They begin to come in December. Seed Catalogs. It might as well be the old Sears Christmas Wishbook as far as I am concerned. The pages are full of beautiful flowers, vegetables, shrubs, even bulbs. How does an old gardener choose? For goodness sake, I want to try them all! The promise of new life and beauty can be so exciting.

But it is after Christmas that I really need the catalogs. The dead leaves are brown and heavy. There are many cold rainy days. The Christmas glitter and lights are all packed away. New life, blossoms and fruit and vegetables seem like a dream.I need to find hope for new life…somewhere.

Now I know that a lot of folks would see the seed catalogs as a beginning for long, hard, sweaty days outside. It would bring visions of aching backs and blistered hands. But not me. I can only see hope.

Someone I know said that gardeners are impossible dreamers. That where most see work or death, a gardener sees hope for a new tomorrow… For new life to spring forth. I do think gardeners are full of hope. Why in the world would they plant a seed if they weren’t hope-filled?

When I go through the pages trying to choose what to purchase, I think about those seeds. They are as diverse as the plants they produce. Some are hard kernels. Some soft and pliable. Some seeds are so tiny, you wonder if you really got them into the seed pots. But every seed holds the potential for new life in a new season.

I envision walking between the rows, new life springing out of the ground. I think of the vegetables and sharing and comparing success and failure with my garden friends. Do you hear the hope? Hope that a seed catalog brings?

Try it…look through those pages. You might see the potential for hope too. Maybe this life’s season has been barren. Cheer up. There is hope. Spring is coming. We can plant again.