Last summer I planted strawberries in my little side plot out back. Having worked at a greenhouse, I was familiar with the fact that strawberries are "perennials," meaning that after you plant them once, they make a seasonal return. Nothing very exciting happened with the strawberries last year - they mainly stayed the same... their lanky, leafy greenness could easily have been mistaken for weeds to the untrained eye. Patience is a virtue, though. This morning I stepped outside to admire how my afternoon of work, weeding and turning the soil, had combined with the night's rainfall to impact the plants. What I saw amazed me! So many of the flowers had transformed into small green berries! I predict that within a week I'll have a garden full of delicious, organic strawberries. Perhaps I'll try my hand at making jam so that a fraction of this goodness can be preserved.

It's so easy to take things like plants for granted. I mean, unless you're a farmer or a gardener extraordinaire, or maybe a drug dealer, you sort of just expect it to be green and wonderful outside as soon as late spring hits. Really, though, have you stopped to consider the intricacy of plants and how they grow? You take a miniscule seed, bury it underneath some soil, ensure that it gets water and sunlight, and boom, you've got a plant... right? Well, sort of, but it's a tad more complex of a process. Appropriate chemical elements must be available to the plant, and a system of protection must be in place so that your tender shoots aren't ravaged by insects or wildlife. I'm sure you've heard of studies that have demonstrated that plants respond to music and even conversation. Plants develop complicated root systems to help them stay nourished, and these roots hold them in one place - they can't even move around to seek shelter. Yet they are beautiful, they release oxygen into the air, and provide humans with food. As a vegetarian, I couldn't survive without them!

Today, I challenge you to walk outside of your office, your apartment, wherever you are, and to look around you in wonder at the new growth that surrounds. Consider the positive aspects of plants and smile at a dandelion. I guarantee that it will smile back.