Day Six: The Christmas Rose

 

 

An Advent Story Calendar

Day Six

The Eternal peers down from heaven and watches all of humanity

Psalm 33:13

Dora proved an able gardener. Every other day, she joined Joe to feed, gently prune, and turn the pots to give each rose the best sunlight, always asking questions, “Why are the pots in groups? Why are some hanging and some on the ground? Why are some pots on wheels? How do you know how much to feed the roses? What do the names on the stakes mean? Why are there plastic bags on some of the roses?”

“Each rose has a name,” Joe answered. “Some are named after kings or queens. Some are named after places. Some are named after the person who propagated them.”

“Propa-whated?” Dora said. 

“Propagated. It means to breed or create a type of rose. The plastic bags catch the pollen dropped by the rose heads. The propagator, the person creating the new type of rose, gathers pollen from one rose in the plastic bag, and then brushes the pollen on another rose. If it works, a hybridized rose will occur. Hybrid means a mix.”

“It sounds like a lot of work,” said Dora. “Can’t you just buy different colors at the store?”

“Sure,” said Joe. “But doing it yourself is satisfying. Come look here.”

Joe led the way to a sunny corner of the greenhouse. “When I crossbreed this rose with the one next to it, I will have a hybrid. I can name it.”

“What will you name it?” asked Dora.

“Let’s see if I am successful first,” said Joe. “The roses with blue stakes look hungry today.” 

Picking up her bucket, Dora skipped around looking for blue stakes. 

Rose History: The genus Rose includes over 300 species and thousands of varieties. Rose colors range from white, yellow, pink, and orange to lavender and black.

Rose Hues: Blue roses represent mystery and uniqueness. Blue roses do not occur in nature but are a hybrid created by a breeder. The color blue represents spirituality, intuition, and inner peace.

Prayer: Creator of all, thank you for the variety of humanity so that I may see you more clearly. Help me love each and every variety as you do. Amen