMar 2017. Botanical card by Elizabeth De Nitto