The Importance of You, Me, Canaries, Violas

Viola 'Ivory Queen'

There are so many big and important things going on in the world, and there are blogs about them all. What does it serve the world, then, that someone who loves, say, violas, blogs about them?  I have been thinking about this, feeling a little guilty, even, that perhaps pastimes such as growing violas are not of the first importance in the context of wars, hunger, grief.

Viola 'Helen Dillon'

The more I think about this, though, the more I see that to love something from creation is an acknowledgement of that creation.  We are the keepers of the world, and perhaps one small person can only concentrate on one small piece of this beautiful world at a time.  Bigger people do bigger things.

Also, there is no doubt that my love for violas and my enjoyment of them is balm to my soul, just as the love of his canary was to the prisoner of Alcatraz.  And is it not true that most flowers the world over are indeed born to blush unseen? Nevertheless, they live, and there is a reason for that life; and like those of us who are insignificant threads in the large pattern of life, still we are threads in that tapestry, a vital part, no matter how invisible, of the whole.

Violetta 'Zoe'

So, I reassure myself, love on, whether it be the tiniest insect, sparrow or lily of the field, or a viola;  love of these little things in life is a bow to the great Spirit that sustains us all.

I think it must be the simple structure of the viola flower which makes it so attractive to a large variety of insects.  This morning I lifted a leaf of Etain, and a large white moth flew out and away. Even though the day is very overcast albeit quite warm, the hoverflies in their varied colours of jacket are busy around the tubs; as I bend to scrutinise a flower, they pause politely in mid-air, not the least bit intimidated but patient until I pass.  Yesterday there was a bee drunk underneath a flower of Cleo.

The ecosystem is humming with business.  The largeness of life is in all these small beings.

Viola 'Cleo'