Ana, David and I planted Four O’ Clocks from seed a in our garden this year.  I was hoping to add some color to our little yard, but I had no idea what I was planting or what the end result would be.  They are a beautiful little flower, and, I have discovered, one that is very “old fashioned.”   When I bought the seed packet, I didn’t realize that the blooms wouldn’t open until the late afternoon/early evening.  You would think with a name like, “Four O’ Clock,” I would figure it out.  

I first observed one of the blooms after coming home from a vespers service at church.  They are small, delicate, trumpet shaped flowers with somewhat irregular borders.  The beauty of this flower in my eyes is in its small and quiet elegance.  It’s not showy, like a rose, or innocent like a daisy, but once you bend down and take a closer look into the petals and inhale its sweet scent, you are aware of its unique and quaint style.

Since I have planted these lovely little flowers, I have noted them growing in other yards.  Their simple beauty now catches my eye as opposed to blending into the landscape.  I pondered these flowers today as I was taking a walk and spied  some Four O’ Clocks growing in a yard alongside a house.  

These little flowers start from incredibly ugly seeds.  They are black and wrinkly and about the size of two peppercorns.  When they first begin to sprout, Four O’ Clocks don’t look like much.  Just your average bit of green plant.  Eventually though, with time, water and sun, one little seed can expand to about the breadth and height of a small bush.  The buds begin to appear in mid-summer and as I said, the blooms open in the late afternoon and early evening and bloom all night.  There are usually a few straggling blooms opened as I blink my eyes for the first time in the morning.

I did a little research this afternoon on the Four O’ Clock flower.  They are hardy little flowers that will grow most in anywhere in almost any condition.  They do best with plenty of sunshine and water but can mange in drought conditions.  As I said earlier, an old fashioned little plant with a quaint charm.  Anyone can grow them.  Yes, even those of you who think you have brown thumbs.

I am puzzled by the odd symbolism of a beautiful flower that starts from an ugly seeds and who shows it’s colors in the dark.  It’s as if this little flower is a beacon in darkness spreading it’s scent to only those who are willing to bend down low in the evening. It feels to me like a metaphor for life in some odd way.  Most of us start from a little bit of nothing, but are loaded with potential.  We spend a lot of time growing, put down roots and sending out shoots.  We flourish in our own way, despite the conditions in which we are planted.  Should we manage to bloom, it is often in the evening of our lives, when we have stripped down our relationships to those most important and the ones we know will stand with us through the darkness that at times creeps in, as we patiently wait for the dawn to come and the light that will release us from our journey.

I hope some day, through prayer, repentance and just plain not giving up to attain such beauty and sweetness.  It’s my prayer for all the lives I may touch.  I wish you a beautiful day and a glorious bloom filled evening.

I am currently collecting seeds from the this year’s crop of Four O’ Clocks.  If anyone is interested, I’ll be glad to send some your way.  Simply email me your address.