Yay! Vintage 2021 is underway, and Queen Grenache Blanc is growing beautifully. With warmer daytime temperatures, I like to think she is eager to keep stretching up and out. Budbreak came not long after my last post, and there have been daily noticeable small changes. I’m watching tiny unfurling leaves, little stems getting longer - and today I discovered the first flower buds hidden among the leaves!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about micro-growth. In January, while waiting for Queen Grenache Blanc to emerge from dormancy, I moved all of my other plants from the side of the garden by the fence to the side by the house. It’s maybe a 4 foot difference, but with that slight shift in position, the light is different, and my plants started to grow in new ways. These plants had been in their various spots for several years, and I was frankly quite astonished at how much they changed just by being moved a few feet. It struck me as a heavy metaphor for the power of change and unanticipated growth in our lives.

The last year has felt like one really, really long day. But in noticing the changes in my garden, I started to realize that maybe I’ve had some micro-growth, too. I’ve witnessed micro-growth in my world in the form of new friends, connections, and trying new things at while at home. I’ve been inspired by people who think outside of the box of “what is possible”, and I’ve begun to stretch my beliefs about what I can do. Like many of us, the last year has helped me prioritize what and who is important, and how I want to live my life. My best life.

I think Spring is the perfect time to stop and take a moment to inspect, honor and celebrate the micro-growth in our gardens and our lives - to get excited by the tiny changes and to believe in possibility again. From Queen Grenache Blanc and I, Happy Spring, and may you find the courage to grow in your own beautiful way.