I am always amazed at the resilience of plants. In spite of the most difficult conditions (weeks of drought, weeks of rain, weeks of cold, or all of the above, as we have had this year) some manage to grow green leaves and flowers and fruit even. Although our gardens may be soggy, and some plants luckier than others, a walk into the garden always fills me with hope. For there the plants stand, as sturdy as ever, even after thrashing rain and storms that force drivers to the side of the road. No matter how bad they've been beaten down, they turn every available leaf to the sun when it returns. We may complain to each other, but the plants do not complain. Here and there they whisper their desires - a yellowed leaf signals hunger, the morning glory quietly clamors for the trellis, the peas croon to be picked. But at the end of the day we go to our gardens for solace, for the prospect of a meal and the reminder that singly we may be vulnerable, but together we are strong.