Lenten Roses

Two weeks ago, I was walking on my favorite trail near work and, with an Artist’s Way task in mind, I was looking for flowers and leaves to collect. It was late February and I was pretty sure this task was going to turn into an exercise in noticing how dreary winter is. But, then I found an abundance of tiny yellow flowers (winter jasmine, perhaps?). They were all over the viney branches and they covered the ground below. Such an amazing show of beauty…and it reminded me that God is never skimpy, even in the depth of winter.

Further along in my walk, on a gravel path that winds through some wooded areas, I found an entire patch of flowers. They were beautiful, but I had no idea what they were.

When I went to the Botanical Gardens later that week, I found them there, as well.


When I went to my weekly Artist’s Way meeting, Joyce came in with some of them in a collection of flowers from her yard. (Synchronicity!) She told me they were helleborus, which I later found are also called Lenten Roses.

Today I was on the trail again and I had my camera with me as I was making this walk into not only my morning exercise, but also the week’s artist date. The roses were still in full glory still and I found them even more meaningful to me as yesterday was the beginning of the Lenten season.
I love how the blooms droop, as if hanging their heads in sorrow or in prayer. So very appropriate for a flower given the name of this season.